Uptake of Digital Banking in the UK Is Relatively Slow

Security concerns are holding things back

These days, digital banking is a common activity in the UK. However, when compared with their peers in Europe, UK consumers are less digital, and certainly less mobile, in their banking behavior.

According to Q3 2017 data from GlobalWebIndex, desktops/laptops are still the preferred option for digital banking, albeit only just. Among UK internet users surveyed, 52.0% conducted digital banking via these devices. Just under 50% used a mobile, while 12.2% used a tablet.

Several things are standing in the way of advanced adoption. “There is still far too much friction around the mobile aspects of banking,” said Ryan Farley, CEO of mobile payments provider Judopay. “The number of steps a user has to input to get a banking app set up in the first place is simply too many with most banks, as well as the authentication many of these apps require users to enter before they can do anything on their mobile.”

On top of that, trust plays a major role in consumers’ reticence to bank via mobile. In fact, nearly two-thirds of UK internet users polled by ING in February 2017 indicated that trust in security was the main sticking point.

These insights are drawn from eMarketer's latest report, "UK Digital Banking and Payments: Mobile Money Management Lags Other Digital Behaviors." The report examines uptake and usage of digital banking and payment services in the UK.

eMarketer PRO subscribers can access the full report here. Nonsubscribers can learn more here.

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