Two billion transactions have been made since the 1996 launch of Acc�sD Internet and Acc�sD Telephone by the 1.6 million Desjardins members who use these transactional services.
L�vis (Qu�bec), October 5, 2006 – Ten years ago saw the launch of the Desjardins Group Web site, www.desjardins.com followed a few months later by the Acc�sD transactional service offered online and by telephone. Right from the start, the success of this service exceeded all expectations; from around 8 million per year in the beginning, transactions eventually surged to more than a half-billion in 2005, for the first time outnumbering the total number of ATM transactions made the same year.
The popularity of the informational and transactional components of www.desjardins.com is undeniable. Since 1996, the site has quickly become one of the most visited financial Web sites in the country. Today, with 2.5 million unique visitors each month, it is the most popular financial Web site in Qu�bec and fourth in all of Canada. In 2006, the Secor/Commerce Internet Index rated Desjardins.com among its top three sites, for the fifth consecutive year.
Desjardins will be marking this anniversary by giving its Web site a makeover. The new look and feel of www.desjardins.com will be more inviting and less busy, making for more accessible, personalized and user-friendly browsing.
“Online services have become increasingly popular with caisse members, who now have a safe and practical way to carry out most of their financial transactions from the comfort of home, at any time of day or night, from anywhere in the world,” commented Marie-Huguette Cormier, Vice-President of Financial Services Division at Desjardins.
Celebrating Ten Years
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Desjardins Web site presents a special section (www.desjardins.com/10years) where visitors can learn about the milestones in the history of the Web site and that of Acc�sD. They can also participate in a quiz based on the history and cooperative difference of Desjardins Group.
Finally, until November 19, 2006, members can enter the “Acc�sD Goes Wild” contest for a chance to win $25,000.
About Desjardins Group
Desjardins Group is the largest integrated cooperative financial group in Canada, with overall assets of more than $118 billion. It comprises a network of caisses, credit unions and business centres in Qu�bec and Ontario, and some twenty subsidiary companies in life and general insurance, securities brokerage, venture capital and asset management, many of which are active across the country. Drawing on the expertise of its 40,000 employees and the commitment of 7,600 elected officers, Desjardins offers its 5.5 million individual and corporate members and clients a full range of financial products and services. Its physical distribution network is complemented by leading-edge virtual access methods.
