Virtual Banking Is Here To Stay

Online banking, and mobile banking specifically, is on the rise. As we reported last week, mobile banking is changing the payments landscape in Africa. With the creation of innovative mobile banking solutions, isolated populations are gaining access to services that could not reach them before. In many African countries, traditional high street branches were circumvented in favor of far-reaching mobile solutions or local agents. Developing countries pioneered many of the solutions which are now being widely used in developed countries to give more flexible access to banks to their customers.

In Europe too, online and mobile banking are changing the way people relate to their bank. Traditionally a region where customers relied on local branches and close customer-manager relationships now online banking is ubiquitous and far more practical for most of the population. In the Netherlands, the Economist reports that only half of the country’s bank customers have walked into a local branch in the past year and more than 80% use online banking. In the UK, banks like Natwest and RBS are offering more and more services in their mobile platforms – such as bill payments and P2P money transfers – to discourage customers from their local branches.

Whether in Africa or in Europe, mobile banking has become a mainstay for most people today. A growing use of mobile phones, and smartphones specifically, and an increased online service offering from banks is giving customers no reason to go visit their local physical branch.