The survey, which was commissioned by Corillian, revealed key findings in online banking within the small business and middle market (corporate) markets. Greenwich Associates surveyed 984 small and mid-sized businesses to measure both online banking adoption trends and barriers to future use of online banking services.

Overall, the survey reported significant growth in both the small business and middle market corporate online banking channels. Online banking adoption among small businesses has grown significantly over the past 2 years with 66 percent of small businesses banking online in 2005, compared to 43 percent in 2003. During that same time period, online banking adoption among mid-sized corporations grew from 46 percent to 67 percent. Also of note, 51 percent of small businesses and 57 percent of mid-sized corporations said they would perform all of their banking online if they could.

"Financial institutions are becoming more in tune with the needs of their business banking customers and, in turn, working with leading online banking companies like Corillian to develop innovative and easy-to-use online banking services," said Robert Neuhaus, a Greenwich Associates consultant. "As a result, we're seeing significant growth in the online banking adoption rate within small businesses and corporations, and our survey findings underscore the importance of the online channel in servicing these customers."

Greenwich Associates' survey reported several trends and market drivers contributing to the growth of online business banking. Top priorities for continued expansion as well as challenges were uncovered in the following categories: Online Banking Functionality, Online Information Needs and Barriers.

• Online Banking Functionality - Money movement was the top functionality desired when banking online (83 percent among middle market corporations and 78 percent among small businesses), followed by direct deposit capabilities (84 percent among middle market corporations and 67 percent among small businesses).
  
• Online Information Needs - As more businesses turn to the online channel for financial transactions, 88 percent of middle market corporations and 73 percent of small businesses ranked access to incoming wire and/or ACH transfers as a top priority, followed by the ability to view cleared or deposited checks, 84 percent of middle market corporations and 77 percent of small businesses.
  
• Barriers - When asked what prevented them from doing all of their banking online, the top three obstacles listed by middle market corporations and small businesses included: inability to remotely deposit paper checks, the existing online banking service doesn't fully meet their needs and online security concerns.

"We're honored to have Greenwich Associates unveil this crucial data at our annual customer conference," said Alex Hart, president and CEO of Corillian. "The valuable insight from this survey, which indicates a growing desire for small businesses and corporations to utilize the convenience of online banking to its fullest, ultimately will help shape the future of online business banking. Corillian has recognized the importance of these customer segments for our financial institution clients, and has developed dedicated solutions with these needs in mind, while at the same time maintaining high security standards for financial institutions and their end users."