By Pete Rizzo, Editor (@pete_rizzo_)
Pew Research Center released a new report on August 7 revealing that 51 percent of U.S. adults and 61 percent of Internet users now bank online.
The number of online banking users has lingered near the 50 percent mark since 2010, when 46 percent of U.S. adults, or 58 percent of all Internet users, reported that they banked using a computer.
As these numbers suggest, online banking adoption has slowed in recent years. Mobile banking use, in contrast, has doubled since 2011. Just 18 percent of cellphone owners reported that they used mobile banking in 2011, a figure that jumped to 35 percent in the latest study.
Young adults and whites accounted for the biggest increases in online banking use, and Pew suggested that these demographics were an important factor driving online banking use past 50 percent. Young adults and non-whites, however, were found to be more likely to engage in mobile banking.
How do online and mobile banking users compare in key areas such as education and household income? We break down the figures in this PYMNTS.com Data Point.
Household Income
Online banking use was common among respondents of all income levels, though higher-income Internet users were more likely to bank online. Forty-eight percent of American Internet users earning less than $30,000 annually banked online, compared to the 75 percent of these individuals earning more than $75,000 a year who reported using the service.
Mobile banking was more common among affluent cell phone owners. Forty-five percent of these Americans earned between $50,000 and $74,999 annually and 44 percent of these individuals whose salaries exceeded $75,000 told Pew that they use mobile banking.
Education
Educated Americans were more likely than their counterparts to use both online and mobile banking. Just 30 percent of Internet users with no high school diploma used online banking, compared to the 75 percent of college graduates who said they use the service.
This gap was smaller for cell phone owners. Forty-one percent of college-educated cell phone owners said they use mobile banking, compared to 27 percent of high school graduates and non-graduates.
Demographics
White, non-Hispanic Internet users were the most likely to bank online, with 63 percent reporting using this service. Hispanic and black non-Hispanic Internet users placed second and third at 62 percent and 48 percent, respectively.
Forty-one percent of non-white, Hispanic cell phone users indicated they now use mobile banking. White cell phone users were the least likely to bank via their cellphones, as just 32 percent reported engaging in this activity.
Recent data from Nielsen suggests that banks may want to note this trend and improve their mobile banking services accordingly, as Latinas are projected to become the main drivers of the economy. In addition to the demographic shift that could drive this change, Ath Power Consulting has indicated the strategy could prove lucrative, as consumers have demonstrated a willingness to pay for mobile.
For more insights, including how mobile and online banking use differs by factors such as age and urbanity, read the full report here.
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