Online Banking, Bill-Pay, and P2P: Mobile Access Spurs Growth

The Insight Report from Mercator Advisory Group’s CustomerMonitor Survey Series in its Primary Data Service reveals that more U.S. adults than in previous years are using online banking, but fewer are using their computers to do so. The survey findings are based on responses from a sample of 3,000 U.S. adults with banking relationships collected in the company’s CustomerMonitor Survey Series annual online Banking and Channels survey, conducted in November 2014.

The report, titled Online Banking, Bill-Pay, and P2P: Mobile Access Spurs Growth, reveals that 86% of U.S. adults manage their accounts electronically and 79% make banking transactions electronically, up slightly from 2013 figures. More consumers today check balances and account activities and receive alerts from their financial institutions to help manage their accounts more effectively, but fewer are using their computers to do so. Instead, more opt to do these activities on their mobile devices. Similarly, more consumers are paying bills, depositing checks, and transferring funds to another person’s account electronically, but fewer are doing so by computer. The greater accessibility of mobile devices for managing their accounts and making bank transactions is encouraging more consumers to take advantage of this, particularly the young adults.

Consumers are beginning to rely more heavily on online banking as their digital “branch” or banking source for managing their accounts and for customer service according to the survey. That digital channel, while now primarily computer-based, is shifting toward mobile devices, as more consumers prefer to make bank transactions using their smartphones (17% in 2014, up from 13% in 2013) and fewer prefer to transact on their desktop or laptop computers (74% in 2014, down from 78% in 2013). Young adults appear to be driving much of the shift to mobile, the millennials (aged 18–34) being even more likely than average to prefer to use smartphones (26%) and tablets (12%) and less likely than average to prefer computers (63%) to make bank transactions.

The report Online Banking, Bill-Pay, and P2P: Mobile Access Spurs Growth highlights trends in use of online banking by computer and mobile platforms, communication methods with financial institutions, use of personal financial management (PFM) tools, alerts, online bill-payment methods and electronic billing, person-to-person (P2P) money transfers and demographics of recent account openers. The study evaluates the account opening process online, U.S. consumers’ preferences of platform for making bank transactions, their use of P2P money transfers, and their willingness to pay for expedited services.

“Consumers are increasingly taking advantage of the convenience of performing banking activities by mobile phone as more consumers perform electronic banking activities, especially on mobile devices,” states Karen Augustine, author of the report and manager of Primary Data Services at Mercator Advisory Group, which includes the CustomerMonitor Survey Series.

The report is 53 pages long and contains 26 exhibits.

Members of Mercator Advisory Group CustomerMonitor Survey Series Service have access to this report as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access and other membership benefits.