FORT ATKINSON, Wis.—Despite all of the FI and consumer attention to mobile banking, a new survey shows that the majority of consumers still rely on branches as their primary channel for interacting with their financial institution.
The survey, conducted by RateWatch, also shows that credit union members use mobile more than bank customers.
According to RateWatch's Fourth Annual Mobile Banking Survey, 62% of consumers consider "at the branch" to be their primary banking method, compared to 29% who consider "online" to be their primary banking method, and only 2% who consider "via mobile device" to be their primary banking method.
More than three-quarters of FIs (77%) have less than a quarter of their customers/members using mobile banking.
The report shows that CUs continue to be more aggressive than banks with online banking. Credit unions have more members primarily using online (37.42%) than banks (27.19%). CU members, too, use the service more often than bank customers—68% of credit unions are more likely to have account holders use mobile banking multiple times per week, compared to 57% of banks.
The study shows the migration toward mobile, with the percentage of consumers primarily banking in the branch decreasing by 4.62% (down from 66.85%), while those primarily using online and mobile devices increasing by a total of 5.56% (up from 24.53% and 0.67% respectively) when compared to 2013.
Credit unions have traditionally been more likely to offer mobile banking than banks but the gap has narrowed. Banks offering mobile banking has increased by 17.5%, up from 55.5% in 2013 to 73% in 2014. Credit unions increased to 82% from 70% last year.
Despite the fact that consumers have not yet adopted mobile as their primary method of banking, financial institutions are offering a wide range of services:
- 82% currently offer mobile banking services, compared with 68% in 2013, 49% in 2012 and only 41% in 2011.
- 63% of all institutions with mobile banking services offer the ability to check account balances, transfer funds, receive account alerts and make loan payments. Over half of these institutions (54%) also offer a bill payment option.
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