VANCOUVER – A small, but growing, minority of Canadians have embraced mobile banking, and this number will increase in tandem with smart phone ownership, according to a new Ipsos Reid study.
A recent issue of the Ipsos Canadian Inter@ctive Reid Report, which investigated online Canadians’ use of web-based financial services, found that 12% of online Canadians have conducted banking from their mobile device in the past three months, up from 2011 data which found that just 8% of online Canadians used this service.
With 78% of respondents report conducting any type of online banking transaction in the past three months, (up from 73% last year), the adoption of mobile banking may be limited by the penetration of smart phones in the Canadian marketplace. With one-third (36%) of online adults in Canada now owning a smart phone, mobile banking is predicted to continue to strengthen as more Canadians become equipped with the technology that will enable them to use this service.
This same study found that nearly all online Canadians say that they are now confident that Canadian financial services industry can ensure the security and privacy of their information (87%, with 35% very confident and 52% somewhat confident; up from 77% confident in 2008). This suggests that as Canadians feel more secure, online and mobile banking will become even more widespread, the study continued.
The study, conducted April 30 – May 4, involved an online survey of 843 Canadian adults via the Ipsos Online Panel.
