Internet-based banking was used by a third of the UK’s online population – 10.9 million customers – during one month this year, according to research.

The study, carried out by metrics firm comScore, evaluated number of customers and the frequency of their online banking access in January.

Out of the banks surveyed, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) had the best performance, with 2.9 million hits, mainly represented by NatWest’s e-banking service which was accessed by two million customers, said the study.

Lloyds TSB was the most popular online service, with an average of 6.8 per visits per customer. HBOS clients accessed their accounts via the internet slightly less frequently, with 6.1 hits per customer, followed by Barclays, with average use of its online banking facility reaching 5.9 per customer on average.