Mobile Banking by Generation – Handheld, but not without Handholding
Approach
At eVOC, we are always seeking to better understand how people use the Web. As part of that effort, we recently conducted a survey about mobile usage among Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers to learn more about their current behavior. While all three cohorts were required to own a smartphone to qualify for the survey, we probed on respondents’ preferred device (i.e., smartphone, computer, tablet) for performing a variety of online tasks.
Survey respondents were divided into 3 age cohorts: Millennials (18-30), Generation X (31-54), and Baby Boomers (55-74).
Mobile Banking Usage Impacted by Security Concerns
In one series of survey questions, we probed on respondents’ mobile banking preferences. As you might expect, when asked whether respondents actively use their mobile banking app, Millennials are the most engaged, with 85% responding “Yes.” At 64%, Gen X are significantly less likely than Millennials to use their banking app, while Baby Boomers indicate the lowest banking app engagement, with only 38% using the app (significantly lower than Millennials and Gen X).
Do you actively use your bank’s mobile banking app (not the mobile website)?
85% of Millennials actively use their bank’s mobile banking, significantly higher than Generation X (64%) and Baby Boomers (38%).
In general, we know Millennials are highly mobile, and this is applicable to mobile banking as well. But considering that for our survey, all respondents across cohorts were required to own a smartphone, why do we see fewer Boomers using mobile banking?
A potential contributing factor is perception of mobile security. Our survey reveals that confidence in mobile app security decreases by 20% as cohorts increase in age. While 72% of Millennials say they feel their mobile banking app is extremely secure, only 52% of Gen X and just 32% of Baby Boomers feel this way. This finding corroborates our observations from user research that older users tend to be less confident in mobile security, especially when providing sensitive personal information. Hence, it may be beneficial to provide a little handholding via targeted messaging and imagery emphasizing your mobile app’s security in order to build trust and boost mobile app usage among your older customers. (You can read more about enhancing confidence in online security here.)
How secure do you feel the following are: bank’s mobile app?
Ratings of mobile banking app security vary by age. Millennials are the most confident in their bank’s app security, with 72% saying they feel the app is extremely secure. Gen X comes in significantly lower, with only 52% saying they feel their bank’s app is secure. Baby Boomers, who are the least likely to use their mobile banking app, rank the lowest for security—only 32% feel extremely secure.
Preferences for Mobile App vs Website Vary by Generation & Task
When comparing behavior for conducting banking activities, an interesting pattern emerges. Across activities, including checking account balances, depositing checks, and transferring funds, Millennials consistently rank their bank’s mobile app as their preferred method (67%, 47%, and 56%, respectively). For checking account balance / transferring funds, Gen X is split between using their bank’s website versus the mobile app: 37% / 41% use the website, while 45% / 36% use the mobile app for these two activities. Baby Boomers, on the other hand, prefer to use their bank’s website for both checking balances and transferring funds. For depositing checks, Gen X and Baby Boomers have a significant preference for going to the bank in-person rather than using the bank’s app (53% vs 39% of Gen X and 72% vs 18% of Baby Boomers). Somewhat surprisingly, while Millennials do show a slight preference for using the mobile app for this task, 38% prefer to go in-person.
For each of the following banking activities, please indicate how you prefer to conduct the activity:
Millennials prefer to use their bank’s mobile app when conducting banking activities. Gen X is split between using the website and mobile app. Baby Boomers prefer to use the website. Preference for depositing checks in-person is high among Gen X & Baby Boomers.
Ensuring Your Mobile Banking App Corresponds to Your Visitor Profile
So, what does this mean for your bank’s online presence? Well, first of all, it’s important to understand your users. If you have been designing your mobile app with Baby Boomers in mind or designing your website with Millennials in mind, you may want to take a second look. Understanding your visitor profile across devices is key to ensuring that each touchpoint is meeting users’ needs. Additionally, by providing indicators of your mobile app’s security, you may be able to capture some of those more adventurous Baby Boomers and drive up mobile app usage.
Second, the trends among Millennials and Generation X indicate that banking app usage is only going to increase in the future, so it’s critical to ensure your app is meeting usability standards and provides easy access for key tasks performed by users. We can also provide some insights on that—in the same survey, we presented respondents with mock-up versions of 3 common banking app layouts and asked which they preferred. In this case, our cohorts are in agreement: Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers all prefer a tiled homepage layout over a page with fixed navigation or a hamburger menu. So, while app usage may vary by age, preferences for usability among those who do use the banking app remains consistent.
Which version of the mobile banking app designs do you prefer the most to view and pay a bill?
Across cohorts, respondents prefer the Tiled Menu over Fixed Navigation and Hamburger Menu to view and pay a bill.
Insights
Taken together, it is clear that age is more than just a number when shaping a visitor profile for online banking on a desktop website versus a mobile app. Our survey results provide key insights into ensuring you are getting the most out of your mobile app:
- Mobile banking app usage is highly prevalent among Millennials, while less common for Gen X, and rare for Baby Boomers.
- App usage patterns reflect ratings of security across age groups. While Millennials feel that their bank’s app is very secure, ratings of security decrease for Gen X and Boomers.
- However, while banking app usage may be driven by these empathetic differences, app usability-related preferences are consistent across cohorts. Respondents prefer a Tiled Menu layout over Fixed Navigation and a Hamburger Menu when attempting to perform banking tasks in an app.
Thus, it is important to consider both your visitor profile, which influences their pre-existing needs and concerns for mobile banking, as well as how that may interact with usability when designing and promoting your mobile banking app. For example, a Baby Boomer who feels confident enough to explore their bank’s app might be driven away if they do not feel that it will keep their information secure. Similarly, if Millennials and Gen X are coming to the mobile app to deposit a check, but have difficulty finding where to initiate that task due to the navigation design (e.g., hamburger menu), they may be less likely to return to the app for that task in the future. User behavior is often impacted by several factors, so it is important to consider all angles when designing for your users. You may want to try an intercept survey to understand your visitor profile or concept testing to determine what design best meets users’ needs. Have questions? Contact us to learn more about our research solutions.
