Turkey leads Europe in mobile banking

Turkey is the country with the highest mobile banking usage in Europe. The assistant general manager of ING Bank's private banking unit, Barbaros Uygun, announced that according to a survey conducted in 15 countries among 15,000 people, 65 percent of Turkish Internet users perform their banking transactions via mobile banking. Following Turkey was Spain and the Netherlands, who tied with 61 percent each, while the European average was 53 percent. Uygun said by 2014, the number of mobile banking users had increased fivefold compared to previous years, while the number of active users performing their transactions through their mobile devices increased to 66 percent. He also stressed that their target was 80 percent.

The survey highlighted that one out of every two people in Europe and the U.S. has conducted purchases via their mobile devices. In Europe, while 58 percent of mobile phone users make purchases with their smartphones or tablets, this number is around 84 percent in Turkey. While the average in Europe is 79 percent, 93 percent of mobile banking users in Turkey have made purchases via online banking using their devices within one year. Mobile shopping is more commonly undertaken by men in Europe and by women in Turkey. Electronic products and clothing are the two main product groups purchased using mobile devices. While males under 35 constitute the demographic with the highest inclination to shop online using mobile devices, male users mostly purchase games and electronic devices, while female users mostly purchase clothing items.

Uygun noted that as ING Group, they have begun exporting software and products to many countries, and by using the ParaMara platform, they will be exporting mobile wallets to Spain and the Netherlands. Uygun also said that all ATM software in Europe will be provided by ING Bank Turkey.