BofA Report Explores Consumer Attitudes toward Smartphones, Mobile Banking (July 1, 2014)
The notion that millennials wouldn’t be caught dead in a bank branch might have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, 83 percent of millennials ages 18-34 reported visiting a bank branch in the past six months, almost the same as respondents 35 and older (85 percent), according to findings in the Bank of America Trends in Consumer Mobility Report. The study explores broad mobile trends and banking behaviors among adult consumers who own a smartphone and have any existing banking relationship.
But, millennials, along with most U.S. consumers, are glued to their smartphones, with 91 percent of all respondents reporting their mobile phones being just as important to them as their cars … and deodorant. “Mobile phones have changed the way we live our daily lives, and that extends to our finances,” said Marc Warshawsky, senior vice president and mobile solutions executive at Bank of America.
More than 60 percent of consumers have at least tried mobile banking—the most common activities: monitoring account balances and statements, transferring funds and paying bills. Increasingly, consumers are using mobile banking apps for more sophisticated transactions, including mobile check deposit. Nearly 60 percent of consumers surveyed have used mobile check deposit, and 38 percent use it frequently, according to the report. Banks have an opportunity to increase usage of mobile check deposit. More than one-third of consumers who do not use mobile check deposit are unaware of the service or are unsure how to do it. “Mobile check deposit has been one of the fastest-growing digital services we offer,” said Warshawsky.
