The Swansea Building Society has reported that its new digital savings and mortgage service has been well-received by customers in its the first four months.

During that period 1,700 customers signed up to use its online banking portal.

Swansea Online was launched in July following a significant period of research and development by the mutual, which aimed to provide customers with easy access to their accounts, especially during lockdown, while offering security, assurance and choice.

The platform allows the society’s customers to view their savings and mortgage account balances online, transfer between society savings accounts and withdraw monies from their society savings account(s) to a nominated bank account which must be in their name/joint names (subject to terms and conditions).

Customers can also view previous transactions on savings and mortgage accounts and directly contact the Society’s staff and advisers using a secure messaging facility.

The online platform is accessible from any device including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers.

Alun Williams (pictured), chief executive of the Swansea Building Society, said: “We have been delighted by the way in which our customers have embraced Swansea Online and we look forward to encouraging even more members to use it in the future while adding to its functionality. The important thing for us is customer choice. We kept all our branches open during the pandemic, ensuring all our customers could access their savings and mortgages in a way that works for them.

“Our priority has always been to ensure our members are comfortable with the security of the platform but also still have access to the personal service we have always cherished and built our business around. Whether a customer decides to deal with us in person at a branch office, by telephone, by post or online, the service they receive will be the same – friendly, informed, personal, professional and welcoming.”