The customers of Italian banks who mainly use mobile services on cell phones are growing and have now become over 5 million. According to CheBanca! Digital Banking Index, the observatory that measures digitization in banking services in Italy, created by CheBanca!, the Mediobanca Group bank dedicated to savings and investments, mobile users have grown from 3,6 million in March 2015 to 5,2 million in September 2016.
Practically, three out of ten online account holders (30,7%) usually access their bank via smartphone and 5,5% of online account holders in September 2016 are "mobile only" while just 18 months ago the percentage did not exceed 2,5%. However, the branch is confirmed as a fundamental point of contact in the relationship between the customer and their bank, remaining the point of reference for more complex transactions.
“Our Digital Banking Index confirms a trend that we have seen for some time at CheBanca!: in an era dominated by digitalisation, the physical-relational component is still crucial in the bank-customer relationship – he comments Roberto Ferrari, general manager by CheBanca! – The competitiveness of banks therefore depends, today more than ever, on the ability to dialogue with their customers through the right channel for each specific need. This is precisely why CheBanca! will continue to invest heavily also in the network of branches and promoters”.
Customers like apps, but mainly for basic operations
The various contact points between the customer and the bank continue to differ in terms of use and the Apps are mainly used for basic operations: 26% of customers access to check their balance and movements; 21% to make transfers and payments; only 3% for trading and investing in funds and policies. The situation does not change considering access via the Web: the use for trading securities, investing in funds and policies and stipulating certificates and deposit accounts is still scarce, for these operations the branch remains the preferred channel.
The trend is confirmed despite the fact that banks offer increasingly complex services via Apps, which go beyond the simple control of the balance and movements on the account and payments. The offer relating to P2P payments has grown significantly (54% in September 2016 vs 13% in March 2015) and the possibility of carrying out trading operations from mobile devices continues to increase (67% vs 50%).
There is still considerable growth potential for digital banking services
There were 2016 million account holders who accessed their current accounts from the Web or App in September 17,7. Who is it about? They are mostly males (56,9%) under the age of 45 (54%) and who live in the North (48,5%). Subjects with high availability of spending (above 2.000 euros per month) who operate online are about double compared to the complementary segment of non-online bankers (16,2% vs 8,7%).
On the opposite side however we still find 6,3 million people who do not operate their accounts through the network despite having a current account and using the Internet on a regular basis: a significant growth potential for digital banking services.
