Apr 26, 2018
Mobile banking use is growing fast, and as mobile banking customers use it more frequently, they are able to move on more quickly to other life activities. That's a finding from Citi's 2018 Mobile Banking Study released today, and it's an insight shared by Alice Milligan -- chief digital client experience officer in the U.S. consumer bank group at Citi -- in a bonus episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast.
Citi saw 25 percent growth in its mobile app use from 2017 to 2018, Milligan says. The broader survey shows that nearly half of all customers increased their mobile banking use in the past year. Customers are also using mobile banking everywhere -- 75 percent use it on the couch, 47 percent bank in bed and (for millennials) 19 percent have checked a mobile banking app while on a date.
But Milligan notes that mobile banking apps are designed to get customers in and out of the app quickly -- in "snippet" activities like checking a balance or paying a bill, she says. "You know what your finances are and you can get on with your life." As mobile banking continues to mature and grow, Citi has been investing in features that help people understand what they're buying and where they're spending, she says. "That's been a big win for customers and you can do that pretty quickly and easily in bite-size chunks in the mobile app."
And with that convenience comes higher levels of customer confidence. Mobile bankers are 10 percentage points more likely than non-users are confident they know their balance, Milligan says. "The easier we can make banking for you, so you don't have to think about it, so you can get on with your life, so that you feel confident and comfortable... That's really what's important and what technology is enabling us to do."