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Chase Uncovers Changes to Digital Banking Adoption Trends in 2021

There has been a significant uptake of banking apps has since the start of the pandemic, with attitudes towards the digital financial service radically changing over the past two years. Chase has released the findings from its research analysing the consumer attitudes towards banking websites and apps, following up from its initial attitudes study a year ago. 

“This year, digital banking played an even bigger role in how consumers manage and track their finances on a daily basis,” said Rohan Amin, Chief Product Officer at Chase. “This new research highlights how consumer preferences are driving both the creation and adoption of new features that help consumers get more value out of their bank account or credit card.”

Digital banking continues to gain momentum year-over-year

Respondents reaffirmed that mobile apps have become their most frequently used banking channel, with 73 per cent of consumers citing usage once a week or more (up eight per cent YOY), and 62 per cent citing it’s a service they cannot live without (up seven per cent YOY).

Consumers are paying digitally more than ever before, which will likely continue

93 per cent of consumers have used one or more digital payment methods, such as Zelle, in the past year (up 5 per cent YOY).

  • Consumers’ top reasons for using digital payment methods were the same across all generations:
    • Convenient (66 per cent)
    • Easy (57 per cent)
    • Saves time (46 per cent)
  • Approximately one in three consumers said they started using digital payment tools in the past six months.
  • 79 per cent of respondents said digital payment options make it easier to track and manage finances as well.

Gen Z uses credit monitoring services as learning tools

Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said they use a service to monitor their credit, such as Chase Credit Journey, which is an 8 per cent increase from last year’s study. There was a significant increase in usage across generations, with millennials using them at a higher rate than most.

  • 76  per cent of respondents said they use credit services to check their credit scores.
  • 44 per cent of Gen Z respondents cited they are using credit monitoring services to learn how to improve credit scores.

Consumers increasingly use digital banking features to book travel or “Buy now, pay later”

Consumers are using digital features to do more than check their balances or pay bills.

  • 13 per cent of respondents said they have used their bank’s website or mobile app to book travel, yet when asked, 34 per cent of those who had not used this feature said they would be willing to try booking with their bank next time.
  • 74 per cent of respondents who said they’ve booked travel with their bank are highly likely to do so again.
  • Buy Now, Pay Later features, including My Chase Plan, continue to rise in popularity. 79 per cent of respondents who have used this type of service are highly willing to use it again.
  • Millennials (40 per cent) said that they use Buy Now, Pay later options, a higher rate than other demographics.
  • Just 18 per cent of respondents cited that they’ve added offers to their credit cards through their bank online, but those who have are likely to repeat. If they haven’t tried it yet, 45 per cent say they are likely to add offers in the near future.

Digital Banking expectations

Rohan Amin, Chief Product Officer at Chase
Rohan Amin, Chief Product Officer at Chase

The Fintech Times sat down with Rohan Amin to get further insights on the findings. When asked his opinion on why digital banking attitudes had changed, Amin said, “The pandemic accelerated the pace of digital banking adoption as we all had to reexamine how we go about our daily lives. Banking was no different. This year, we continued to see our customers engage with us more digitally, which has pushed us to innovate more quickly to meet our customers’ needs. As of Q3 2021, Chase had nearly 58 million digitally active (+6 per cent YoY) and over 44 million mobile active (+10 per cent YoY) customers.

“In our recent Digital Banking Attitude Study, 62 per cent of respondents said that they can’t live without their banking app and 73 per cent said they use their mobile banking apps once a week or more, up eight per cent from 2020. Those types of findings motivate our Product, Design, Data and Technology teams to keep innovating so that our customers can do even more from within the Chase Mobile app or on Chase.com.”

Amin continued, “What we’ve seen since 2020 is that our customers have been engaging more digitally with us than ever before, but they have also continued to value the personal interactions they make when visiting their local branch.

“While many consumers may be familiar with the digital experiences in our mobile app or website, they may not know that we are also constantly improving the digital experiences they encounter when visiting a branch by giving our employees more digital tools to serve our customers more efficiently.”

He concluded by explaining three key points on banking app expectations:

  • “Consumers demand beautiful, functional, and intentionally designed digital experiences from streaming services, entertainment and shopping. Banking is no different. At Chase, we are deeply focused on building beautifully designed and insightful experiences that make it easier for our millions of customers to bank where and how they want.
  • “Everyone wants access to great customer experiences and brands that go above and beyond to understand their customers’ unique needs end up forming a deeper bond with them. Personalisation is key to that mission and we are hard at work to deliver even more hyper-personalised features for our consumer and small business customers.
  • “What this year’s Digital Banking Attitudes Study also showed is that consumers want more from their bank’s mobile app than just checking their balances or paying bills. They want to book travel or unlock offers that help them save money at their favourite merchants. 13 per cent of respondents said they have used their bank’s website or mobile app to book travel, yet when asked, 34 per cent of those who had not used this feature said they would be willing to try booking with their bank next time. 74 per cent of respondents who said they’ve booked travel with their bank are highly likely to do so again. Just 18 per cent of respondents cited that they’ve added offers to their credit cards through their bank online, but those who have are likely to repeat. If they haven’t tried it yet, 45 per cent say they are likely to add offers in the near future.”

Author

  • Francis is a journalist and our lead LatAm correspondent, with a BA in Classical Civilization, he has a specialist interest in North and South America.

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