revealed that of its Consumer Banking customers active in at least one channel in the previous 90 days, 72% are active digital customers, up 2 percentage points from Q3 2018. The bank also revealed that a majority of its active customers are active mobile banking users — a 13% year-over-year spike — making Q3 the first quarter in which this was the case; for context, 50% were mobile active customers in Digital channels are also dominating US Bank customers' transactions.
The growing popularity of digital channels bodes well for US Bank's bottom line, considering digital transactions are more cost effective than in-person or phone transactions: Customer interactions with a teller or call agent incur a variable cost of $4 for a bank, while mobile interactions cost around 10 cents, But US Bank's digital channel continues to lag physical channels in loan sales. Just 34% of the bank's loan sales came via digital in Q3.
If US Bank's onboarding capabilities aren't driving adoption, it opens the door for competitors to fill the gap: Fintechs issued of all US personal loans last year, up from just 5% in 2013, per TransUnion. And it's not just fintechs that present a potent threat; other firms that serve legacy banks are bolstering their account-opening solutions as well.