Mobile banking is becoming increasingly popular, new research has suggested, with one in ten now using a ‘mobile wallet’ and one in five using mobile banking.
According to TNS, the number of people making payments via mobile phone and using phones to carry out basic banking tasks has doubled in the last year to 11.9 per cent and 20.4 per cent respectively.
Mobile wallet technology allows consumers to use their phone in place of a debit or credit card to pay for items online. In some cases, it can also be used in shops by running the phone past a scanner to pay for goods. Mobile online banking can be done via mobile internet or apps and customers can perform basic tasks such as checking their balance, moving money and making payments.
Stephen Yap, Group Director at TNS Technology, said, “The huge increase in the use of mobile wallet technology in the UK shows the dramatic effect technology is having on our lifestyles. The incredible success of the smartphone is encouraging people to migrate many of their key online activities onto their mobile.”
He predicted that as smartphones become even more common and networks improve, phones will become the primary device for all online activity.
