According to a 2015 Deloitte study, 76% of the UK adult population has a smartphone and whilst the ‘will it take off’ story of mobile payments seems to have taken the spotlight, there is another financial tool on the device that plays an important role in the daily lives of many consumers - mobile banking.

Mobile banking is often pushed to the background in the media, however with 70% of the UK adult population now using mobile banking services (and growing!) it has become an essential banking channel for many. To put this into perspective, in 2015 British current account customers logged into their mobile banking app 895 million times, more than twice the amount of branch visits (427 million).

Mobile banking became the norm as smartphones became the norm, and although there are some individuals that do not trust it, or have a preference for other banking methods, it is still growing in popularity. Natwest recently reported it now has four million customers signed up to its app, with nearly a quarter of a million having registered this year, demonstrating that mobile banking is far from saturation point and increasing in popularity year-on-year. Its convenience has led to an exponential increase in mobile banking app usage in the last couple of years; according to Juniper, 65% of mobile banking users make regular transactions, whilst Natwest has reported one million logins a day.

Approximately 31% of users would be prepared to switch bank if their mobile banking service was not up to scratch, or they had a bad user experience with it. Statistics like this underline just how important it is to have a comprehensive mobile banking strategy in place as an essential part of an FI’s product portfolio. Whilst Juniper Research has revealed that 98% of mobile banking customers claim to be either ‘very happy’ or ‘quite happy’ with their service, today’s consumer is fickle and FIs should not become complacent. The more frequently customers log on the more opportunity there is for dissatisfaction to occur.

Yes, more customers are registering for mobile banking and yes, customers are logging in regularly and are generally happy with their service. However, as one of the main points of engagement with customers, the service offered has become increasingly important when determining the satisfaction level a customer has with their bank. Rather than simply resting on their laurels, FIs should listen to their customers and continually improve their mobile banking functionality in line with both need and advances in technology as a key way to encourage ongoing engagement and satisfaction.