Bank of America Survey Highlights Rapid Growth
of Person-to-Person Payments, Reveals Real-Time Speed, Peer
Influence and Rise of Offerings Driving Usage
It appears Americans have run out of excuses for not paying
their friends back in a timely manner, whether it’s for a $5 latte
or $2,500 vacation. A new survey released today finds 36 percent of
adults currently use a person-to-person payments service (P2P),
with millennials leading the charge at nearly double that rate (62
percent). What’s more, 45 percent of non-users say they plan to
start using the service within the next year, foreshadowing
exponential growth in the coming months.
These findings are from the latest Bank of America Trends in
Consumer Mobility Report, exploring emerging payments trends –
specifically P2P technologies that allow consumers to send money to
others via their mobile device – and forward-looking behaviors
among adult consumers who own a smartphone and have an existing
banking relationship at any financial institution. The release of
the survey follows the bank’s recent introduction of aspects of the
Zelle℠ experience into its mobile banking app.
“Technology is developing faster today than at any time in
history, and our newest report demonstrates how consumers are
embracing emerging technologies to make sense of their financial
lives,” said Michelle Moore, head of digital banking at Bank of
America. “We were among the first institutions to integrate the
features of Zelle this year, and we look forward to developing new
innovations that anticipate our customers’ ever-changing needs in
the payments space.”
Timing is top of mind
In a world where mobile technology is ubiquitous, most users say
they started using P2P due to convenience and time savings (68
percent). This motivation is closely followed by peer influence (48
percent), new offerings from banks (30 percent) and a desire to no
longer use cash or checks (16 percent).
Users are also in agreement that time is of the essence when
paying each other back. The majority (69 percent) of respondents
say they pay others back within the same day, and one-third say in
under an hour. Similarly, 53 percent expect others to pay them back
within 24 hours, and 22 percent within the hour.
Minding payments p’s and q’s
When it comes to what people are paying each other back for,
just about anything goes. Practicality tops the list with shared
bills (45 percent), including utilities and rent, being the most
popular reason to use P2P, which is closely followed by shared
expenses for gifts (42 percent), travel (37 percent) and dining (35
percent).
And the dollar amount doesn’t seem to matter much either.
Fifty-one percent believe requesting a payment from others for $5
or less is socially acceptable, and 36 percent claim no amount is
“too low.” The same mentality applies to sending funds, as 44
percent say they would be comfortable sending $1,000 or more to
others using P2P, with 26 percent saying no amount is “too
high.”
Imagining a world without physical currency
In sharing opinions about others’ payments faux pas, it appears
that checks cause the most headaches. People are most annoyed by
others paying via check in store (51 percent), followed by a delay
in cashing checks (38 percent) and ignoring payment requests (24
percent).
As emerging payments continue to rival traditional methods,
Americans increasingly question whether today’s youngest
generations will ever use cash, checks or credit cards in their
traditional forms. When asked what they believe to be true about
children under the age of 10, many respondents agree they won’t
know how to write a check (71 percent) and won’t use physical
credit cards (42 percent). One in seven think the youngest members
of Generation Z won’t even know what cash is.
Bank of America’s focus on mobile bankingWith more than 22
million active mobile users and growing, Bank of America’s mobile
banking platform is an evolving source of increased customer
engagement and satisfaction. During the first quarter of 2017,
mobile banking customers logged into their accounts 980 million
times, or approximately 44 times per user. During that same period,
customers made more than 29 million mobile bill payments and nearly
9 million P2P transfers, a growth of 76 percent over 2016.
Customers also used their mobile devices to deposit more than
315,000 checks daily and redeem over 1 million credit card cash and
travel rewards. More customers are opening new accounts through
mobile, with sales increasing by 36 percent over the past year.
About the Bank of America Trends in Consumer Mobility Report
Convergys (an independent market research company) conducted a
nationally representative, panel sample online survey on behalf of
Bank of America March 20-April 1, 2017. Convergys surveyed 1,005
respondents throughout the U.S., comprised of adults 18+ with a
current banking relationship (checking or savings), and who own a
smartphone. An additional 407 panelists were surveyed who also use
a person-to-person payments service. The margin of error for the
national sample of n=1,005 is +/- 3.1 percent, and the margin of
error for the person-to-person payments oversample where n=407 is
+/- 4.9 percent, with each reported at a 95 percent confidence
level.
Bank of AmericaBank of America is one of the world’s leading
financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and
middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range
of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and
risk management products and services. The company provides
unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately
47 million consumer and small business relationships with
approximately 4,600 retail financial centers, approximately 15,900
ATMs, and award-winning digital banking with approximately 35
million active users and more than 22 million mobile users. Bank of
America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and
investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset
classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and
individuals around the world. Bank of America offers
industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business
owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products
and services. The company serves clients through operations in all
50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Puerto Rico and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation
stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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www.bankofamerica.com
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170511005006/en/
Reporters May Contact:Betty Riess, Bank of America,
1.415.913.4416betty.riess@bankofamerica.com
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