Nearly 1 in 10 Mobile Users to Pay Bills via Their Mobile by 2016

July 10 - A new report from Juniper Research finds that a growing user acceptance of ‘push' mobile banking and a sharp rise in smartphone adoption will drive users of transactional mobile banking services up from 185 million in 2011 to over 550 million in 2016.

Mobile Moves from Push to Pull

The  ‘Mobile Banking for Developed & Developing Markets' report found that mobile phone banking is gaining considerable traction, thanks to the exploitation of advanced functionalities such as banks bundling MBPP (Mobile Bill Presentment and Payment) services within their overall mobile banking platform and additional momentum from easy-to-use smartphone apps.

Additionally, those users that do make bill payments are expected to continue conducting transactions actively and aggressively as they become more accustomed to usage. As consumers engage in increasingly mobile lifestyles, approximately 80% of total mobile banking customers will pay their bills via a mobile device by 2016.

According to Juniper's Research Director Windsor Holden, ‘Customers are becoming increasingly more confident in using basic informational mBanking services. The natural progression is to engage in transactional banking, as they demand tighter control over their finances within a turbulent economic environment and busier lifestyle which are at odds with a 9 to 5 branch-based service.'

Malware Growth Heightens Consumer Concerns

However, the report cautioned that user security concerns, heightened by the rapid growth in spyware and malware, would act as a brake on adoption, particularly amongst older demographics. It argued that this situation would continue unless and until consumers are convinced that mobile device security is of the same grade as online security, if not better.

Other key findings from the report include:

• Triple-play solutions (i.e., SMS, Web browser, and app) experience the highest adoption rates.

• Transaction frequency will be higher in developing regions where users do not have many alternative options for bill payment, given the limited physical branch infrastructure.

• Increased usage of transactional services will provide impetus to integrating other elements of mobile commerce.
  

The whitepaper ‘Banking Anytime Anywhere' is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full report.