The Ultimate List of Mobile Banking Trends and Statistics (2024)

Mobile banking is by far the preferred way that consumers manage their finances. In fact, the American Bankers Association found that U.S. consumers are conducting their banking via mobile apps more often than any other method for the fourth year in a row. 

And, this trend won’t change in the future. MX’s firsthand consumer research shows an overwhelming preference and demand for a five-star mobile banking experience. Below is a round-up of consumer data and statistics related to mobile banking from MX’s collection of consumer research reports. 

In this post, you’ll find stats related to: 

• Mobile Banking App Usage
• Mobile Banking Impact on Customer Retention
• Generational Attitudes on Mobile Banking
• Mobile Banking, Open Finance, and Account Connectivity
• Mobile Banking and Financial Wellness
• Mobile Banking and Security

Having a good digital and mobile banking experience has become table stakes. Financial institutions and fintechs won’t even be invited into a consumer’s life if they don’t deliver on the digital and mobile experiences consumers have come to expect. 

Mobile Banking App Usage

• 45% of consumers are performing finance-related tasks on a mobile app at least once per day. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 48% of consumers have 3 or more finance-related mobile apps currently downloaded to their mobile phone. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• The finance-related mobile apps that respondents find themselves using most often include Banking (37%) and Payments, such as Venmo, Paypal, etc. (32%). Among Gen Z and Millennials, payment apps top the list. For Gen X and Baby Boomers, banking apps are the most used. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)

• The least used finance-related mobile app was Crypto — 28% of respondents said this was the type of finance-related mobile app used least often. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 68% of all U.S. consumers view or manage their accounts with a mobile app. (Consumer Research on Digital and Mobile Banking, 2022) Mobile usage is higher among younger generations:
• Gen Z: 89% 
• Millennials: 84%
• Gen X: 71%
• Baby Boomers: 39%

• 72% of U.S. consumers say they prefer to manage all their finances online or through a mobile app. Among different age groups, Millennials most prefer online and mobile at 85%, followed by Gen Z at 79%. (Consumer Research on Digital and Mobile Banking, 2022) 
• The most common actions that U.S. consumers perform on a money-related mobile app are  (Consumer Money Matters, 2022): 
• 91% Checked a balance
• 62% Transferred money from one account to another
• 54% Deposited a check
• 46% Transferred money to a friend
• 38% Scheduled a bill payment

Mobile Banking Impact on Customer Retention

• When asked the main reason why they keep their oldest financial account, 8% of U.S. consumers said a good online or mobile experience (How to Keep Consumers From Breaking Up with Banks, 2024) 
• Mobile banking applications top the list when consumers are asked what’s most important in choosing a financial provider. Twenty-three percent of U.S. consumers selected “offers a mobile banking app” as their most important factor when choosing a financial provider.  (How to Keep Consumers From Breaking Up with Banks, 2024) 

• Of the more than half of consumers who have closed a financial account, less than 5% say they did so because they were unhappy with the mobile experience.  (How to Keep Consumers From Breaking Up with Banks, 2024) 
• 63% of U.S. consumers agree they are satisfied with their overall mobile app experience. (What Consumers Want from Financial Providers, 2023)
• When asked if they would seek a new financial provider if their current provider couldn’t deliver on their most wanted features, 54% of U.S. consumers said it was likely they would do so. And, 60% of Gen Z and 63% of Millennials said they would do so. (What Consumers Want from Financial Providers, 2023)
• When asked what they would do if their preferred bank or credit union did not support connecting to their favorite fintech apps, 72% of U.S. consumers said they would seek out a different bank or credit union that could connect. This was even higher for Millennials and Gen X respondents at 75%. (Consumer Research on Digital and Mobile Banking, 2022) 
• Digitally engaged users are 2.7 times more likely to stay with a financial institution (MX Digital and Mobile Banking Use Cases)

Generational Attitudes on Mobile Banking

• 58% of Millennial respondents report performing finance-related tasks on a mobile app at least once a day. At least weekly? This jumps to 85% of Millennials. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 63% of Millennials have 3 or more finance-related mobile apps on their phones. Fifteen percent of Millennials have 6 or more mobile apps related to finance. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 23% of Baby Boomers say they never perform finance-related tasks using a mobile app, compared to 9% of overall respondents. And, one-third say they have no finance-related mobile apps on their phones. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 43% of Gen X are performing finance-related tasks using a mobile app at least once a day, with nearly half (49%) that have 3 or more finance-related mobile apps. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 48% of Gen Z respondents perform finance-related tasks on a mobile app at least once a day, compared to 58% of their Millennial counterparts. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• Most Gen Z respondents (47%) have 1-2 finance-related mobile apps on their phones, while 39% have 3-5 or 6 or more (10%). (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• When it comes to what consumers most want to help them manage financial accounts online or through a mobile app, here are the features that rose to the Top 3 most often (What Consumers Want from Financial Providers, 2023): 
• Gen Z
• 31% Connect outside financial accounts so they can see all financial data in one place
• 25% Integration with digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay
• 22% Order a personalized card
• 20% Instantly issued virtual cards
• 19% Enroll in paperless account statements

• Millennials
• 32% Order a personalized card
• 31% Integration with digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay
• 27% Connect outside financial accounts so they can see all financial data in one place
• 24% Instantly issued virtual cards
• 23% Open new accounts online

• Gen X
• 41% Order a personalized card
• 29% Open new accounts online
• 29% Instantly issued virtual cards
• 25% Integration with digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay
• 25% Connect outside financial accounts so they can see all financial data in one place

• Baby Boomers
• 45% Integration with digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay
• 45% Instantly issued virtual cards
• 36% Connect outside financial accounts so they can see all financial data in one place
• 32% Order a personalized card
• 25% Open new accounts online

Mobile Banking, Open Finance, and Account Connectivity

• 29% of consumers have connected multiple financial accounts into one app to simplify how they manage their finances. This jumps to 37% among Gen Z and 46% of Millennials. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 30% of U.S. consumers rated the ability to see and control who has access to their financial data as critical for digital or mobile banking capabilities. (What Consumers Want from Financial Providers, 2023)

• One in 4 consumers say they have experienced technical issues when connecting external financial accounts to their financial apps or online financial accounts. (Consumer Research on Digital and Mobile Banking, 2022) 
• 73% of U.S. consumers say they have connected money-related apps to their financial accounts, with Gen Z (78%) and Millennials (84%) being most likely to have done this. (Consumer Money Matters, 2022)
  
• 8% of U.S. consumers said no when asked if connecting an app to a financial account went smoothly the first time they attempted it. For Gen Z, this jumps slightly to 12%.  (Consumer Money Matters, 2022)
• 27% of U.S. consumers said that they have had to reconnect an account because the connection broke.  (Consumer Money Matters, 2022)
• 45% of U.S. consumers who have been disconnected also say that their connected financial accounts and money-related apps regularly get disconnected. (Consumer Money Matters, 2022)

Mobile Banking and Financial Wellness

• When asked if they believe their finance-related mobile apps support their top financial goal, nearly half (45%) said yes. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 45% of respondents answered yes when asked if they feel their experience with finance-related mobile apps was personalized for them. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)

Mobile Banking and Security 

• 39% of consumers agree that they use the same username and password on multiple apps so that it’s easier to remember.  (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 51% of consumers say they use biometric login options if it is an option. Both of these findings show consumers don’t want to have to remember multiple usernames or passwords to access their accounts. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023)
• 60% of consumers agree they prefer multi-factor authentication when accessing finances through a mobile app. (What is Financial Wellness?, 2023) Interestingly, this percentage shrinks with older generations:
• 64% of Gen Z
• 68% of Millennials
• 60% Gen X
• 48% of Baby Boomers

• 36% of U.S. consumers rated the ability to manage balance or fraud alerts as critical for digital or mobile banking capabilities. (What Consumers Want from Financial Providers, 2023)

• 36% of U.S. consumers rated the ability to turn a card on/off or report it as lost as critical for digital or mobile banking capabilities. (What Consumers Want from Financial Providers, 2023)

• 62% of U.S. consumers would contact the digital service provider instead of their bank or credit union if an issue occurred. (Consumer Research on Digital and Mobile Banking, 2022)