UK mobile banking set to double to GBP 3.4 bln a week - report

According to a recent report titled “Future Trends in UK Banking”, commissioned by Fiserv and compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, money transfers via digital channels are forecast to grow to GBP 3.4 billion a week via mobile banking apps and GBP 9.4 billion a week via online banking, totalling GBP 12.8 billion a week over the same period.

Currently, just over a third (34%) of UK adults are estimated to be banking on their mobile. With the increasingly widespread ownership of smartphones and a growing appetite amongst UK adults to access their finances on-the-go, this figure is expected to almost double to 60% by 2020. This projected increase of 14.8 million more mobile banking users over the next half-decade represents a significant opportunity for challenger banks, Fiserv claims, to bring innovative business models to the market and for existing banks to add digital services to cater to this future majority.

The study adds that with the emergence of more high-tech features such as remote cheque capture and apps such as PayM, a wide range of mobile banking functions like checking your balance or conducting transfers are all expected to grow in popularity over the next five years. The total value of transactions being moved through mobile banking apps is expected to double by 2020 to GBP 3.4 billion a week.

The report points out that the UK online banking use is projected to rise significantly by the end of the decade, from 53% of Britons in 2014 to 66% by 2020. While younger age groups, particularly those between the ages of 25 and 34, are currently more likely to bank online, all age groups have seen a rise in the prevalence of online banking over the past two years. These increases have been driven by a consumer need to access information faster and on-the-go. Looking ahead, this upward trend is forecast to continue as younger users who are already doing online banking enter a new age bracket by 2020. The number of UK adults using online banking is forecast to increase to over 35 million by 2020, up from 27.7 million in 2014, the research indicates.

According to Fiserv, this upward trend in online banking usage, combined with inflation and a stronger economy, suggests that by 2020, as much as GBP 9.4 billion could be moved through online banking per week.