Alerts, also known as push notifications, are the third most popular use of mobile banking apps, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Board released today. More than half of mobile users — 57% — received alerts from their bank in 2014.

These notifications can take the form of text messages or emails and are used to alert users to anything from account balances, payments due, or transaction histories.

The most popular mobile banking activity is checking account balances and recent transactions, followed by transferring money between accounts. Just 25% of mobile users in 2014, however, made a payment to another person, a peer-to-peer payment, which may be because P2P is not yet a universal feature on mobile banking apps.

The popularity of alerts marks a significant trend taking place in banking, “More and more capabilities on mobile are taking place outside of login,” said Personetics CEO David Sosna. “Many banks are looking closely at this, what type of information can be shown before you log in.”

Account notifications when customers are not logged in will also play an important role in banking apps for wearable devices such as Apple Watch. But Sosna cautioned that banks need to be careful of overwhelming users with too many alerts, leading to fatigue with the feature.

To avoid alert annoyance, Personetics is working with several banks to “aggregate messages and package transactions,” Sosna said. Most important is using an algorithm to learn customer preferences. “When you know how people behave and respond with regard to alerts,” Sosna said, “you know what they want and what to deliver to them in the future.”

There were many other important findings from the Fed study:

• 39% of mobile phone owners with bank accounts used mobile banking in 2014, up from 33% in 2013
• 51% of mobile banking users deposited a check using their device in 2014, up from 38% in 2013
• 22% of mobile banking users made a mobile payment in 2014, up from 12% in 2013

The study paid close attention to smartphones’ effect on shopping behavior as well:

• 47% of mobile phone owners used their phone to compare prices online
• 33% scanned a barcode to find the best price for a particular item
• 42% used their phone to browse product reviews while in a store
• More than two-thirds of those who used their phones for price comparison changed where they made their purchases based on that information

Among users that said they do not use mobile banking, the most common reason was “My banking needs are being met without mobile banking,” with 80% of respondents agreeing. Next came the similar, “I don’t see any reason to use mobile banking,” at 73%.  This was followed by concerns about security (62%.)

Security fears were broken down as well. Users were asked, “Which one of the following security aspects are you most concerned with?”

• 43% – All of the stated reasons
• 22% – Someone intercepting my data
• 17% – My phone getting hacked
• 9% – Losing my phone or having my phone stolen
• 4% – Someone using my phone without permission to access my account
• 2% – Companies misusing my personal information
• 2% – Malware or viruses being installed on my phone
• 0% – Other

The study looked at mobile banking habits from the start of 2014 until Dec. 21 among more than 2,900 respondents.