More customers trust banking at the branch over mobile devices, a recent study finds — but we’re adding an asterisk to that conclusion.
According to BT Global Research, its latest survey indicates that US banks must work harder to increase consumer confidence in mobile banking if they want to discourage costly trips to the branch.
But wait, does it?
In the study, 1,000 adults in the US were asked which three banking technologies they trusted most. According to the results, fusty old ATM came out on top with 58% of respondents calling it trustworthy. Self-service branch banking followed at 52%. Online banking came in at 51%, while call center banking rated only 24%.
Mobile banking was considered trustworthy by only 13% of respondents. In-branch wifi did worst of all, with garnering only 5% trust.
“This finding validates our intuition,” said Mark Akass, CTO of BT Global banking and financial markets. “Trust in mobile for younger customers is likely a result of increased comfort with the technology.”
But the study neglected to ask a simple question: “Do you use mobile banking?” By not asking this question, it impossible to know how many of those 1,000 respondents are actually users of mobile banking, or any of the technologies in question.
Bank Innovation asked for clarification on this point. BT’s spokeswoman wrote us, “To this question, you’re right – it’s 1,000 overall and not all of them necessarily use [mobile] banking. So, the 13% is most likely influenced by those who have tried it.”
Nevertheless, BT is sticking to its published conclusions, which were referenced by Bank Systems & Technology and other banking industry media outlets.
“The branch is still a popular asset; people still want 24/7 access,” Akass said.
We suppose that is true. Although we aren’t certain.
Thanks for asking the follow up question — I’d wondered whether the survey had a good sample of people who actullay used mobile banking. If the vast majority of the respondents don’t use mobile…well of course they don’t trust it.
While I know plenty of bably boomers who like/want mobile banking, the big adoption of mobile will come from people who are young adults. Even us mid-aged folks have realized it is easier to check email via smart phone than it is to fire up a laptop.
Mobile banking can ADD a layer of security to the transaction. Thanks again for going a layer deep on the study findings.
Scott Mills
William Mills Agency
Thanks, Scott. It would be interesting to see this survey repeated every year or so and watch the numbers shift (or not) over time.
I would disagree with Philip concerning an “asterisk” on the study conclusions. Mobile banking technology is still emerging. The vast majority of banking consumers are not currently mobile users, so their perception of trust is key to the rate at which the service gets adopted. Limiting the sample to consumers who had at least tried mobile would obviously skew the result, but would not really provide insight on the greater prospects for adoption of the technology.
Thanks, David. I don’t know if everyone who tried mobile would necessarily trust it. But certainly everyone surveyed has used an ATM machine, and they generally work fine. (Security-savvy customers might worry about skimming and other types of fraud.) But I think the survey would have very similar results if you asked, Which of these have you tried? I don’t quite see the point in being told that people don’t trust things they’ve never tried.
Good stuff, Phillip. You raise a good point about mobile banking adoption, but I’m not sure it matters. The question was “what 3 banking technologies do you trust the most?” It really doesn’t matter if someone uses mobile banking — or the branch or ATM, for that matter. The survey is capturing perceptions about trust.
To me, though, what the BT survey doesn’t adequately address is: Trust in WHAT? When you ask a consumer what technology he or she trusts, does that mean: 1) trust that the transaction will be completed? 2) trust that the transaction will be secure? 3) something else?
The fact that only one in four respondents said that call center banking was among their top 3 trusted banking technologies strikes me as strange. What don’t they trust? And are we talking about calling in to a call center to conduct a voice transaction, or to conduct an IVR transaction?
BT’s conclusion that “US banks must work harder to increase consumer confidence in mobile banking” is off the mark. A large percentage of Gen Yers already bank w/ a mobile device. The percentage drops off a bit among Gen Xers, falls off a cliff among Boomers, and is generally non-existent with Seniors.
Why would a bank “work harder” to increase Seniors’ confidence in mobile banking? It’s not going to happen, and it’s not going to stop that segment from going into the branch.
Thanks, Ron, great point on what those surveyed are being asked to trust here. More in-depth questioning is needed to yield worthwhile data. I maintain that the results line up with the frequency of use of the technology in question and I agree that the call-center number is odd. And presumably “Bank Teller” — not being a technology — was not an option. If the call center fared so badly, how would the poor teller do?