Mobile Banking To Hit 1B Users In US

New data from Juniper Research shows that mobile banking should hit 1 billion users by the end of 2015.

With smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and wearables all contributing to the digital and mobile banking push, the data shows that the trends are expected to continue. That same research indicates that wearables will make up 100 million of mobile banking sessions by the year 2020.

This data makes an obvious case why banks are targeting the device-driven millennial generation. In fact, Nitin Bhas, head of research at Juniper, told The Wall Street Journal that this particular age bracket turns to mobile devices over computers because of the fact that all of their go-to services are put on their smartphones.

But banks, in most cases, he said, haven’t caught up to the trend.

“Most are restricted to just balance information. This is one reason why [wearable technology in banking] is perceived to be a gimmick,” Bhas said.

By 2020, the number of mobile banking users worldwide, according to Juniper’s research, will reach 2 billion. While the wearables figure is projected at 100 million by 2020, the 2015 figure is just 10 million.

That shows how bullish researchers are on the future of wearables. And even Juniper’s earlier estimates are getting adjusted to match the staggering growth. The 1 billion figure arrived six months before Juniper’s original projection of mid-2016. But growth in both emerging markets, as well as developed markets, have helped propel those projections faster than expected, Bhas said.