Officials at the Bank of Utah have these figures in mind as they launch their Go Green campaign encouraging customers to use online banking and electronic statements.
"We've estimated the huge amount of paper the process generates," said Scott Parkinson, senior vice president of retail banking. "And it just doesn't make sense anymore with the secure technology that is available with e-statements."
Bank officials say that if customers' monthly statements printed over the past year from Bank of Utah alone were stacked on top of each other, the pile would be nearly twice as high as the 28-story LDS Church office building, the state's tallest structure.
Online banking is good for bankers too. The Bank of Utah said it stands to save $45,000 a year if 2,000 of its 20,000 customers converted.
Parkinson insists that e-statements are safer than printed ones. Stealing bank statements from mailboxes is the most common method thieves use in identity thefts, he said. By contrast, online banking gives customers a greater chance to spot identity thefts because they can check balances at any time, rather than waiting 30 days for the bank statement to arrive.
The Bank of Utah started its Go Green program by requiring its 300 employees to convert to online banking. The bank also switched to recycled paper for letterhead and bank statements. And it placed paper recycling barrels in lobbies in most of its branches. The bank is also making digital images of its internal paper files and notes.
It was Wells Fargo that began offering Web-based account access in 1995, making it the first bank in the nation to do so, according to Online Financial Innovations, which publishes newsletters and research reports.
"Online banking is a big part of our history as a company," said Wells Fargo spokesman Mark Chapman. "We were a trailblazer in looking for ways that our customers conduct business when, where and how they wanted to."
Wells Fargo now boasts 10.6 million active online consumers, up 14 percent from the previous year. Currently, about 67 percent all of its consumer checking accounts are online - giving it an edge when compared nationally.
About 61 million U.S. households bank online - about 53 percent of the nation's household population, according to the financial research firm, Javelin Strategy & Research. Those numbers are projected to reach 82 million households by 2012, about 67 percent of all U.S. households.
According to Javelin Strategy & Research, if all Americans banked online, other environmental benefits would include taking out 3.9 billion pounds of greenhouse gases - akin to having 355,000 fewer cars on the road.
dawn@sltrib.com
Safe Internet banking
* Make sure that an online bank is legitimate and that your deposits are insured before handing over your personal information.
* To verify a bank's insurance status, look for the familiar FDIC logo or the words "Member FDIC" or "FDIC Insured" on the Web site.
* Watch out for copycat Web sites that use a name or Web address similar to a real financial institution. Fraudulent sites will lure you into disclosing personal information, such as your account number and password.
Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
