Digital banking channels are widely used with mobile approaching online in popularity, according to a poll of more than 3,000 consumers commissioned by Fiserv.
“The vast majority of consumers (90 percent) have accessed online banking, and active users (those who have used the service in the past month) report logging on to their financial institution’s site an average of nine times per month,” Fiserv said.. “Slightly fewer consumers (70 percent) have accessed mobile banking, but those who do log on more frequently – an average of 11 times per month.”
Banking bill pay hasn’t done as well. Only 44 percent of online users and 36 percent of mobile pay bills through their bank’s site. The most often used feature is checking bank balances, 79 percent of online users and 80 percent for mobile. Thirty percent of mobile users have used remote deposit capture to deposit a check.
The survey showed that consumers are growing more comfortable with the idea of using technology companies for financial services — 55 percent of people would be comfortable using a technology company such as Apple or Google to pay bills, compared to 40 percent of consumers who said the same in 2017.
This might be a useful wakeup call for banks that had enjoyed seeing surveys which showed that when consumers were asked whom they trusted, banks came out at the top and tech companies appeared to register as an afterthought.
That didn’t surprise Jaime Dominguez, director, strategy, retail banking and channels at Fiserv.
“Google, Apple and Amazon are customer-obsessed and do everything they can with technology to make our lives easier,” he said. Banks can benefit by looking at how those companies make themselves part of an individual’s life, more than just using tech but making it part of a person’s life.
“We do banking better than they do. Our job to take that technology and let our customers interact with our financial industry is a more robust manner.”
The best digital companies are setting high expectations among consumers, he added. The survey showed that consumers are interacting with their banks through digital channels, even if it is mostly to check on account balances.
“Every time you log on with your mobile phone, even to check your balance,, you are interacting. It is what the bank does that makes a difference and will affect how customers perceive the journey.”
Millennials, who are the strongest users of mobile — 92% vs. 62% for older consumers — are reaching a point in their lives where they will look for more interaction with banks as they prepare to buy homes and eventually start saving for education.
Banks are just getting started on using data for marketing and analytics, he said. Five or six years ago if he started talking about marketing analytics, bankers would look at him and say ok, that’s nice. Then two or three years ago it began to get more attention.
“Five years ago, marketing wasn’t seen as a future career in banking. Now financial institutions are taking data and focusing on product, but they starting to realize there is more they can do with this. Companies like Fiserv can assist by turning from a product perspective to a meaningful relationship.”
First, there’s the basic issue of knowing what customers are doing. Dominguez said his sister has been with a large bank for years but had never used online bill pay.
“I told her she could do it online. It’s insane that no one had ever reached out to show her how to do it with technology.” When he talked to her recently she thanks him for saving her so much time.
The survey showed that bank branches continue to play an important role — 52 percent of consumers reporting they visited a brick-and-mortar location within the past month and 80 percent in the past six months.
