Mobile banking transactions set to soar

In the past few years, the percentage of weekly mobile banking users has more than tripled — from 9 percent in 2010 to 30 percent in 2015. In the same time frame, weekly branch visitors fell from 40 percent to 24 percent. The number of weekly mobile bankers (30 percent), in fact, exceeded branch bankers (24 percent) for the first time in 2015.

Recent data from Mercator Advisory Group further illustrates consumers’ preferences for mobile over in-branch banking. In 2015, Mercator found 41 percent of consumers used mobile phones to complete banking activities, an increase from 36 percent in 2014. These activities included checking balances, receiving alerts from FIs, completing peer-to-peer payments, paying bills and depositing checks. The report, “Digital Banking: Smartphones Spark Online and Mobile Growth,” of 3,000 U.S. consumers also found in 2015, 18 percent of consumers preferred using their smartphones for banking, up from 17 percent the year before.

Not surprisingly, Millennials are behind much of this growth. Thirty percent of 18 to 34-year-olds surveyed said they opt to use smartphones for banking transactions, up from 26 percent in 2014.

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