Record digital banking usage over Christmas, report finds

James Cox

Analysis of Bank of Ireland customer behaviour between December 14th and 24th has shown record Christmas digital banking usage.

On Thursday, December 19th, close to 1.6 million digital banking logins were recorded across Bank of Ireland’s iOS and Android mobile apps, as well as through its online banking website.

This is higher digital banking usage than any other peak holiday or shopping period including Christmas, the traditionally busy Black Friday sales, and the Easter holiday season. The peak 2024 login figure is an increase of 4 per cent compared to December 2023.

Biometric logins to the mobile banking app have also grown in popularity, up by 45 per cent in December 2024 compared to December 2023. Over 3 million biometric logins were recorded during the month.

The pre-holiday period analysed saw contactless transactions increasing by 2 per cent, with over 1.9 million contactless transactions recorded on December 23rd alone, also making this a record-breaking figure for contactless transactions by Bank of Ireland customers.

While digital banking and contactless payments increased, the number of ATM transactions fell 12 per cent in December 2024 compared with the same date range (December 14th to 24th) in 2023.

Ciarán Coyle, group chief operating officer, Bank of Ireland, said: “As demonstrated by these latest figures consumers really value the speed of digital banking, especially during particularly busy holiday and shopping periods.

"We pair that digital service with telephone and branch options for more complex matters or bigger decisions. Being able to bank from anywhere – home, office, or on the move – is one of the greatest benefits of digital banking and that’s why we are focussed on continuing to invest in and enhance our digital banking services.”