Britons are using smartphone and tablet as the primary method to manage their banking transactions, resulting in mobile banking overtaking branches and the internet as the most popular way to bank.
New research from CACI for the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) shows that customers will use mobile devices to check their current accounts 895 million times in 2015, more than the 427 million branch interactions.
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The findings were published alongside a joint report by the BBA and EY, The Way We Bank Now, which found that UK customers had downloaded banking apps 22.9 million times by the end of March 2015. The figure represents an increase of 8.2 million in one year.
The report also forecasts customers will move £2.9bn a week using banking apps in 2015, up from £2bn a year ago.
Also, the use of bank branches dipped by 6% in 2014 as customers channelled more transactions over phone networks and the internet. Some banks have said branch transactions were falling by 10 percent or more, the study found.
EY head of digital for financial services David Ebstein commented: "The British public is voting with its thumbs. Being mobile-enabled is a must, not a maybe, and banks that don’t engage properly with mobile channels risk losing relevance in customer’s lives."
The study carried out by CACI predicts that by 2020 customers will use their mobile to manage their current account 2.3 billion times – more than internet, branch and telephone banking put together.
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By GlobalDataBBA chief executive Anthony Browne said, "Technology is changing our lives and banking is no different – it is now easier than ever for us to check our balances, pay our friends and manage our money.
"The rapid take up of apps and mobile banking appears to be a real game changer for the British public."
"It is vital that the government invests more in 4G and high-speed broadband to ensure that as many people as possible can be included in the revolution that is sweeping through banking," Browne added.
Meanwhile, Contactless payments experienced a surge as well, with total spending growing to £2.3bn in 2014, up more than 252.2% from £653m the year ago.
