While U.S. consumers may be hesitant to adopt mobile payments, small businesses are more open to it. A recent J.D. Power study reports that mobile banking adoption for small business owners has surpassed adoption for retail banking customers.

The findings from the research firm’s 2019 U.S. Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study indicate that mobile banking adoption among small businesses jumped to 61% this year, compared to 53% in 2018. Meanwhile, early numbers from 2020, according to J.D. Power, show that 53% of retail customers are using their mobile banking apps.

Bob Neuhaus, vice president of J.D. Power Banking Intelligence, told Bank Innovation this is the first time the firm has seen small business mobile banking adoption surpass retail mobile banking adoption. Despite these gains, he emphasized that mobile payment platforms require continuous evolution.

“Mobile will need to move away from a self-service model to a more predictive type of model where the bank is using data and mobile capabilities to anticipate what the needs of the small businesses are,” Neuhaus said. “There’s still a long way to go in the potential that mobile offers for the small business relationship.” 

The increase in mobile payment adoption among small business owners, however, indicates that they are are becoming more comfortable with their mobile banking services, noted Neuhaus.  New resources for small businesses offered by financial providers include mobile check deposit, 24-hour client support, and mobile and digital payment solutions. The ability to connect bank representatives through mobile tools is especially appealing to small businesses, he added.

Sixty-seven percent of respondents who use their banks’ mobile offerings said they “definitely will” stay with their bank, while only 53% of those who don’t use mobile said the same, the study reported.

J.D. Power noted that high-growth companies tend to use mobile banking more than moderate- or low-growth businesses. Of high-growth businesses, 71% use mobile banking, while only 52% of moderate- or low-growth companies use mobile banking. He pointed out that bigger businesses tend to get more personalized attention from their banks, while mobile banking resonates especially well with smaller businesses that don’t receive the same attention.

The age of business owners made a difference with mobile banking adoption. Of those surveyed who were 40 years old or younger, 71% used mobile banking, while only 54% of respondents older than 40 used mobile banking.

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The study singled out four banks that received especially high customer satisfaction ratings from business clients. Huntington Bank got the highest mark for the Midwest, while Capital One did the best in the Northeast. TD Bank did the best in the South and JPMorgan Chase did the best in the West.  

The study, which was released in October, surveyed more than 8,200 small business owners or financial decision makers during the summer of 2019. The respondents all use business banking services. 

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