Far more Brits go online to bank than use social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, according to a survey for Nationwide Building Society.
The poll of 1500 UK adults, conducted by Opinion Matters, shows that 77% of respondents visit the Internet to bank.
The same percentage shop online and 65% use the Internet to look for holidays. Only 58% use social media, 53% use auction sites such as eBay, 37% look for jobs and 36% download music and films.
Nationwide suggests that stereotypes have people believe women shop and men handle the finances but the research shows there is little difference between the sexes: 79% of men bank online, compared to 76% of women while 79% of women shop and 75% of men.
Meanwhile, a quarter of Brits use online banking two to four times a week and 12% once a day, a rate likely to grow with the rise of tablet computers, predicts Nationwide.
Richard Searle, head, channel integration, Nationwide, says: "Online banking has really taken off over the last few years and that is something we have been very aware of with the launch of our new and improved Internet bank, but I have to say even we were surprised to see it beat social media as one of the top reasons the nation goes online."