Mobile Banking Adoption Triples in Two Years

Mobile banking adoption has tripled in the past two years, according to research from Dallas-based SWACHA, a not-for-profit electronic payments association.

According to SWACHA’s Consumer Insights Survey, which polled 600 Texas residents in August 2011 in partnership with research and marketing firm Decision Analyst, 20 percent of respondents said they currently bank on their phones, compared to 7 percent in 2009.

Those polled also reported they can go an average of 95 days without making a cash purchase, compared to 53 days in 2009.

SWACHA’s survey revealed people currently use mobile devices for banking in a variety of ways. Ninety-four percent of respondents reported they use mobile banking for checking account balances, 59 percent to transfer money between accounts, 36 percent to pay bills and 18 percent to make purchases.

Despite mobile's drugging popularity, security concerns remain, the report found, with 52 percent of those surveyed cited security concerns as the primary reason they do not use mobile banking.

[Related Content: 5 Critical Strategies for Mobile Banking Security.]

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio