58% of people are more aware of their personal finances as a result of online banking and 33% are more aware of their household’s financial situation because they do their banking online, according to new research from Nationwide Building Society.

It found that online banking is not only boosting the nation’s awareness of its own finances, but that 23% of people said they were more aware of different financial products such as ISAs, credit cards and mortgages as a direct result of online banking.

82% choose to bank online for the convenience and 80% prefer the flexibility of being able to bank when they want to. 46% of Brits says they are going online to get away from queues.

The ability to discreetly access their finances is also important with 41% of consumers admitting they bank online for this reason.

The evening proves to be the most popular time for people to log on to their internet bank, with 30% of people admitting they most commonly bank online at home during the early/mid evening, while 26% do so in the late evening. y comparison, 29% of people choose to log on during the mid morning, and 13% use their lunchtime to manage their finances online.

48% of respondents said they have been banking online for between three and six years, 12% for seven to eight years, 12% between nine and 10 years, and 6% around 13 to14 years (since 1997 when Nationwide launched the UK’s first internet bank).

Richard Searle, Nationwide’s head of channel integration, said: “The research has really highlighted just how important online banking is to helping people keep track of their money. Our refreshed and user friendly online bank is incredibly intuitive which should help to encourage more people to give online banking a go.