Canadians are warming up to mobile banking at a hurried pace, a new report published Monday indicates.
Though online banking remains king when it comes to Canadians’ preference for how they bank, an increasing number of Canadians are beginning to embrace mobile.
In fact, a recent survey by ING DIRECT shows that 41 percent of Canadians say they are open to doing more traditional banking functions, like paying bills, on their mobile devices.
That number is up from 38 percent since 2012.
10 percent of Canadians say they use their mobile device to do banking several times a week, a number that increases to 20 percent of Canadians when looking exclusively at 18 – 34 year olds.
Not surprisingly, as technological advancements make banking easier and more convenient, Canadians indicate that their need to visit a branch has decreased.
“Technology is rapidly changing the way we manage some of our most traditional day-to-day responsibilities, and a growing number of Canadians are downloading clever applications, like ING DIRECT’s mobile banking app, to simplify their lives,” says Marc Saltzman, a technology expert who was quoted in a press release touting the study’s findings. “As a freelancer who is often on the road, I – like many others – rely heavily on my smartphone to get my banking done when it’s convenient for me, so it’s ideal that we’re moving towards a system that makes depositing cheques easier.”
