Online Banking About As Popular As Social Media – Pew Research

Pew Internet recently released its “Digital differences” report describing American adoption of the Internet and the rise of mobile connectivity.

While Internet adoption has plateaued (79% of Americans use the Internet), the rise of mobile is apparent.  About 46% of adults in the country have a smartphone.  And no surprise – younger adults continue to have higher-than-average levels of smartphone ownership.

Specific to online banking, the report states that online banking is a relatively common activity online: 61% of adult Internet users do it, making it about as popular an activity as using social networking sites.

Those with at least some college (including college graduates) are more likely to use online banking than those with a high school diploma or less, and those in households making less than $30,000 per year are the income bracket least likely to use online banking, while those in households making more than $75,000 per year are most likely. Online banking is also more popular with online men than with online women. There are no differences by race or ethnicity.

The full report can be found on Pew’s website.

On a related note, check out Pew’s report on The Future of Money in a Mobile Age.