Mobile banking adoption grew steadily in the US last year, with 16% of cell phone owners using their handset to access financial information in the second quarter, according to figures from comScore.
The comScore report, based on a survey of 2000 Americans and its own data, shows that nearly three quarters of mobile bankers interact with their institution through their phone at least once a month, mirroring the figures for online.
Internet banking also continues to gain new users despite the approach of saturation and customer satisfaction with the channel is on the rise after falling in recent years.
Satisfaction scores for three of the top five online banks dipped in 2010 but saw an even larger increase in early 2011, bringing them back above 2009 levels. Web site scores saw a similar upward trend, with nearly 70% of customers happy with their bank's offering.
However, key online customer service features remain underutilised, says comScore: a moderate percentage of consumers expressed an interest in tools such as personal financial management and security services but adoption is often less than half the rate of awareness.
In contrast, it is customer awareness that is missing when it comes to social media and banks, with only 18% of customers on social networking sites knowing that their provider uses these channels.
Sarah Lenart, VP, financial services, comScore, says: "As the Internet and mobile devices continue to become an integral part of people's daily lives, digital banking channels promise further adoption and advancement in 2012."