Five months after most of the United States entered a pandemic-related lockdown, consumers and businesses alike are still adjusting to the new normal. Most banks have modified their services, hours and availability to adhere to pandemic rules and guidelines. In turn, customers have had to change up their banking habits. In fact, a new DepositAccounts survey found that most consumers are visiting their bank branches much less lately and turning instead to mobile banking apps or websites.
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Key Findings:
- Over the last 30 days, 91% of Americans banked virtually, completing at least one banking activity online or on a mobile app. These activities ranged from checking account balances and depositing checks to sending money to peers.
- While baby boomers (81%) and members of the silent generation (86%) have adapted to remote banking, perhaps unsurprisingly, they’ve done so to a lesser extent than younger generations.
- Just over four in 10 consumers said they’re using their bank’s mobile app more often than they did prior to the pandemic.
- Across generations, this change was most noticeable in Gen X, with 57% now using their bank’s mobile app more often.
- Americans with higher household incomes use a mobile app to do their banking more often than those who earn less.
- Over half — 52% — of consumers are visiting physical banks less often amid the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, 36% have made no change to the frequency of their physical bank visits during the pandemic, and about 7% are visiting their bank branches much more often.
- The silent generation and millennials had higher rates of respondents visiting physical branches much less often, as did baby boomers.
- Additionally, about half of respondents (49%) said they would be happy never going to a physical bank branch ever again, while just under 10% strongly disagreed with that sentiment. Baby boomers and the silent generation were more likely to disagree.
“It’s clear that the pandemic has forced both the young and old into remote banking as branch access has been restricted in many areas,” said Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts. Tumin notes that while remote banking may diverge from many consumers’ usual habits, it offers the ability to manage your bank account without any of the health risks currently associated with visiting a branch. “That’s especially important to baby boomers and the silent generation, who are more at risk from COVID-19,” he said.
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