Page 9 - Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2014

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Executive Summary

Mobile phones have increasingly become tools that —The most common use of mobile banking is to
consumers use for banking, payments, budgeting, check account balances or recent transactions
and shopping. Given the rapid pace of developments (93 percent of mobile banking users)
in the area of mobile finance, the Federal Reserve —Transferring money between an individual’s own
Board began conducting annual surveys of consum- accounts is the second-most common use of
ers’ use of mobile financial services in 2011. The sur- mobile banking (57 percent of mobile banking
vey examines trends in adoption and use of mobile users)
banking and payments, and how the emergence of
mobile financial services affects how consumers inter- —38 percent of mobile bankers have deposited a
act with financial institutions. check using their mobile phone in the past
12 months, up from 21 percent in 2012
This report presents findings from the 2013 survey,
which examined consumers’ use of mobile technol- —Of those using mobile banking, the frequency of
ogy to access financial services and make financial use has gone down, from a median of six times
decisions. The findings from the current survey are per month in 2012 to four times per month
also compared with the findings from the 2011 and in 2013
2012 surveys. Topics include consumer access to —Among those who own mobile phones, there is
bank services using mobile phones (“mobile bank- no clear correlation between mobile banking
ing”), consumer payment for goods and services usage and either income or education level
using mobile phones (“mobile payments”), and con-
• Mobile phones are also changing the way consumers
sumer shopping decisions facilitated by use of mobile
make payments
phones. Key findings of the 2013 survey include:
• Mobile phones are in widespread use —17 percent of all mobile phone owners have
made a mobile payment in the past 12 months,
—87 percent of the U.S. adult population has a up from 15 percent in 2012
mobile phone
—The share of smartphone users who have made a
—61 percent of mobile phones are smartphones
mobile payment in the past 12 months has effec-
(Internet-enabled)
tively remained constant at 24 percent
• The ubiquity of mobile phones is changing the way
—The most common mobile payment was bill pay-
consumers access financial services
ment through an online system (66 percent of
—33 percent of all mobile phone owners have used mobile payment users, up from 42 percent in
mobile banking in the past 12 months, up from 2012)
28 percent a year earlier
—17 percent of all smartphone users have made a
—51 percent of smartphone owners have used point-of-sale payment using their mobile phone
mobile banking in the past 12 months, up from in the past 12 months, up from 6 percent in 2012
48 percent a year earlier
—39 percent of people who made point-of-sale
—12 percent of those mobile phone users who are mobile payments did so by scanning a barcode
not currently using mobile banking think that or QR code displayed on their phone’s screen at
they will probably use it within the next the cash register, while 14 percent waved or
12 months tapped their mobile phone at the cash register