Looking at the Digital Channel

Mobile banking features (Image: Shutterstock).

Less than 1,000 banks and credit unions remain that have not launched a mobile banking app, representing only 14% of the 7,346 total financial institutions nationwide. This is such a small percentage that grows smaller every day and is reflective of how important mobile devices have become to our everyday banking needs. Interestingly, the iPhone holds a sizeable majority in which device consumers actually use to bank remotely, accounting for 65% of overall usage, any way you measure it. Android users, even though they represent such a higher percentage of the overall smart phone market, still lag in mobile banking.

Despite the imbalance in device usage, mobile banking ubiquity has long since been achieved and is now pushing the industry closer and closer to a plateau. Year-over-year growth rates are expected to remain close to the 3% and 4% mark, with slow growth in the future for each financial institution that gains a mobile app. Additionally, every year the number of banks and credit unions shrink due to closings, mergers and acquisitions, causing the number of financial institutions to decrease while the percentage of mobile banking apps increases.