| By Jim Bruene on May 6, 2008 9:54 AM | Comments (3) |
In an unscientific poll of 500 Facebook users (see note 1), we found that 13% of respondents are interested in accessing their bank balance through their Facebook account (red bar below).
Source: Online Banking Report, 9 April 2008, n = 500
While that's not exactly a ringing endorsement of the idea, it's potentially enough early adopters to get the service rolling. Most of the interest emanated from younger segments. For example, 18% of 18-to-24 year-olds said they'd probably use Facebook banking (gray bar below) compared to about 5% of the 25-49 group (green and yellow bars below).
Source: Online Banking Report, 9 April 2008, n = 500
But it will take education to move "Facebook banking" into the mainstream. The majority of respondents, 70%, said there is "no way" they'd bank within Facebook and another 13% said probably not, resulting in a strong 83% negative rating. Given well-founded concerns surrounding online security, that's not surprising.
For more information:
- See previous posts on Facebook banking apps from mShift and Galaxy
- See Online Banking Report on Social Personal Finance
Note:
1. Survey was conducted April 9 through Facebook's polling mechanism. Total respondents = 500. Respondents are self-selected so the results should not be used to forecast specific demand.
Most Recent Posts:
- Credit Karma Provides Free Credit Scores to Sears Cardholders with Private-Label Version - Mar 16, 2010
- Thanks to our March 2010 NetBanker Sponsors - Mar 14, 2010
Interesting but scary.
I've had an ATM card since 1978, and have been an early adopter of online banking etc.
Banking from Facebook seems scary to me. They're a known quantity, however, not that well trusted!!
Thanks for this! Great information.
Thanks for this valuable information. The 70% who say "no way" would they use Facebook to view their bank account balance is more of a statement on Facebook than on the role social networking can (and I might argue, already does) play in banking. I can see Facebook eventually stemming the inherent weaknesses the data evidenced. That would certainly help Facebook -- and banking consumers alike. But it will be a challenge for Facebook. Facilitating greater security implies putting more limitations on usage. I am not sure such limitations synch with Facebook's goals, at least in the near-term.