As it stands, 8% of US adults have an online-only bank account, an increase of 2 percentage points from 2021 according to a recent global survey of 2,501 conducted by Finder in April 2022.
4% of American adults reported not having an online-only banking account at all but plan to open one in the next 5 years. 3% of American adults who don’t currently have an online-only banking account plan to open one in the next year. 2022’s figure of 8% is expected to hit 11% by 2023 and 15% by the year 2027 – an increase of 7 percentage points over the next 5 years.
Estimated number of online bankers in the US
Men are still more likely to have an online-only bank account
American men are more likely to have accounts with online banks than women, with 10% of men compared to 6% of women saying they have an account.
People aged 18–24 are most likely to bank online
Americans ages 18–24 and 25–34 are most likely to have accounts with online banks, with 11% having an active service, followed by ages 35–44 (8%), 45–54 (7%), 55–64 (5%) and 65+ (5%).
Which country has the most digital bankers?
Brazil leads the way for digital bankers in 2022, with 43% of those surveyed saying they have an account. Brazil is followed by India (26%), Ireland (22%), Singapore (21%), Hong Kong (20%), United Arab Emirates (19%), Mexico (17%), Spain (17%) and South Africa (15%).
At the other end of the spectrum, the United States has the smallest percentage of adults with a digital-only bank account (8%), followed by both the Philippines and Malaysia at 13%, and Portugal and Germany with 14%.
During the previous survey, Mexico was projected to see an increase in digital bankers of 20 percentage points from 2021 to 2026, which was the highest growth rate of all of the selected countries. And that growth is expected to continue in the years to come with the number of digital bankers in Mexico projected to increase between 2022 to 2027 by almost 24 percentage points (once again the highest growth rate). The United Arab Emirates is close behind with a projected increase of 22 percentage points, followed by The Philippines (21 points) and India (19 points).
Did digital banks lose customers as a result of COVID-19?
Interestingly, 5 countries saw a drop in the number of adults who said they had a digital-only bank account from last year's survey.
Malaysia had the largest drop of 7 percentage points. The Philippines saw the second-biggest drop of 6 percentage points, while Germany saw a 5-point drop. Meanwhile, Ireland saw a drop of 3 percentage points.
However, in the majority of countries we looked we see an uptick in the number of people who say they had a digital-only bank account. Brazil sees an 11 percentage point bump in digital bankers between 2021 and 2022, with Mexico not far behind at 6 percentage points.
However, all countries are expected to see an increase again by 2027. On average, 34% of people worldwide will have a digital bank account within the next 5 years, up from an average of just 19% in 2022.
Are men or women more likely to have a digital-only bank account?
In 13 of the 14 countries surveyed, men are more likely to have a digital-only bank account. Of these, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (9 points), Mexico, Singapore and Spain (8 points) had the biggest gender gaps.
Meanwhile, in Portugal, women are actually just as likely to have an online-only bank account with 14% of both men and women saying they have an account.
Adoption highest with younger people
Across the globe, individuals that are most likely to have a digital bank account in Brazil are ages 25–34 (55%), Malaysia ages 18–24 (20%), Philippines ages 35–44 (16%), Ireland ages 25–34 (34%), Mexico ages 25–34 (22%), Hong Kong ages 35–44 (23%), Singapore ages 18–24 (39%), United Arab Emirates ages 18–24 (31%), Germany ages 35–44 (17%), Spain ages 18–24 (22%), South Africa ages 35–44 (18%), India ages 18–24 (33%) and Portugal ages 18–24 (22%).For all media inquiries, please contact:
Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager
Image: Getty
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