A new study suggests that over a third of the world’s population will bank using mobile devices by 2020, with an increasing number using wearables like smartwatches and smart glasses to authenticate transactions.
Juniper Research’s “Worldwide Digital Banking: Mobile, Online & Wearable 2015-2020” report reveals that the global mobile banking user base will reach two billion by 2020, representing 37 percent of the global adult population.
The study indicated that the global number of banking apps accessed via smartwatches will rise to reach ten million in 2017, growing again to more than 100 million by 2020. The recent launch of wearable payment services, like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, are expected to help with the predicted growth.
Juniper analysts believe that wearables, including smartwatches and glasses, are not suited for conducting complicated financial instructions, instead suggesting that they will become a key device for multi-factor authentication – for banking transaction approvals.
“Digital banking has experienced a substantial progression towards personalised computing. We do believe that keeping pace with technology evolution, wearable banking will witness a faster adoption rate than mobile banking especially amongst millennials”, added research author Nitin Bhas.