This is another in a regular/occasional series on information for advisors intended to help them better understand their clients and possibly open up new niche markets to them.

It is based on data gleaned from surveys conducted by BBM Canada, a Toronto-based not-for-profit, industry-owned and -run broadcast audience research organization. BBM Canada conducts a bi-annual 80-page survey with a sample size of more than 55,000 respondents, providing detailed insight into the consumer preferences of Canadians across a spectrum of industries including financial, banking and e-commerce.

Today’s “factoid” is taken from a survey conducted last year.

The number of Canadians doing their banking with one of the new Internet banks has doubled in the past two years, according to BBM Canada’s RTS survey. Moreover, “virtual” bankers tend to have an “exceptionally upscale” financial profile.

The survey shows 2.7 million or about 10% of Canadians have used one of the new “virtual” banks, such as President’s Choice Financial and ING Direct, that have began operations recently. PC and ING are Canada’s No. 1 and No. 2 Internet banks.

“Previous releases of BBM RTS show the number of consumers using on-line banks has doubled over the past two years and is growing quickly,” BBM Canada says. According to the survey, on-line bank use is strongest in Ontario at 15%, followed by British Columbia (11%), the Prairies (9%), Atlantic Canada (5%) and Quebec (4%).

BBM Canada says the survey shows that on-line bank customers have an “exceptionally upscale” financial profile. More than one in five (21%) have savings and investments totaling $100,000 or more – well above the Canadian average. More than half (51%) have a personal line of credit, 42% have a mortgage and 58% have an RRSP — all of these financial services are in greater proportion among on-line bankers than the average Canadian. These consumers are also twice as likely to have used Internet stock trading.

On-line bank customers also tend to be younger and upscale, BBM Canada says. “Almost half (45%) are between the ages of 25 and 44 and 30% percent have a yearly income of $80,000, well above the Canadian average of 22% having such an income. Just under a third (30%) say that an Internet bank is their principal institution suggesting that most consumers still have a need for bricks and mortar in their financial institution.”

On-line bank clients do much of their shopping on the Internet. They are twice as likely (27% vs the Canadian average of 14%) to have spent money shopping online in the past year. Their favorite online store types are Internet computer, CD, department and clothing stores. “Canadians using online banking are at least twice as likely to have shopped these types of internet stores in the past year compared to the average Canadian,” BBM Canada says.