The Federal Reserve recently studied 50,000 US residents and their Consumer and Mobile Financial Report found, somewhat unsurprisingly, that mobile banking is on the rise. The most common actions include checking account balances, transferring money to themselves or others, and receiving push notifications.
“There is no doubt that consumers are embracing mobile money, it’s a booming space,” says Rimma Perelmuter, CEO of Mobile Ecosystem Forum in a call.
The Federal Reserve report also revealed a huge opportunity for the unbanked population. Of the unbanked, 90% have a mobile phone (73% of those are smartphones), but only half currently use mobile banking and mobile payments.
Mobile is contributing to economic and social development across the globe, delivering financial inclusion to unbanked populations with 270 live services in 90 countries as of December 2015 according to GSMA Mobile Economy Report.
Here’s why the adoption of mobile banking will continue to grow:
Convenience
An emerging focus for startups, established institutions, and policy makers is to facilitate access to new payments providers in a way that boosts competition while also creating greater choice and convenience for the end user. What better way to do that than tackle the mobile market?
“All users have to do to pay a bill, purchase a good or service, or transfer money is reach in their pocket,” says Rodrigo Teijeiro, CEO and Founder of RecargaPay, a mobile payments platform. “Mobile banking eliminates the need for consumers…