Financial institutions are aware it’s ideal to have their non-mobile banking customers and members use mobile banking. Raddon Research Insights has thoroughly researched and published data-driven strategic considerations on the depths of satisfaction, loyalty and value mobile bankers bring to their financial institutions. Find the full study, Money on the Move: Mobile Banking Usage and Preference Trends, at www.raddon.com.

However, Raddon being Raddon, we couldn’t stop with exploring the value and attributes associated with just mobile bankers. We had to look at the non-mobile bankers as well. And not just any non-mobile bankers, but those who own smartphones. In theory, because they already use smartphones, they are the most probable to convert. Or are they?

The majority of non-mobile bankers who use smartphones are older and in the lower-income segments of the population. Figure 1 and Figure 2 highlight the demographic differences between smartphone owners who are mobile bankers and those who are not mobile bankers.

The most common reason these smartphone owners avoid mobile banking is their lack of trust in its security (see Figure 3). Based on trends, we see security is a larger factor now than it was even as recently as two years ago. Under the umbrella of security, specific concerns are predominantly identity theft (85 percent concerned), account hacking (82 percent) and fear of malware or a virus (61 percent).

Of the respondents who indicated they have trust issues with mobile banking security (84 percent), 85 percent were specifically worried about identity theft. That means that 71 percent worry about identity theft above all other issues or concerns they have with mobile banking. Of this population, only 2 percent say they would be extremely/very likely to switch over to mobile banking within the next 12 months.

Although members of this group may appear to be set in their ways, financial institutions may still have marketing opportunities to convert them into mobile bankers. The group is not overwhelmingly large, but 18 percent of smartphone-owning, non-mobile bankers have used their phones to purchase online products or services, and almost two-thirds of them did so in the last month, as Figure 4 shows.

Although these consumers are concerned with identity theft and hacking, many of them appreciate the convenience of using their phones for making purchases and loading account information. It may be tough for financial institutions to get members of this group to adopt their mobile app, but if they have a credit card or checking account, institutions can market the efficiency and ease of use the app offers and certainly showcase security levels. Also, they do not need to limit their marketing to younger consumers; more than a third of Baby Boomers who own smartphones also use mobile banking.

For more insights on smartphone-owning, non-mobile bankers and mobile bankers, visit www.raddon.com.