Bank of America Tops 40 Million Digital Users

Need to Know

• Bank of America added a million digital users in Q1, pushing it past 40 million active online users.
• The number of client-scheduled appointments made online, or via smartphone or tablet, jumped 23% from Q4 2020.
• Interactions with Erica, Bank of America’s AI Assistant, surpassed 100 million, across 19.5 million users.
• 70% of the Bank of America’s consumer households now use its digital platform in some capacity.

Analysis

Bank of America’s digital successes surged in Q1 of 2021, with more users gravitating towards the bank’s digital products and tools than ever.

On April 16, Bank of America revealed that it added a million digital users in Q1, bringing the number of active digital users it has to more than 40 million. According to CEO Brian Moynihan, 70% of Bank of America’s consumer households use the bank’s digital infrastructure in some way.

“When you think about it from a customer’s perspective, which is what we do as a business and comparing across the pandemic period of the last 12 months, we have simply added more customers across every line of business,” Moynihan said. “And those customers are more digitally engaged in every business as well.”

Bank of America’s digital success is largely due to the customer use of its online services, in addition to its banking products. In Q1, Bank of America saw the number of client-scheduled appointments made online, or via smartphone or tablet, jump 23%.

Erica, Bank of America’s AI-powered assistant, saw record growth last quarter, adding more than two million users. Erica saw 105.6 million interactions across its 19.5 million users during Q1, as the tool continues to be programmed to respond to more sophisticated queries, including questions relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Moynihan also noted that Bank of America’s online trading platform, Edge, saw growth, saying the platform now has more than three million users. In addition to substantial digital gains, Bank of America reported a profit increase for profit increase of 47% for Q1, of $8.1 billion, up from $5.5 billion in Q4 of 2020.

Bank of America rolled out a number of new digital tools and programs in 2020, as online banking took a backseat to in-person interactions due to COVID-19. In October, the bank launched digital financial planning tools, including Life Plan, which allows clients to set financial goals within Bank of America’s website and mobile app. Bank of America also bolstered its digital and mobile operations in September, include adding an integrated account view and consolidated rewards, reporting a 15% year-over-year increase in mobile-only users at that time.