Study Suggests Americans In Lower Income Households Less Likely to Leverage Digital Banking and Payments During Social Distancing than Higher Income Households

William Mills/Harris Poll asked 1,043 U.S. adults, “During social distancing, how much more or less likely are you to leverage digital banking and digital payments?”

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--William Mills Agency, an independent public relations and marketing firm specializing in the financial industry, commissioned a survey conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll from March 23-24, 2020 among 1,043 U.S. adults ages 18 and older and asked, “During social distancing, how much more or less likely are you to leverage digital banking and digital payments?”

Overall, 73 percent of Americans said they would be more or much more likely to leverage digital banking and digital payments during social distancing.

However, when looking at income levels, only 64 percent of Americans in households with less than $50,000 said they were more or much more likely to use digital channels, which is significantly less than those households with incomes of $50,000 or more (78 percent). Similarly, education levels show a marked difference with 62 percent of those with high school education or less reporting they’re more or much more likely to leverage digital banking and digital payments during social distancing, compared to 78 percent of college graduates.

“While the results are somewhat expected, it is the different responses that make the study interesting,” said Amber Bush of William Mills Agency. “For example, 18 to 34-year-olds are less likely than those ages 45-64 to say they will be more or much more likely to use digital banking and payments during social distancing (68 percent vs. 82 percent), but we have seen enough studies on digital banking to suggest the younger group is more inclined to already be using these channels.”

To learn more about William Mills Agency, please visit www.williammills.com.

Survey Method:
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of William Mills Agency from March 23-24, 2020 among 1,043 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Scott Mills at [e-mail].