The credit crunch is turning Britain into a nation of money-surfing experts according to online bank cahoot.

Its findings show that 38 million Brits have managed their finances online, either at home or at work.

Interestingly, 71% of these money-surfing experts said they had increased their online banking activity in the last 12 months as the credit crunch, as well as increasing food and fuel prices has put greater pressure on them to manage their finances more closely.

So much so, that Britain is currently spending a colossal three billon hours annually moving money around on the Internet, at an average of 1.5 hours per week.

Surprisingly, this is now significantly more time than is spent on social networking sites, which accounts for 2.7 billion hours online each year.

Banking online is not just about convenience and saving time. Around 82% of regular online bankers say that internet banking makes them better at managing their finances.

Matthew Timms, director at cahoot, said: “While you might be forgiven for thinking that the Internet’s biggest draw is social networking sites, nowadays it’s actually online banking. Indeed, the credit crunch is making Britons far more conscious about keeping in control of their finances.”