WASHINGTON — Consumers are conducting their banking via mobile apps more often than any other method, according to a new survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association.
The national survey found bank customers preferred mobile apps both prior to and following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to COVID-19, 33% of bank customers used apps on phones or other mobile devices as their top option for managing their bank account, while 24% used online banking via laptop or PC the most and 21% (one in five customers) most frequently conducted their transactions in person at a bank branch. During the pandemic, the frequency of digital channel use increased even further (44% mobile app, 26% online) while branch banking fell to 10%, the study shows.
“Digital banking was on the rise long before COVID-19, but the growth in mobile app use accelerated as the pandemic made in-person banking more challenging,” said Rob Morgan, ABA’s senior vice president of innovation strategy. “Today’s banking apps are extremely sophisticated, and this survey shows that many consumers who try them quickly make mobile their banking method of choice.”
A breakdown of age demographics shows different preferences among different generations. More than half of Generation Z, Millennials and Generation X now use mobile banking apps most often, and a plurality of all three groups also used that method the most immediately prior to the pandemic. Meanwhile, the survey found that Baby Boomers most often utilize online banking (34% pre-pandemic, 38% amid pandemic).
Decline in Branch Visits
Visiting a bank branch was the second most-used method for Baby Boomers prior to the pandemic (28%), but fell to the third spot (17%) below mobile apps (29%) following the arrival of COVID-19. Branch visits have fallen by at least eight percentage points among all generations during the pandemic, according to the survey.