Online/Mobile Banking Adoption Trends & Demographic Profiles

51% of US adults bank online, while 32% transact bank business on their mobile phones. Here's a breakdown profiling users so you can target consumers with the right digital channels.

61% of all internet users in the U.S. bank online. 35% of cell phone owners bank using their mobile phones. And both types of digital banking are on the rise, according to research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

In 2010, only 46% of U.S. adults (58% of internet users) said they banked online. By 2011, 18% of cell phone owners said they had used their phone to check their balance or conduct some other similar business with their bank.

online_banking_penetration

The Demographics of Online Banking Users

Susannah Fox, Associate Director for the Pew Internet Project and author of the research, says young adults (ages 18-29) and whites represent the two groups seeing the most significant increases in uptake of traditional desktop-based online banking.

% Who Use Desktop-Based
Online Banking
All internet users 61%
Men 63%
Women 58%
Race/Ethnicity
White 63%
Black 48%
Hispanic 62%
Age
18-29 67%
30-49 65%
50-64 55%
65+ 47%
Education
No high school diploma 30%
High school grad 47%
Some college 66%
College+ 75%
Household Income
Less than $30,000 per year 48%
$30,000 to $49,999 57%
$50,000 to $74,999 71%
$75,000+ 75%
Urbanity
Urban 62%
Suburban 66%
Rural 42%

Mobile Banking Users: Who Are They?

Younger adults are also leading the mobile banking trend. However, in contrast with online banking trends, non-white cell phone owners are more likely than whites to engage in mobile banking.

mobile_banking_penetration

% Who Bank On
Their Mobile Phone
All mobile phone owners
35%
Men 35%
Women 35%
Race/Ethnicity
White 32%
Black 39%
Hispanic 41%
Age
18-29 54%
30-49 40%
50-64 25%
65+ 14%
Education
High school or less 27%
Some college 41%
College+ 41%
Household Income
Less than $30,000 per year 31%
$30,000 to $49,999 32%
$50,000 to $74,999 45%
$75,000+ 44%

These findings dovetail with surveys conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for the American Bankers Association (ABA). In 2012, 39% of U.S. adults said they prefer to bank online (up from 36% in 2010) and 6% said they prefer to bank on a mobile device (up from 3% in 2010). Adults between the ages of 18-34 years old are driving the growth in both online and mobile banking, according to the ABA.

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