Written by Laurie McLachlan. For more see blog.andera.com

Mobile banking is all the rage these days. An Andera survey conducted last week revealed that nearly 90% of the bank and credit union professionals polled have a mobile app at their institution, and that the remaining respondents are either adding in 2014 or have definite plans to add it soon thereafter.

But despite all of the focus mobile banking, adoption rates hover around 33% across all segments and age categories. That rate isn’t bad but what if you could double it?

Creating simple, digital experiences and promoting them effectively can drive adoption of online and mobile banking but if you’re talking to the wrong audience, it’s going to be a long road.  Chances are, you’ll need to promote these services continually and you may need to offer incentives to encourage trial.  That can get pretty expensive.

What if adoption wasn’t something you needed to work for? What if your customers and members actually preferred to conduct their banking business from laptop and mobile devices?

According to a 2013 report by Monitise and Cognizant entitled, ‘Segment-Based Strategies for Mobile Banking‘, consumers ages 25-34 earning $50k+ use mobile banking services at twice the rate of the average person.  An Andera report shows that online account openers are generally younger, wealthier, more educated, and more digitally savvy than the average consumer.   Why is that? The answer is pretty simple. It’s because they are the same people.

The key to driving online and mobile banking adoption is to attract customers and members who embrace digital channels in the first place.

People who prefer online and mobile banking also tend to prefer to open their accounts online, and increasingly, through mobile devices. These people will also probably be some of your best customers: cheap to service, because they rely on digital channels, and more likely to hold large balances or apply for loans.

By offering online account opening that’s optimized for mobile devices, institutions can help ensure that they’re attracting customers and members that will embrace digital channels from the start.

To learn more about mobile account opening, check out our upcoming webinar.