Lockdown sees a surge in the use of digital banking

Yorkshire Bank branches are to be renamed Virgin Money

The research showed that almost three in 10 people in Yorkshire (29 per cent) have downloaded a mobile banking app since the lockdown began. Four in 10 (40 per cent) digital banking users have been using it more often during lockdown than they did before it began.

The need to check transactions as a result of increased online shopping was the most common reason for using digital banking more frequently (34 per cent).

The need to keep a closer eye on their bank accounts due to concerns about money (31 per cent) as well as having more time to be able to look at their bank account (28 per cent) were also key reasons driving Yorkshire consumers to digital banking.

Over one in three (31 per cent) people in Yorkshire who have used digital banking said they are now more confident using it since lockdown began.

Going forward, 84 per cent of Yorkshire users said they plan to carry on using digital banking as much they have done during lockdown or to use it more frequently.

More than half (53 per cent) plan to use branches and face to face banking less post-lockdown than they did pre-lockdown, or not to use them at all.

Paul Titterton, head of personal distribution for Virgin Money, said: “Many people have embraced digital banking as a way to safely and easily manage their money during lockdown.

“Having now got familiar with it and seen the benefits, many intend to carry on using it in the future.

“We have seen this first hand with our own customers, with our digital adoption rate for current account customers in April showing the largest monthly increase we have ever seen and average daily mobile app log ins increasing by almost 10 per cent.”

In Yorkshire, checking balances and transactions is the most common use for online and mobile banking (74 per cent), followed by transferring money to their own accounts (54 per cent), paying bills (50 per cent) and transferring money to friends and family (45 per cent).

Four in ten (40 per cent) who have used digital banking, are using it for things now that they didn’t use before lockdown. A sixth (14 per cent) now use online banking to check their balance and transactions which they hadn’t done before lockdown.