News

Study finds mobile replacing branch for banking needs in UK

October 31, 2017

Just shy of 70 percent of British millennials use a mobile phone to manage their finances, according to new research from Visa.

In the company's third digital payments study, 69 percent of Brits age 18–34 say they have used a mobile banking app, and more than half (53 percent) say they do so regularly.

By comparison, 38 percent of total respondents across the country regularly conduct their banking via an app.

The survey findings reflect increased investment in digital offerings from traditional providers and a growing number of app-first challenger banks entering the market, according to a Visa press release.

Additionally, U.K. consumers are increasingly making payments on their phone. More than one-third (34 percent) say they have made a peer-to-peer digital payment via a mobile device. Again, millennials lead the way, with 59 percent having sent mobile money to a family or friend. 

Millennials also favor the use of biometric technology to authenticate themselves. More than one-third (35 percent) of survey respondents age 18–34 would prefer to make P2P payments using biometrics, compared with a national average of 30 percent; while 37 percent would like to use this technology in conjunction with a banking app, compared with 31 percent of total respondents.

The online study of 42,000 consumers in 22 European markets was commissioned by Visa and conducted by Populus between June and July. The study included 2,077 respondents in the U.K.