Nationwide Building Society says the Internet and telephone are now responsible for over 20% of new business, with some product areas achieving over 30% of their sales online or over the phone.
The UK mutual says Internet sales increased 68% for the year to end-March 2004. Improved processes for credit cards, overdrafts, travel money and the launch of the Society's One Minute Mortgage campaign led to over 400,000 online sales during the year.
Philip Williamson, chief executive, says: "One in five of our sales is now online or over the telephone and a quarter of our three million current account holders use our Internet banking services. Our strong focus on efficiency has resulted in further improvements for the 15th successive year."
During the year, a record £1.4 billion of mortgage business was conducted via the Internet and over the telephone - a 48% increase. The direct channels also notched up a 21% increase in personal loan business to £413 million, and a nine per cent rise in general insurance sales.