Over 47% of Indian men who participated in a survey believed that their spending has increased ever since they have started using their mobiles for purchases, like shopping, travel, ticketing etc.
Over 2500 respondents participated in an online survey held by ING Vysya Bank in liaison with ING International Survey (IIS), London. The study aimed to capture emerging consumer insights and behavioural trends in the run up to the launch of the new and improved ING Vysya Bank mobile banking application.
While the majority of the male respondents said mobile drove them to shop more, they also felt mobile banking helped them have better control over their money. 81.75% of male participants said they feel more in control of their money after they started using mobile banking. Also 42% of respondents said they use mobile banking on the move as against home (31%) or office (20%).
The survey, juxtaposed with ING International Survey findings on mobile banking consumer behaviour, threw out interesting findings on how Indians compare to European consumers. In a first-of-its-kind such comparative study, over 81% of respondents felt that they are in control of their money as against the European average of 66%. The European average comprised of 12 European countries covering a total sample size of 11724 respondents.
Indians, however, are in line with Europeans when it comes to expectations of banks enabling payments via social media, with only 32% really wanting this feature. Another interesting similarity is in the level of trust in mobile banking. 67% of both Indian and Europeans polled stated that they trust the security of mobile banking platforms.
Indian children are nearing global averages when it comes to usage of smart phones, over 50% of respondents said their son or daughter uses a smart phone which has either an internet connection or has a phone that is compatible with mobile applications. Baby boomers in India, however, are not that quick on mobility with only 30% using smart phones.
Between the age group 18-34, the survey noted close to 50% of respondents prefer using mobile banking applications over their desktops or laptops for accessing their bank accounts. Some of the most active features that customers use their mobile banking application were to check balances, transfer funds and check last few transactions.
Brett Morgan, Country Head – Branch Banking & Private Client Group, said, “In a country like India, where mobile penetration is exploding, we believe digital platforms is the best way to deliver our brand promise of “Jiyo Easy”. Taking cognizance of these consumer behavior findings, we designed a Mobile Banking app with many customer-centric and innovative USP’s. The encouraging rate of our app download and the very high ratings it has received from customers (on Apple App Store and Google Play Store), validates that we have built a unique and best-in-class banking app.”