"Beyond these activities, there really aren't more banking features that consumers can access via mobile," Liu said.
Who Are the Key Users?
Like with peer-to-peer payments (P2P), millennials are banking on their mobile phones at a much higher rate than older generations. We estimate that there will be 50.3 million millennial mobile phone banking users in the US by the end of 2018.
In contrast, we expect 31.5 million Gen Xers to bank on mobile, and 17.6 million boomers to do so as well.
"Mobile banking may seem too complicated for older consumers, who are just more comfortable using a desktop or conducting their financial transactions in-person," Liu said.
What's Next for Mobile Banking?
Investment app startups like Robinhood and Betterment have gained traction in the news recently for apps largely targeted at people just getting their start in investing, and at the same time, established financial institutions are also making big bets on mobile apps.
In August 2018, JP Morgan Chase launched a digital investing service with lower fees than it previously offered and 100 free trades in the first year to anyone who downloaded its mobile banking app or used its websites. Bank of America said it tripled its mobile banking budget from 2015 to 2016 and it remained at that level throughout 2017. And last week, T-Mobile announced that it was getting back into mobile banking with the launch of its T-Mobile Money app.