Mobile bankers to reach 550 million in 2016

The number of users of transactional mobile banking services will shoot from 185 million in 2011 to more than 550 million in 2016, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

This surge will come from a confluence of two factors: a growing user acceptance of push mobile marketing and a sharp rise in smartphone adoption.

In the report, titled ‘Mobile Banking for Developed & Developing Markets’, Juniper says that mobile phone banking is gaining considerable traction, thanks to the exploitation of advanced functionalities such as banks bundling MBPP (mobile bill presentment and payment) services within their overall mobile banking platform and additional momentum from easy-to-use smartphone apps.

Windsor Holden, Research Director at Juniper, said: “Customers are becoming increasingly more confident in using basic informational m-banking services. The natural progression is to engage in transactional banking, as they demand tighter control over their finances within a turbulent economic environment and busier lifestyle, which are at odds with a 9 to 5 branch-based service.”

The firm did note that user security concerns will hamper adoption, particularly in older demographics. This will “continue unless and until consumers are convinced that mobile device security is of the same grade as online security, if not better”, the firm said.

The report also found that “increased usage of transactional services will provide impetus to integrating other elements of mobile commerce”.