Page 27 - Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2014

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Use of Mobile Phones in

Financial Decisionmaking

As the use of mobile banking increases, mobile Among those tracking their finances on their mobile
phones are increasingly becoming tools for managing phones, 43 percent use a service provided by their
personal finances and tracking spending. For bank, 34 percent use the web browser to access a
example, 69 percent of mobile banking users report website, 31 percent use a mobile application for
using their mobile phone to check account balances expense tracking, 15 percent take notes in a notepad
or available credit before making a large purchase in or word processor, and 7 percent use a spreadsheet.
the past 12 months. Of those who checked their bal-
ance or available credit, 50 percent report that they Because many consumers have near-constant access
decided not to buy an item because of the amount of to their mobile phones, these devices have the poten-
money in their bank account or the amount of avail- tial to provide “just-in-time information” that can
able credit. influence consumer financial behavior and help them
to make different, and perhaps smarter, financial
Some smartphone users actively manage their decisions. The actions consumers take in response to
finances on their mobile phones: 24 percent report the receipt of text message or e-mail notices from
using their phone to track purchases and expenses. their financial institutions demonstrate some of the

Figure 8. What kind of text alerts do you receive?

Low-balance alerts 52%
Statement available notication 49%
Payment due alerts 42%
Deposit or withdrawal alert 41%
Fraud alerts 38%
Credit card balance alerts 25%
Saving reminders 8%
Refused to answer 5%
Other 4%

Figure 9. Thinking of the most recent low-balance alert you received, which of the following actions did you take
after receiving the alert?

Transferred money into the account 47%
Reduced my spending 37%
Deposited money into the account 32%
None of the above 19%
Refused to answer 0%