Phone and Internet banking may be widely-accepted in Australia but these services are not seen as part of a positive banking experience, according to a report by research company Henderson Parker.

Of the big five banks, the National Australia Bank fared the worst, whilst Commonwealth customers were happiest with their online banking experience, according to The Bank Account report.

Using a method called -cognitive mapping", Henderson Parker looks at how a customer's current bank compares with their idea of an ideal bank. The results were plotted along a line with zero representing the ideal bank, therefore the lower the score the closer the bank came to being ideal.

In the category of Internet banking the Commonwealth Bank scored 40.1, with Westpac hot on its heels at 44.4. Lagging behind the top two contenders were ANZ with a scorecard of 72.4, St George Bank at 87.5 and the National bringing up the rear with 88.6.

The five banks were ranked closer together in the phone banking sector, with the St George bank closest to customers' perception of an ideal bank at 42.6, followed by Commonwealth (46.3), Westpac (51.9), NAB (57.3) and ANZ (58.6).

"Net banking is in a difficult position right now." Henderson Parker's Michael Parker, told ZDNet Australia.

Whilst electronic banking is said to be on the rise, Parker says he imagines that's more true of ATM and EFTPOS banking channels with Net banking compounded by problems of the Internet generally. -What's coming out of our report is that ATMs are universally liked, " he said.

Whilst Parker said that the negative experience of online and phone banking customers, was not universal it's generally the case. However, exceptions to the rule seem to be Westpac customers who slated phone banking as a number 2 banking priority and Net banking as a number one priority

"This says to me that they're doing a really good job at converting customers to new banking channels," Parker said.

Customers in the 30-40 age group also saw more value in Internet banking, with online banking being a middle order issue for with those under the age of 30. For people in the 41-50 age group, phone and Internet banking were ranked second and third last on their list of priorities in banking.

Customers in the income bracket AU$30k - AU$55k per anum rank Internet banking at a considerable distance from their ideal bank, prioritising interpersonal contact with banking staff and seeing newer technologies as undesirable on the whole, the report found.

The banks have been contacted by ZDNet Australia for comment on the findings of the Henderson-Parker report.

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