In South Africa, 76% of companies prefer to bank with a provider who has a solid security reputation, according to a Kaspersky Lab survey.

The research suggests that those banks that make security a priority and take every effort to ensure measures are in place to safeguard against online financial fraud will have an advantage, when it comes to retaining existing customers and reaching new ones.

In a statement covering the results, the IT security firm explained that almost all companies (99%) now use online banking in their day-to-day operations.

"The ability to use banking services without needing to physically visit a bank gives a lot of advantages including, improving response times and reducing operational costs. However, this convenience can also come at a cost, putting companies at risk of online financial fraud and giving cybercriminals yet another way to compromise corporate IT infrastructure," according to Kaspersky.

Based on the research, almost three quarters (76%) of companies questioned stated that they select banks due to their security reputation, and 87% are willing to pay extra in order to work with a bank that has a strong security policy and a good security track record.

50% of companies also said that they themselves need to take improved measures, in order to protect online financial transactions made with their banks.

Kaspersky Lab Global Head of Fraud Prevention Ross Hogan, commented, "In today's technology driven environment, banks operate very much like IT companies. All of their interactions with customers and partners are computerised and information is shared and stored online. However, despite the advantages it makes banking processes vulnerable and any compromise to the IT infrastructure can lead to huge data loss or, even worse, severe financial and reputational damage. It is therefore imperative that banks also think more like IT companies and make security a priority when developing and delivering their services.