New numbers out of financial technology company Fiserv Inc. on Monday put metrics around the growing sense that digital channels are gaining prominence in banking.

Key numbers reported by Fiserv in its latest Consumer Trends Survey include these:

- 25% of online households have used mobile banking, and 40% of mobile banking users have paid a bill using their phone
- Online bill payments account for 50% of all bill payments made by U.S. households with Internet access

Central to the report – titled “Financial Services Continue the Digital Shift” – is the perspective that the industry is now on the edge of a substantial transformation where transactions using mobile devices are becoming commonplace.

Said Fiserv in its statement: “Consumers are moving beyond using the mobile channel solely for informational purposes, such as checking balances or locating an ATM, to using it for transactions such as bill payments and money transfers. Forty percent of mobile banking users have paid a bill using their mobile phone as compared to 28% in 2010. Thirty-two percent used their mobile phone to transfer money versus 25% in 2010.”

The survey also documented heightened use by consumers of digital formats in new account creation: “The percentage of deposit, credit and savings accounts opened entirely or partially online increasing significantly from 2010 to 2011.

“In 2011, half of respondents who opened a money market account did so online, up from 16% in 2010, while 42% of respondents who applied for a credit card did so online, up from 31% in 2010. Similar increases were seen across other accounts such as first mortgages and car loans.”

Instant Insights /

Study: Online, Mobile Banking Use Growing

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