Survey: Retail mobile banking nearing universal adoption, mobile payment offerings accelerate Survey: Retail mobile banking nearing universal adoption, mobile payment offerings accelerate

January 5, 2018

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s payment strategies team provides insights into mobile banking payment practices and plans of financial institutions. The 2016 Mobile Banking and Payment Practices of U.S. Financial Institutions report presents consolidated survey results from 706 financial institutions in the Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Richmond Federal Reserve Districts, and provides historical comparisons to the 2014 MFS survey report where relevant.

Key findings from the report reveal increased consumer adoption of mobile banking and mobile payments, and changes planned for financial institutions in the years ahead.

The survey results confirm that mobile banking comprises a standard and growing set of services for consumers, offered by 89 percent of FI respondents. Of those financial institutions tracking customer adoption, 54 percent now have more than 20 percent of their retail customers enrolled in mobile banking; and 44 percent have more than 20 percent actively using these services.

According to the survey, implementation of mobile payment services is accelerating as financial institutions respond to competitive pressure and the industry momentum for mobile payments: in addition to the 24 percent already offering mobile payments, 40 percent plan to do so within two years. Additionally, more than two-thirds of respondents partner or plan to partner with third-party processors and more than half are considering a partnership with a near-field communication (NFC) wallet provider.

Survey participants represent 8.7 percent of all banks and 3.1 percent of all credit unions nationally.

To learn more, read the full report here.