Everything You Need to Know About Online Banking: Statistics and Facts
Until recently, banking required taking a long lunch or getting up early on Saturday. While physical bank branches can’t be considered a thing of the past just yet, the days of waiting in long lines for routine transactions are rapidly fading into memories.
There is no doubt that the internet revolution and technological advancements have made our lives easier in many ways. The banking industry is among the sectors that have benefited most from the rise of the digital age.
With the development of online and mobile banking came the freedom and convenience of being able to manage your funds whenever and wherever you want.
Read on to learn more about the history and development of internet banking, as well as some of the many benefits and challenges both financial institutions and their customers have faced over the years.
Online Banking Statistics for 2024 - Editor’s Choice
- By 2006, 80% of all US banks provided online banking services.
- The percentage of EU citizens using online banking doubled between 2009 and 2019.
- 89% of American bank account holders use mobile banking for account management.
- The US financial industry’s total branch count went down by more than 1,500 over a period of 12 months.
- 94% of mobile banking customers use online banking platforms at least once a month.
- It is estimated that the deployment of chatbots will save the banking industry $7.3 billion in annual customer service costs by 2023.
- The total number of online and mobile banking users will exceed 3.6 billion by 2024.
- Banks around the world lose more than $1 trillion to cybercrimes each year.
Digital Banking Numbers
The transformation of traditional in-branch services to digital banking didn’t happen overnight. Even before widespread internet access became the norm, the banking industry spent two decades preparing.
Even so, both financial institutions and customers doubted the rise of the digital banking age. It wasn't until the beginning of the 21st century that both parties began to understand the advantages of internet banking.
According to online banking facts, financial institutions started experimenting with internet banking in the 1980s.
The service gained popularity in the 1990s when getting home internet access became much easier.
(Investopedia)
Security First Network Bank began operations in 1995.
Insured by the FDIC, it was the first fully functional digital bank in the US.
(Investopedia)
In 1994, Stanford Federal Credit Union offered online banking to all its users.
(Credit Union Times)
Based on US banking online data, Bank of America made history in 2001 as it became the first US financial institution to gain more than 3 million online banking users.
At the time, online banking customers accounted for 20% of its total client base.
(Bank of America)
By 2006, 80% of all US banks, including the most popular banks in America, had started offering online banking services.
(GOBankingRates)
The percentage of EU citizens using online banking doubled between 2009 and 2019.
(Eurostat)
58% of the EU population used internet banking in 2019.
Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands have the highest per capita digital banking usage, as 91% of their population used online banking in 2019.
(Eurostat)
India is the world’s leader in regular mobile banking usage as a proportion of online users with current accounts.
Sweden is the runner-up.
(GlobalData)
89% of American bank account holders use mobile banking for account management.
For 70% of them, mobile banking is the primary way of managing accounts.
(Business Insider)
Online Banking vs. Traditional Banking
Once banks began offering solid digital platforms, users started trusting online banking. With the development of mobile platforms, much of the banking business went digital.
The freedom to bank whenever and wherever they wanted persuaded users from all backgrounds and age groups change their banking habits.
Nowadays, traditional banks are facing a new challenge - finding the right balance between easy-to-use online and mobile platforms and conveniently located branches.
A recent US internet banking survey revealed that only 20% of consumers would rather pay a visit to a physical bank location than do their business via digital channels.
(ConsumerAffairs)
66% of customers say they are satisfied with their bank or credit union’s digital services.
(ConsumerAffairs)
According to banking industry facts, solid online and mobile banking platforms are among the most effective customer retention tools.
Approximately 82% of account holders mention their bank’s digital platforms as an important reason they haven’t switched financial institutions.
(ConsumerAffairs)
Younger users turn to mobile banking features more than their older peers.
Approximately 30% of consumers under the age of 54 use mobile payment services like Venmo and Apple Pay at least once a week, while only 12% of those older than 54 do the same.
(ConsumerAffairs)
The US financial industry’s total branch count went down by more than 1,500 over a period of 12 months as of February 2020 - another sign of the bright future of mobile banking.
(American Banker)
The novel coronavirus might play a role in the recent growth of digital banking.
According to a recent survey, 63% of US citizens said they were more inclined to try a new digital app for banking than they were before the pandemic. Also, 82% said they were concerned about paying a visit to their local banks.
(Lightico)
Online vs. Mobile Banking
All mobile banking is online, but some online banking isn’t mobile. When it comes to digital banking, a recent survey has revealed that consumers aren't ready to give up on PC-based online banking channels just yet.
The survey findings suggest that customers will keep using desktop and mobile channels for different banking activities.
73% of customers use online banking channels at least once a month, compared to 59% who use mobile banking apps equally often.
(Deloitte)
Approximately 70% of customers look for consistent online and mobile banking services when choosing a bank.
(Deloitte)
94% of mobile banking customers use PC-based online banking platforms at least once a month.
(Deloitte)
Based on consumer banking data, most account holders use either mobile (56%) or desktop (29%) banking platforms for balance inquiries.
(Deloitte)
To transfer funds between their own accounts or send money to someone, 48% of account holders use mobile banking, while 38% opt for desktop online banking.
(Deloitte)
When it comes to international transfers, 24% of account holders prefer completing these tasks via smartphone, while 53% would rather make these transactions using a laptop or desktop computer.
(Deloitte)
26% of users go to their smartphone banking apps to update account details, while 47% of account holders prefer making these changes via desktop banking.
(Deloitte)
41% of account holders use mobile apps and 44% opt for online banking to pay their bills.
(Deloitte)
Only 15% of users inquire about a banking product (loan, line of credit, credit card, etc.) via mobile banking apps.
Although 37% of account holders use online banking to find such information, most users still prefer in-branch consultation in these situations.
(Deloitte)
Millennials use innovative mobile banking services more than older generations.
Online and Mobile Banking Trends
New technological developments are continuing to shape the future of banking around the world. Here are a few interesting facts and stats that shed some light on the issue:
US trends in mobile banking suggest that this type of service has been on the rise since 2011.
The advantages of mobile banking have become more visible with the increase in smartphone adoption.
(Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)
The total number of online and mobile banking users will exceed 3.6 billion by 2024.
Mobile and online banking growth are expected to experience a 54% increase compared to 2020.
(Juniper Research)
Mobile banking growth data shows that the number of global mobile banking customers surpassed the number of online banking users in 2018.
Two years earlier than anticipated.
(Juniper Research)
According to a recent consumer banking trends study, the deployment of chatbots will save the banking industry $7.3 billion in annual customer service costs by 2023.
(Juniper Research)
Digital-Only Banks and Consumers’ Online Banking Preferences
Whether you call them digital-only, online-only, internet banks, or neobanks, a new kind of bank is becoming popular. What makes them different from traditional banking institutions is that they usually have no physical branches.
This means they are often able to offer higher returns and innovative money management resources to customers. Although it's too early to tell if neobanks will completely replace traditional banking institutions, it's a fact that internet banks in the USA and EU are experiencing constant growth.
The most generous digital banks offer up to 2% more in APY than traditional banks.
(Investopedia)
Based on online banking trends, it is estimated that there will be 85 million neobank users in Europe by 2023.
(A.T. Kearney)
Only 3% of Millenials use digital-only services like Chime or Simple as their primary banking methods.
(Forbes)
According to the latest US online banking data, there are only 7 million deposit accounts in digital banks in the country.
Not everyone might be ready for digital-only banking.
(Forbes)
In 2019, there were more than 160 million people using online banking in America, a 20% increase compared to 2014.
This includes both online-only banks and branch banks with digital banking channels.
(Statista)
Based on the latest trends in mobile banking, the UK’s digital-only banks expect to have 35 million customers by mid-2020.
(Networld Media Group)
Online Banking Fraud
Fraud and other crimes have never been a rarity in the banking industry, and the same goes for banking in the digital age. As online banking evolves, so does cybercrime.System loopholes and social engineering strategies are behind the most common attack types.
Banks around the world lose more than $1 trillion to cybercrime each year.
(GlobalSign)
The average annual cost of cybercrime amounts to $18.37 million per global financial institution.
(Accenture)
The Central Bank of Bangladesh was the victim of a cyberheist in February 2016.
The hackers planted malware in the bank’s system and stole $101 million, of which $81 million is still missing. Based on financial industry facts, this was one of the worst cybersecurity breaches ever.
(Information Security Media Group)
95% of US account holders trust their banks to protect their personal information on digital banking platforms.
(ConsumerAffairs)
Sources
For years, the clients I worked for were banks. That gave me an insider’s view of how banks and other institutions create financial products and services. Then I entered the world of journalism. Fortunly is the result of our fantastic team’s hard work. I use the knowledge I acquired as a bank copywriter to create valuable content that will help you make the best possible financial decisions.
