CUSTOMERS have carried out double the number of banking transactions over the internet in the past year as smartphones and other internet-enabled devices drive a banking revolution.

The number of withdrawals, transfers and other actions on accounts with the UK's main clearing banks via mobiles and devices such as tablets and laptops has reached 5.7 million a day.

More than 12.4 million bank apps have been downloaded and customers used their devices to carry out 18.6 million transactions a week last year - up from 9.1 million in 2012, according to the British Banking Association's.

Mobile banking allows customers to pay bills, make transactions and interact with their bank through their devices.

The study also showed more than 28 million debit and credit cards are fitted with contactless technology while 450 million SMS balance alerts were sent by text to customers last year.

RBS's banking app has already had more than one billion log-ins, and it expects that four million of its customers will be using its app by the end of this year - an increase of one million in just 12 months.

Some 5.6 million RBS customers now bank online - a figure equivalent to Denmark's population.

The report also found around 750,000 Santander customers log on to internet banking services every day and 72% of all interactions between HSBC and its customers are now by telephone or internet.

Anthony Browne, chief executive of the BBA, which published the Way We Bank Now report today, said that branches would remain "integral" to services such as providing mortgages, but mobile banking was more convenient for people's day-to-day needs.

He added: "A revolution is under way in how people spend, move and manage their money. This is not just about the phenomenal growth of mobile banking, which has already allowed millions of British customers to make billions of transactions from the palm of their hand.

"Consumers are also rushing to use contactless cards, text alerts and a range of other easy-to-use technology. This is innovation that connects us more strongly to our banks than ever before and gives us greater freedom to handle our money wherever and whenever we please."