40% of Digital Bank Users Choose Mobile Wallets Over Plastic

Digital bank customers are turning the mobile wallet from a convenience into their default way to pay.

That shift stands out in “Pay by Bank Deep Dive: Digital Bank Users Are Ready to Switch,” a PYMNTS Intelligence report with Trustly based on a survey of 2,071 U.S. bank customers. The research found that digital bank users are younger, more mobile-focused and far more likely than other consumers to prefer digital wallets. That familiarity could also make them receptive to Pay by Bank, which lets shoppers authorize payments directly from a bank account through a digital flow.

Key Points:

44.6% of digital bank customers prefer digital wallets, compared with 22.7% of consumers overall.

40.9% of digital bank users prefer wallets for retail purchases, while 29.5% favor debit cards and 18.9% prefer credit cards.

51.9% use wallets for rideshare payments, while 43% prefer them for subscriptions and 37.7% choose them for groceries.

The findings show that digital wallet use among digital bank customers extends well beyond one or two mobile-first categories. Wallets lead for retail, subscriptions, rideshare, gambling and account-to-account payments. Debit still holds an edge for groceries and bills, though wallets remain a significant choice in both categories.

That broad use gives banks, merchants and payment providers a clearer path to introduce new payment options. Digital bank users already understand login-based checkout and tokenized credentials. Moving them toward Pay by Bank may feel less like teaching someone a new language and more like adding a familiar word to the conversation.

The report also found that incentives could accelerate adoption. Digital bank users said they would shift as much as 35.4% of account-to-account transactions to Pay by Bank when discounts and buyer protection are included. They could also move 32% of bill payments, 28.8% of gambling transactions and 27.3% of rideshare purchases.

Immediate cash benefits ranked as the leading incentive among 43.1% of digital bank users, while 16.9% cited buyer protection. More broadly, 69% of digital bank customers already view Pay by Bank as a debit substitute or would do so with rewards, buyer protection or both.

For banks and merchants, the opportunity is encouraging. Consumers who already organize much of their financial lives through phones appear open to another digital payment option, provided the experience stays simple, protections remain clear and the financial value is easy to see. The wallet may serve as the bridge between familiar card payments and a broader range of direct bank transactions.

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