Phablets could dominate mobile banking within five years. Tablet use, on the other hand, will decline.

That’s according to research released today from the financial consultancy Carlisle & Gallagher.

C&G says that Americans are increasingly performing digital banking transactions interchangeably across laptops, tablets, and smartphones, including the growing category of phablets — smartphones with particularly large screens that resemble small tablets.

55% of Americans call mobile banking part of their habitual lifestyle, according to C&G. Ease-of-use, features, and payments capabilities are driving mobile banking use, according to the study.

C&G believes phablets will be the dominant mobile banking device by 2020, according to the study.

“CG believes that phablets will have approximately 30% of the mobile device market share by 2020 and become the dominant device for mobile banking,” said Byl Cameron, Carlisle & Gallagher’s digital banking lead. “We also project that tablets will decline in popularity, especially as a device on which to do banking, 68% do not use tablets today for banking.”

Last September, Carlisle & Gallagher surveyed about 1,000 U.S. consumers online and interviewed 10 financial services executives at Top 20 U.S. financial institutions to understand how mobile banking and the shift of mobile device size (tablets getting smaller, smart phones getting larger) could affect mobile banking.

Key findings from study are below:

• Mobile device growth will dominate banking during the next 24 months. All survey respondents expect to buy more mobile devices by 2016. 84% plan to purchase a smartphone, 26% a laptop, 25% a tablet, and 14% a phablet. Specifically for banking, 81% expect to use a laptop in 2016, 62% a smart phone, 44% a tablet, and 11% a phablet.
• Top 3 consumer mobile banking activities:
  • Looking at balances;
  • Transferring funds; and
  • Paying bills.
• Bank customers preferring to conduct many mobile banking activities using many mobile devices. Consumers who have a three-device lifestyle interchangeably use their laptops, tablets, and smartphones for the most frequent mobile banking activities:
  o   viewed balances 97% on laptops, 95% on tablets, 94% on smartphones
  o   transferred funds 89% on laptops, 81% on tablets, and 82% on smartphones
  o   paid bills 92% on laptops, 86% on tablets, and 81% on smartphones
• The phablet phenomenon is coming to America
  o   Phablet use for mobile banking will grow by more than 100%
  o   46% of Americans are more likely to conduct mobile banking due to larger mobile devices, such as the phablet
  o   1 in 6 U.S. consumers believe mobile banking is an important reason to buy a large screen smartphone / phablet

Carlisle & Gallagher’s own Sam Maule will moderate a panel discussion on Retail, P2P Payments & Loyalty at Bank Innovation 2015 in Seattle. Request your invitation here.