Fed Says Mobile Banking Usage On The Rise

Banking on mobile devices is continuing to grow in popularity.

The Federal Reserve released the results of a survey on Wednesday (March 30) that showed 43 percent of adults used their phones for financial activities, a number that has steadily increased.

The number of survey respondents who said they use mobile banking features rose by 4 percentage points over the survey in 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported, showing that interest in capabilities like mobile payments and being able to check an account balance on the go have also increased among adults.

According to WSJ, more than half of mobile banking users surveyed reported that they had received push notifications, text messages or email alerts from their respective financial institutions.

The survey found that, even though the usage of mobile as an important means for consumers to interact with banks has not reached the same adoption as online banking or ATMs, mobile is still seen as more important than interacting with branch tellers.

The upward trend of mobile banking usage was also noted last fall in a survey from the American Bankers Association (ABA), which found that two in five Americans (roughly 39 percent) used a mobile device to access and manage their bank account at least once a month, with 45 percent reporting using mobile banking in general.

“It’s no surprise that mobile banking has become more popular given banks’ increased investment in this technology,” Nessa Feddis, ABA’s senior vice president and deputy chief counsel for consumer protection and payments, said in a news release.

“Smartphones and tablets have become such an essential part of daily life for many Americans. Mobile banking is another way that institutions are making it more convenient for their customers to manage their accounts anytime and anywhere.”