Are you banking on your smartphone yet?
A survey has revealed that just under one in five consumers were happy to make payments through banking apps, yet just under three quarters were confident banking online.
You're probably aware that there has been a flurry of new payments apps in recent months, with most major banks now providing free apps for both smartphones and tablet computers. However, many still fear security breaches and instead prefer to bank online, over the phone or in person.
Despite stringent security controls, more than eight out of ten of those polled said they felt they were more likely to be the victims of fraud when banking through a phone than when using a computer.
Almost of quarter of respondents said they still preferred walking into a local branch to carry out all banking transactions, with one in ten people preferring to deal with their bank over the phone.
A spokesman from FridayFriday.com, who commissioned the survey, said the results showed that for some making detailed banking payments via their mobile was viewed as too much of a risk, regardless of the reality.
He said: "Nowadays there is an app for pretty much everything and with consumers more pressed for time than ever, it's no wonder that banks are keen to offer mobile apps to help people deal with their finances on the go.
"It's taken years for consumers to come to terms with banking developments, firstly from branch to phone and then from phone to online. It seems that it may yet take more time before the majority of consumers are happy to conduct their banking business on their smartphones.
“Interestingly, we noted that while most of those polled said they preferred to bank online and felt more at risk of fraud on their phones, the majority also realised that the two operate similar security systems. Put simply, they knew that the phone should be as safe, but just didn’t feel that it would be.
"It always takes time for consumers to adapt to new ideas and this is likely to take longer with banking products, because it is something they feel particularly concerned about."