Lockdowns, quarantines and travel restrictions—we’re no strangers to how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our lives. In business, there hasn’t been an industry that hasn’t felt the effects of this pandemic. Even banks that are considered essential business had to make adjustments to reduce branch traffic and protect customers and employees from the virus.
A spike in mobile banking usage since early last year was already happening, but mobile banking became more significant with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tim Singleton, the senior commercial lending manager of Bank Independent explains, “The current COVID pandemic focused a spotlight on the importance of providing uninterrupted services to all customers, including personal, business and government.”
Although more people are already embracing mobile banking, the outbreak has accelerated consumer usage because people have visited their local banks less frequently.
A recent survey by FIS revealed that 44% of the respondents used their mobile banking apps more often after the pandemic started.
Wells Fargo for example, has seen a surge in mobile logins, online check deposits and online wire transfers after the pandemic, and the company had to adapt to this growth by ensuring that it has strong online banking features and an efficient backend team to deliver the goods every time.
What it means for consumers
Mobile banking allows consumers to continue managing their accounts, making payments, transacting businesses, and doing other banking activities all from the convenience of their phones. Although a lot of banks already have digital banking services, this pandemic prompted more consumers to embrace the benefits of mobile banking.
The pandemic has caused a spurt in mobile banking activities, which according to data from Fidelity National Information Services, has seen a 145% surge in daily traffic in April 2020 as compared to March. New mobile banking registrations also jumped an astounding 207%.
What it means for businesses
With this newfound interest in mobile banking, businesses have had to adjust quickly so that they can take advantage of the benefits that came with it.
Mobile banking has opened doors for fintechs offering financial services via our phones. From loans to savings accounts to investments, fintechs have been riding the wave of increased use of mobile banking by consumers to build up their customer bases too. They are using Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platforms like Synapse to help them bring personalized, secure and compliant services to market within weeks.
The bottom line
Mobile banking has provided a safe place for consumers to continue their financial activities without having to worry about travelling to a physical bank branch and risking infection.
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