National Survey: 97% of Consumers Give High Marks to their Bank’s Online and Mobile Experience

Ninety-seven percent of consumers rate their bank’s online and mobile app experience as “excellent,” “very good,” or “good,” according to a national survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association. When considering the growth of digital and online tools as well as traditional branches and ATMs, 94% of respondents also characterized their overall access to banking services today as “excellent,” “very good” or “good.” In addition, 8 in 10 (79%) respondents said innovation and technological improvements by banks are making it easier for all Americans to access financial services, an acknowledgment of the role technology is playing in promoting financial inclusion.

“Digital banking tools have made it more convenient and more secure than ever for consumers to manage their finances,” said Brooke Ybarra, ABA’s senior vice president of innovation strategy. “This survey shows that consumers highly value bank innovations in mobile technology, whether it’s depositing a check remotely, making instant peer-to-peer payments, receiving balance alerts, or tracking spending and savings patterns. In addition, with the vast majority of Americans using mobile phones every day, advances in mobile banking technology have offered unprecedented bank access to households that were previously unbanked.”

Eight in 10 consumers (81%) used a mobile device to manage their bank account at least once in the previous month, and greater than half (59%) did so more than three times, according to the survey. Nine in 10 adults ages 18-44 have used a mobile device to manage their bank account in the previous month compared to 62% of adults ages 65+. In addition, the survey found that 60% of U.S. adults used a mobile app to make a payment or transfer money within the past year – up from 34% just four years ago – with three-quarters of 18–44-year-olds reporting that they had done so.

The data released today also indicate that, by a large margin, U.S. adults trust banks more than any other entity – including healthcare providers, non-bank payment providers and the government – to keep their information secure and private. Nine in 10 bank customers (87%) said their bank takes proactive steps to protect them from fraud/scams, and three-quarters (76%) believe their bank does more than businesses in other industries to protect them from fraud/scams.

ABA released an accompanying infographic highlighting the survey results. The data released today are the latest in a series of results gauging U.S. consumers’ preferences and opinions regarding banks and their services. ABA recently released additional survey data on consumers’ most-used banking methods and views on credit union policy issues as well as data revealing that Americans are highly satisfied with their bank and competitive financial services marketplace, highly value overdraft protection and want Congress to allow banks to serve cannabis-related businesses. The full results for today’s survey questions are as follows:

When asked “On a scale of 1-5, where “5” is excellent and “1” is poor, how would you rate your primary bank’s online and mobile app experience?” respondents who have a bank account provided the following responses: 

• Excellent – 43%
• Very Good – 37%
• Good – 17%
• Fair – 3%
• Poor – 0%

When asked “Given the growth of digital and online tools as well as traditional branches and ATMs, how would you characterize your overall access to banking services today?” respondents who have a bank account provided the following responses:

• Excellent – 40%
• Very Good – 37%
• Good – 17%
• Poor – 1%
• Don’t know/No opinion – 6%

When asked “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Innovation and technology improvements by banks are making it easier for all Americans to have access to financial services.” consumers provided the following responses:

• Strongly agree – 41%
• Somewhat agree – 38%
• Somewhat disagree – 5%
• Strongly disagree – 2%
• Don’t know/no opinion – 14% 

When asked “In the past month, how often have you used a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, to access and manage your bank accounts, such as check balances, deposits or bill payments?” consumers provided the following responses:

• More than 3 times – 59%
• 1-3 times – 22%
• Never – 13%
• Don’t own a mobile device – 1%
• Don’t know/no opinion – 5%

Young adults and millennials were more likely to use a mobile device at least once to manage their accounts:

• 18-34 – 88%
• 35-44 – 89%
• 45-64 – 83%
• 65+    – 62%

When asked “In the past 12 months, have you used a mobile app on your phone or tablet, such as Apple Pay, Zelle or Venmo, to make a payment or transfer money to someone?” consumers provided the following answers:

• Yes – 60%
• No – 32%
• Don’t Know/No opinion – 8%

Young adults and millennials were more likely to use mobile payment apps:

• 18-34 – 72%
• 35-44 – 75%
• 45-64 – 56%
• 65+    – 37%

When asked “Of the following, who do you trust most to keep your personal information secure and private?” consumers provided the following answers:

• Banks – 36%
• Healthcare providers – 18%
• The government – 8%
• Non-bank financial technology (fintech) providers (such as Apple Pay, Venmo, PayPal, Stripe) – 6%
• Cryptocurrency companies – 2%
• Major retailers – 1%
• Telecom companies (such as Sprint, Verizon, AT&T) – 1%

When asked “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? My bank takes proactive steps to protect me from fraud/scams.” consumers provided the following responses: 

• Strongly agree – 53%
• Somewhat agree – 34%
• Somewhat disagree – 4%
• Strongly disagree – 2%
• Don’t know/no opinion – 7%

When asked “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? My bank does more than businesses in other industries to protect me from fraud/scams.” consumers provided the following responses: 

• Strongly agree – 39%
• Somewhat agree – 37%
• Somewhat disagree – 5%
• Strongly disagree – 2%
• Don’t know/no opinion – 17%

About the Survey

This poll was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association from September 20-22, 2023, among a national sample of 2,211 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.