Never have so many used the Internet to conduct business with so few. According to a new survey by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), in Bethesda, Md., more CFOs and treasurers (63 percent) are using the Internet to transact business than ever before, but most say they like dealing with a single financial institution’s Web site, rather than consortium sites or online exchanges. The poll also reveals a 47 percent jump in Internet use by corporate finance pros since the previous survey, which was published in March 2000, with most practitioners logging on to conduct cash management (59 percent), investment (40 percent), and credit (29 percent) transactions, says Arlene Chapman, an AFP vice president.

Mark Thompson, CFO of MarketTools Inc., an application service provider in Mill Valley, Calif., says he uses the Internet as a communications tool for investor relations and outbound wire transfers. He notes that MarketTools uses single-institution sites because the company is small and doesn’t require many banking services. As far as larger corporations are concerned, Thompson believes they are testing the online waters with single institutions they know and trust.