Up to 75 million Europeans will be banking via the internet by 2005, a report predicted last week.

According to the research from independent market analysts Datamonitor, the number of consumers in Europe who bank online will more than treble during the coming years, from around 23 million users at the end of 2000.

The report added that, despite limited take-up in mobile phone banking services to date, more than 35 million consumers would be using their mobiles to bank by 2005 as the services available improved.

It was predicted that Britain, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, where internet banking is most advanced, would continue to account for the largest number of online customers in Europe. Italy, however, is expected to be the fastest-growing market, with the number of users increasing on average by 70.9 per cent every year up to 2005.