More Americans use mobile banking, Fed says

More and more Americans are using mobile phones to access bank accounts, credit cards, or other financial accounts in 2014, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve on Thursday.

By the end of 2014, 39 percent of the American adults with mobile phones and bank accounts have used mobile banking, an increase from the 33 percent in 2013 and the 22 percent in 2011.

Use of mobile payments has also increased. In 2013, 22 percent of mobile phone users and 28 percent smart phone users reported using mobile payments, up from the 12 percent and 23 percent in 2011 respectively.

Mobile phones are also used to help make decisions while shopping. Among smartphone owners, 47 percent had used their phone to compare prices over the internet, and 33 percent had scanned a barcode to find the best price, while shopping at a retail store.

A preference for other methods of banking and making payments, as well as concerns about security, continue to be the main impediments to the use of mobile financial services, said the report. About 62 percent of the respondents in the survey cited security concern as a common reason for not using mobile banking.

The report also found that residents of rural areas have lower incidence of mobile banking and mobile payment use than urban residents.

The survey, the fourth yearly poll of its kind, was conducted from December 5 to 21, 2014, and more than 2,900 respondents completed the survey. Endite