CHARLOTTE, N.C.–The significant shift by financial services consumers away from branches in favor of e-services as a result of the coronavirus pandemic has brought with it a new set of worries for consumers, according to a new survey.
The same survey found one-half of consumers saying they would be happy to never visit a financial institution branch again.
The survey, conducted by DepositAccounts, a unit of LendingTree, found that over the last 30 days, 91% of Americans banked virtually, completing at least one banking activity online or on a mobile app. These activities ranged from checking account balances and depositing checks to sending money to peers, according to Deposit Accounts.
While Baby Boomers (81%) and members of the Silent Generation (86%) have adapted to remote banking, perhaps unsurprisingly, they’ve done so to a lesser extent than younger generations, DepositAccounts said in its analysis.
Among the findings:
App Usage
- Just over four in 10 consumers said they’re using their bank’s mobile app more often than they did prior to the pandemic.
- Across generations, this change was most noticeable in Gen X, with 57% now using their bank’s mobile app more often.
- Americans with higher household incomes use a mobile app to do their banking more often than those who earn less.
Branch Visits
- More than half — 52% — of consumers are visiting physical banks less often amid the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, 36% have made no change to the frequency of their physical bank visits during the pandemic, and about 7% are visiting their bank branches much more often.
- The Silent Generation and Millennials had higher rates of respondents visiting physical branches much less often, as did Baby Boomers.
- 49% said they would be happy never going to a physical bank branch ever again, while just under 10% strongly disagreed with that sentiment. Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation were more likely to disagree.
Remote Banking & Security
· When asked how often they use their bank’s mobile app, 37% of respondents said more than once per week, which was the most common response. An additional 20% said they log in once during the week.
· 61% of consumers have auto-saved their password on their FI’s website or mobile app, a feature that makes it easier and faster to get to accounts. Younger bankers are more likely to store their login information than older bankers, with 80% of Gen Z saving their banking passwords compared with just 30% of Baby Boomers, the survey found.
· On average, Americans have about three finance-related mobile apps on their smartphones. Millennials have the most financial apps, with just under four (3.9) apps on average. Men are also heavy financial app users, averaging 3.6 finance-related mobile apps.
· While many respondents are satisfied with their bank’s mobile app, other consumers want additional features. Most commonly, respondents would like to be able to pay for goods or services using their bank’s app, with 19% putting that on their wish list, Deposit Account said it found.
· Online banking raises security concerns for some consumers. With the spike in remote banking, 38% of consumers are concerned about data security. Specifically, 18% are worried about their bank accessing their browsing data, and 13% fear making a tech mistake while banking either through a mobile app or website.
The full survey results can be found here.