Can Traditional Financial Institutions Close the Mobile Gap?
By Nicole Volpe, Contributor at The Financial Brand
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Need to Know
- Mobile is now the heartbeat of financial relationships. Over half of consumers check their banking app daily, and 91% say a good mobile experience is important to their relationship with their institution.
- Consumers still trust humans over algorithms for financial advice. Only 3% prefer AI tools for guidance, while 43% trust financial professionals most. It’s a sign banks and credit unions should arm advisors with better data, not replace them.
- Data sharing willingness is rising, but transparency is the price of admission. 59% will share financial data if they trust it’s protected, and 66% expect deeper personalization, yet over a third say providers still aren’t using their data effectively.
After enduring two decades of criticism for lagging digital acumen—while mobile-first fintechs ate away at every aspect of their businesses, traditional financial institutions today find themselves on stronger footing than ever before. New consumer research from MX suggests account holders are increasingly satisfied with what their banks and credit unions offer — and are hungrier for deeper relationships with them.
MX’s latest research offers a deep dive on how consumers use mobile tools, how they think about trust, and where they see their institutions delivering the most value.
The results validate some long-standing assumptions about mobile — particularly its dominant presence in consumers’ lives — but also reveal unexpected insights that can help financial institutions chart their next steps. Here are five key findings for banks and credit unions looking to build on their mobile successes.
Want more insights like these? Check out MX’s content hub: Data in Action
1. Mobile is Now the Center of the Financial Relationship
If you had any residual doubts about the significance of the mobile channel in the lives of your account holders, you can lay them to rest. MX’s research shows that mobile, more than ever, is the primary arena in which consumers manage their financial lives.
More than half (52%) of consumers check their most-used banking or finance app every day, and nearly one in four check multiple times a day. This persistent usage makes mobile both the heartbeat and the workhorse of the account holder relationship: the place where balances are checked, as well as where transactions are initiated and financial decisions are made.
“Mobile is no longer just another channel — it’s the core of the consumer relationship and a strategic growth engine for financial institutions,” says Crystal Anderson, Chief of Staff, Head of Product at MX. “Mobile is where people check balances, move money, and make decisions about their financial health. The data makes it clear: when consumers feel empowered by intuitive, personalized mobile experiences, they engage more deeply and make stronger financial decisions. That’s the outcome we’re all working toward.”
Moreover, consumers increasingly see mobile as a defining channel of their provider relationship: 91% say a good mobile experience is important to their banking relationship and 54% say they can’t live without their favorite app.
Mobile’s dominance raises the stakes for banks and credit unions. When mobile falls short, engagement and deposits head in the same direction. Sixty-seven percent of consumers would not choose a financial provider with a bad mobile experience, and 58% say they would switch institutions entirely if the experience deteriorates.
Critically, consumers also expect protection and control. Sixty-eight percent of them view fraud alerts as a necessary feature of the mobile experience. Card controls are a requirement for 61%, including the ability to turn cards on and off and set transaction alerts. And 59% consider mobile check deposits non-negotiable functionality.
2. Your Mobile Experience May Be Better Than You Think
Even as expectations rise, consumers’ overall satisfaction with the mobile apps they use has been improving. The MX survey reveals that 84% of consumers are satisfied with the mobile experience they receive from the banking or finance app they use most often — a sharp increase from 71% earlier this year. This suggests banks and credit unions may finally be closing some long-standing gaps with fintech competitors.
High-frequency use and rising satisfaction together indicate a critical dynamic: consumers are rewarding institutions that deliver consistent, reliable, well-designed mobile tools. Features that were once differentiators — in-app account opening, mobile deposits, personalization — are now widely expected and increasingly well executed.
But none of this should lead to complacency. Because consumer expectations have been set so high, mobile’s ability not just to outperform but to deliver value has become a dealbreaker demand.
More than half of consumers (57%) say they would find a new provider if desired features were missing. Forty-seven percent feel financial institutions still fall short when it comes to informing them about better rates and available products — market feedback that signals a tremendous opportunity for banks to evolve and expand their cross-sell efforts. And, 39% say providers don’t do enough to simplify money management.
“Banks and credit unions have made meaningful strides, but they must continue closing gaps in personalization and financial guidance to keep pace with demand and capture the full opportunity of digital channels to sell more and establish primacy with customers,” says Anderson.
3. Consumers Trust Financial Professionals Much More Than Influencers and Bots
Speaking of guidance, despite a high degree of focus on the role of “influencers” and AI-generated advice across the industry, MX research shows that consumers overwhelmingly prefer professionals as a source of financial advice. Forty-three percent say they trust a financial professional most — by far the highest of any category. The only group that comes close is parents at 31%. Only 3% of respondents prefer AI tools, while influencers and celebrities are each preferred by just 1%.
To be sure, influencers will still influence and Gen AI will gain function over time. But the pro-human counter-narrative underscores a key opportunity: when it comes to financial decisions, people choose authority and expertise over algorithms and crowd-sourcing.
Even among younger generations, trust in professional guidance remains strong, suggesting that institutions have a key advantage: they can leverage their deep bench of experts as a meaningful differentiator within relationships that are nonetheless anchored in digital channels.
For banks and credit unions, this reinforces the importance of how advice is surfaced in mobile and online experiences. Digital delivery is essential, but the perception of human-in-the-loop expertise drives trust. The future strategy likely won’t be replacing advisors with automation, but arming them with data-rich tools that help them guide consumers during key financial moments.
4. Consumers Increasingly Have No Problem Sharing Personal Data with You
Consumer anxiety about cybersecurity is real: nearly half have experienced a hack or scam and almost 10% have lost money as a result, according to a 2024 study led by Consumer Reports. But these fears and experiences are not preventing data sharing with financial institutions.
In MX’s study, 59% of consumers say they will freely share financial data as long as they trust it is securely protected. That’s a 10-point jump from late 2024. Additionally, 53% told MX they would give their institution access to even more data if it delivered better experiences, stronger insights, or more relevant guidance. (A 2025 study by the American Bankers Association and Morning Consult backs this up, reporting that U.S. adults “overwhelmingly trust” banks for fraud protection, placing them above other industries, including health care.)
Personalization is the biggest driver of this willingness. Two-thirds of consumers (66%) now expect greater levels of personalization, up from 46% just a year earlier. Younger consumers are especially open: 61% of Gen Z and 63% of Millennials would share more data for better experiences. Yet more than one in three consumers say financial providers still aren’t using their data effectively to support their financial needs, signaling a gap between access and action.
So, amid all of this good news, there’s a warning: transparency and control are critical. Older generations — 52% of Gen X and 57% of Baby Boomers — specifically feel that institutions don’t do enough to explain how and where their data is being shared. And 43% of consumers would stop using a provider that blocked them from sharing their data with trusted third parties.
The mandate for institutions is twofold: “Financial providers need to earn trust through security and clarity, then justify that trust by delivering personalized, meaningful value with the data consumers provide,” notes Anderson.
5. Life Events Drive Engagement (and Even Boomers Need Help with First-Home Purchases)
Consumers increasingly expect financial institutions to support them through life stages and the milestone events that define them. The MX survey shows that retirement (70%), buying a first home (67%), and moving to a new city (53%) are the top moments where consumers want proactive help. These patterns hold across every generation — with “buying a first home” and “moving to a new city” ranking as top needs even for Baby Boomers.
This reflects broader demographic and economic shifts. The National Association of Realtors recently reported that the median age of first-time homebuyers has risen to 40, driven by constrained affordability, high mortgage rates, and limited inventory. The “first home purchase” milestone now spans older Millennials, Gen X, and even parts of the Baby Boomer cohort. The assumption that homebuying support is only relevant to young consumers no longer holds.
For banks and credit unions, this means life-stage engagement must be decoupled from age-based targeting. Anderson says, “consumers want institutions to anticipate upcoming milestones, understand their recurring transactions, see their financial patterns, and help them plan ahead.”
Sixty-one percent expect their provider to “know them,” and 57% want their bank or credit union to understand recurring bills and obligations. Institutions that integrate life-event prediction, personalized guidance, and relevant product pathways into their mobile experience strengthen loyalty and deepen relationships that might otherwise remain transactional.
