Bank Customers Favor Mobile Over Online

May 10, 2021

By: Kate Drew

The shift to digital channels during the pandemic is old news — there couldn’t possibly be more data out there stressing this trend. But which digital channels specifically are getting the most love from consumers? It appears that, as bank customers flocked to digital in the last year, many leapfrogged the online experience entirely, instead heading straight for their bank’s mobile app. In fact, according to a recent BCG survey, mobile banking usage globally spiked 30% as a result of the pandemic, while online banking usage rose a more modest 23%. Moreover, mobile banking is expected to see an additional 19% increase in usage, versus 16% for online, once Covid-19 is behind us.

This data mirrors a similar trend we’ve seen in Asia, where consumers were bypassing desktop internet in favor of affordable mobile devices long before the pandemic. It’s an important phenomenon because it tells banks where they should be spending most of their time today — making sure their mobile app is up to snuff. But, it also offers a window into how to prepare for the future. There are plenty of new interfaces that will come after mobile — think tablets, smartwatches etc. — that will capture customers’ attention. Banks today should be looking toward this inevitability and making sure to deliver through seamless, omnichannel experiences.

Omnichannel refers to providing the exact same experience across all devices. It’s not uncommon for banks that started out with online banking to deploy a mobile app with slightly different features. Unfortunately, that can lead to a fragmented experience that doesn’t always favor the mobile side. Omnichannel solutions, however, provide a single user experience that pulls through across all devices a customer may use. This ensures that not only are your customers getting all the same features on mobile and desktop, but also futureproofs your UX for other interfaces that may become more popular. It could be tempting to hear digital and think online banking, but that would be a mistake. Mobile is the new frontier, and there will be many more that come after it. Figuring out how to serve customers across all of these channels will be key.

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