Mobile phones to take over as most popular way to bank

MOBILE banking will become the most popular way to manage money next year, research shows, as customers sign up with smartphone-only banks.

The growth of mobile banking smartphone apps will see them eclipse desktop banking as the most popular digital banking method in 2019, say industry data specialists CACI.

At present, 41 per cent of current account holders use mobile banking on a regular basis, while 42 per cent use internet banking on their computer, according to the findings.

By 2019 some 47 per cent will use phones and only 36 per cent will use their computer to manage their current account, the report predicts.

It comes as bank branches are disappearing from UK high streets and a new breed of smartphone-only banks gain traction.

Monzo, which is app-based and has around half a million customers, has a waiting list of several thousand people as it struggles to cope with demand.

The researchers said on average, people now visit their bank branch only five times a year. They predicted a big jump in digital banking in rural areas and coastal towns.

Jamie Morawiec, associate partner at CACI, said: “Almost half of customers in places like London, Oxford and Brighton are already using apps to manage their current accounts.”

This month, Royal Bank of Scotland said it will close 162 branches in England and Wales. In April, Lloyds Banking Group revealed 49 planned closures.