Consumers may want the latest technologyin banking, but do they really use it?

While 70% of consumers under 30 and 51% over 30 say mobile banking is a must-have or nice-to-have, only 2% of all consumers report mobile as their primary form of banking, according to a survey of 556 respondents by RateWatchin October. While 2% of consumers say mobile is their primary form of  banking, more than 75% of financial services institutions report less than 25% of their customers use mobile banking at all, according to Rate Watch.

The majority of consumers, 62%, say banking at the branch is their primary method, and 29% say online is their primary method.

Forrester Research Inc. senior analyst Peter Wannemacher isn’t surprised by the results. He cites two reasons the mobile banking platform hasn’t surged on the consumer end: urgency and privacy.

While there are some urgent banking needs, most consumers rarely need to get their banking done immediately. In terms of privacy, consumers are still extremely wary of security on mobile devices, Wannemacher says. Since personal finances are a sensitive part of their lives, consumers perceive a higher-than-actual security risk of mobile banking.

However, he says as younger consumers comfortable with mobile begin to use banking services more often mobile banking use will pick up. More than six in 10 Millennials, or 61% of U.S. online adults ages 18-34, have used mobile banking within the past three months, according to Forrester’s North American Consumer Technographics Online Benchmark Survey in 2014. 27% of adults 35 and older have used mobile banking within the past three months. While it may not be a game-changer now, mobile will play a significant role in the future of banking, he says.

“Mobile will be the hub of banking relationships,” Wannemacher predicts.

Consumers becoming more comfortable with the idea of mobile banking is only one part of the equation, data shows. . Banks need to do their part to make mobile banking desirable for consumers, Wannemacher says.

Currently, 82% of banks offer mobile banking services, compared to 68% in 2013, 49% in 2012 and 41% in 2011, according to RateWatch.

The first step is optimizing the web site for mobile screens and developing an app. Beyond that, Wannemacher suggests banks add functions to the mobile site or app, such as adding a payee, such as a gas company, to an account, and setting up recurring bill payments.

“These are small innovations, incremental moves, but those are the things that are moving the needle point by point and becoming something to drive more mobile usage,” he says.

Mobile needs to drive cross-channel interaction, he adds. For example, the app should have the functionality to guide consumers to the nearest bank or ATM so they can withdraw money without incurring a fee. Or, if a consumer is looking to buy a house, banks should include a mortgage calculator on the mobile web site and then a button to set up an appointment with a mortgage banker at the nearest branch. JPMorgan Chase Bank lets customer deposit checks with its mobile app by taking a picture of the front and back.

 

Follow mobile business journalist April Dahlquist, associate editor, mobile, at Mobile Strategies 360, @Mobile360April

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