Report: Integrating Payments with Mobile Banking Apps Popular Among Some Consumers

Two thirds of mobile-banking savvy consumers favor a single mobile app for banking and payments over cash and physical cards, new data from Entersekt, a South African-based FinTech, has found. Sixty-eight percent of regular banking app users would “like to do all banking and payments via one single mobile app,” the report found. Similarly, 67 percent said they would be less likely to use cash or physical cards if such an app were available.

Mobile banking apps are a popular service that consumers utilize, the report found. Close to 60 percent of mobile device owners report using banking apps at least once a week, and 20 percent reported using them daily. Mobile payments varied in popularity and usage, according to the report. A third of mobile device users reported using a mobile payment on a weekly basis, and 71 percent of mobile device owners said they have used them. According to the report, the popularity of an all-in-one combination app is stronger among younger adults who regularly used banking apps: just over three-quarters (76%) want one, compared to only 50% of those aged 55 and over.

“Banking apps are the perfect launchpad for new payment capabilities,” said Gerhard Oosthuizen, chief technology officer at Entersekt, according to a press release. “Demand for specialized payment apps isn’t going away, especially for retail brands with superior loyalty programs, better-directed promotions, and on-the-go experiences like low-friction peer-to-peer payments, self-checkout, and in-app ordering. Still, most people use very few of those apps regularly, while banking apps are a leading category, both in downloads and active users.”

According to the press release on the report, the poll was conducted via online panel by The Harris Poll in late January 2019. The panel surveyed 2,076 US adults over the age of 18, of which 1,928 are mobile device owners. Click here to read more.