How the U.S. compares to others in fintech use

A survey finds that despite the growing adoption of such financial technology as mobile banking and mobile wallets, enough people are still attached to paper money that it’s not going away soon.

However, the prevalence of paper money in various regions highlights future explosive growth potential for fintech.

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According to venture capital firm Blumberg Capital’s survey, conducted in France, Germany, Israel, the U.K. and the U.S., Israel is coming out as an early adopter of fintech, with Israel more likely than other countries surveyed to use mobile banking apps and mobile wallets to make a purchase at least once per month.

In addition, 7 percent of Israeli adults say they have used alternative financing/lending services within the last 12 months—whether it’s peer-to-peer lending, online lender or lease-to-own.

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In fact, Israeli adults are most likely to use a mobile banking app at least once a month to do everything from checking account balances, to transferring funds and making mobile deposits (50 percent, compared with 38 percent in the U.S., 37 percent in the U.K., 35 percent in France and 28 percent in Germany).

Israeli adults are also more likely than French, British, and American adults to use mobile wallet apps to purchase goods/services at least once a month (27 percent of Israeli adults, compared with 21 percent of French adults, 18 percent of American adults and 17 percent of British adults).

The survey also finds that, although many regard cash as an antiquated form of payment, paper money is still regularly in use. That’s particularly true in Germany, where adults are most likely to use cash to make purchases at least once a week (75 percent, compared with 64 percent of British adults, 58 percent of American adults, 48 percent of French adults and 47 percent of Israeli adults).

It’s probably also a little alarming how little concerned fintech users are in general about cyberfraud, with Blumberg Capital's 2017 State of Cybersecurity Report findings indicating “a gross overconfidence in cybersecurity knowledge and safety despite $15 billion being stolen from 13.1 million American consumers in 2015 in the U.S. alone.”

British, American and Israeli adults are more likely than French and German adults to worry about being defrauded (scams, identity theft, hacked accounts) when making financial transactions online (43 percent, 39 percent and 38 percent, compared with 31 percent and 23 percent, respectively)—although Germans’ reliance on cash rather than electronic transactions could have something to do with that.