Mobile leaders have already established gains in Gen Y customer acquisition that boost share of wallet and loyalty. Meanwhile, regional players hope to simply gain cost-reduction benefits before faster-moving competitors also steal the higher-value customers that represent significant profitability.

With Javelin forecasting that half of all US adults will use mobile banking in just a few short years, the separation between the digital leaders and followers has never been greater. 

 

Bottom Line
Banks should be investing in high-quality mobile platforms for two important reasons beyond just cost-savings:

  1. Mobile as an increasingly important driver of customer switching
    Regional banking providers with limited mobile capabilities are already seeing some customers defect for more technologically enabled competitors.
  2. Long-term revenue growth in the high-value segment
    Acquiring and building deep relationships with a customer segment that is:
    • Younger.
      43% are between 18- and 34-years-old, versus 20% of non-mobile users.
    • More affluent.
      Average income is $67,750, versus $45,350 for non-mobile users.
    • More cross-sell opportunities.
      4.1 products held with their primary bank, versus 3.0 for non-mobile users.