Do you have an “app gap”?

Community banks and credit unions lag behind larger financial institutions in offering mobile banking applications, according to research by Malauzai, a company that specializes in providing such apps.

“While there has been significant growth in the number of banks and credit unions offering mobile banking apps, it is surprising that nearly half of community institutions still do not,” says Robb Gaynor, Malauzai’s chief product officer.

Out of the 7,669 institutions in the specified segment, 4,221, or about 55%, have mobile banking apps in the App Store. When Malauzai conducted the same count in 2013, only 37% of institutions were present in the App Store.

“While there has been significant growth in the number of banks and credit unions offering mobile banking apps, it is surprising that nearly half of community institutions still do not,” he says.

Malauzai also found that more credit unions in the segment offer mobile banking apps than banks; 65% of credit unions have an app in the App Store while just 51% of banks have a presence.

From a geographic standpoint, institutions in the Southeast have the highest number of apps while the West Coast and upper Midwest are the lowest.

In terms of asset size, those institutions between $1 billion to $5 billion are the leaders with 89% having an app. The smaller banks and credit unions between $50 million and $100 million are the lowest at 29%.

“Each year we literally count the apps in the Apple App Store to determine the health of the mobile banking market,” says Gaynor. “This year we found that the market is strong and community institutions are making strides in delivering mobile banking to their account holders, but there is still opportunity for growth.”