Mobile banking is an evolving and growing form of banking, which continues to have a significant impact on how American consumers conduct day-to-day financial transactions.
Already, consumers are starting to turn to mobile as their go-to banking option. Javelin Research found mobile banking exceeded branch banking for the first time in 2015. Additionally, Javelin predicted 81 percent of American consumers will access mobile banking by the year 2020. In light of these findings, it seems financial institutions (FIs) should look to mobile as the next phase in banking.
A recent Banking.com article summarizes five key ways mobile banking continues to change the banking industry. I’ve highlighted four of them below.
- Mobile wallets are ringing in a new era of banking — Consumers are becoming more comfortable making financial transactions through mobile channels. Mobile payment users often cite their FIs as their most trusted mobile payment providers. Community FIs should consider integrating payment capabilities into their existing mobile banking apps to provide more value without taking up limited app space on consumers’ devices.
- Consumers’ feature expectations are changing— Although branch banking remains important to many consumers, amenities beyond those offered at brick-and-mortar locations are emerging as important factors in consumers’ decisions on where to bank. These amenities include conveniences such as bill pay, electronic statements and increased autonomy over money transfers.
- Millennials have become the foremost mobile bankers — These so-called “digital natives,” who’ve grown up using technology, set real-time mobile access to personal financial information as a baseline expectation. Forty-seven percent of this demographic use mobile banking, while 8 percent conduct branch banking transactions.
- Generation X is catching up — New data from TheFinancialBrand.comindicates young Gen X consumers (between 30 and 39 years old) are even more interested in mobile banking than Millennials. The survey found young Gen X consumers were 16 percent more likely than Millennials to have made a mobile bill payment in the previous 90 days. Additionally, Gen X respondents were slightly more likely to name mobile banking as a “must have” with their new checking accounts.
