Twitter is being used by UK banks to respond quickly to customer complaints, according to a study by Virgin Media Business.
Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, HSBC and RBS all replied to customers within one hour.
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All of the UK’s leading high street banks are now using Twitter as a direct a line of communication with their customers.
NatWest has the fastest Twitter response time, responding to customer queries in an average of four minutes. HSBC comes second with an average time of 14 minutes.
Phil Stewart, director of customer services, Virgin Media Business, said: "Social media helpdesks are becoming common in industries where businesses interact daily with customers. They’re becoming like virtual stores. It’s really encouraging to see the banking industry is taking a lead on this with every major high street bank using Twitter to engage with customers.
"On Facebook, banks have slightly more work to do. Our research found that just half of banks use their Facebook pages to speak to customers about personal issues. Great customer service on any platform should be the rule, not the exception."
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