Overall, mobile banking usage is still growing, but more quickly at some financial institutions.
Bank of America Corp., which reported earnings today, saw about 3% growth in its mobile users during the second quarter. The bank grew to 22.9 million mobile active users from 22.2 million MAUs in the first quarter.
Both BofA and JPMorgan Chase & Co. displayed steady mobile growth last quarter. Chase reported 28.4 million MAUs during its quarterly earnings last week, from 27.3 million in the first quarter, pulling ahead of Wells Fargo & Co., which, as previously reported, had a quarterly growth rate of less than 1%.
However, all three banks are growing year-over-year at about the same rate, from just over 13% for Wells and BofA to Chase’s 14%. Wells Fargo growth rate, however, appears to be plateauing over the few quarters, as the graph below illustrates.
BofA’s mobile growth last quarter can be attributed to a number of factors, not the least of which is its continued focus on consumer experience, CEO Brian Moynihan said.
“This started in 2009, when we had some digital banking capabilities, but nothing like what we have now,” said Moynihan on the bank’s earnings call today. “We continue to invest in technology to keep up with customer behavior changes, and throughout all of this our customer experience has continued to improve.”
Aside from overall mobile functionality, BofA has been adding digital features, like its virtual assistant, Erica, as well as P2P capabilities through its deal with Zelle — Chase, Wells and many other banks also offer the payments service. P2P has become a fast-growing product segment at Bank of America.