- Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) said its clients logged in to its digital platforms a record 10.5 billion times in 2021, a year-over-year increase of 15%. These are the details.
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) added over 2 million active digital clients last year, a single-year record, with its total number of verified digital users reaching over 54 million. And the bank’s clients logged in to its digital platforms a record 10.5 billion times in 2021, a year-over-year increase of 15%.
As of January 2022, the bank has 16 million active Zelle users – including small businesses – with clients sending more Zelle transactions than physical checks written in 2021 – 514 million compared to 453 million, respectively. And 86% of deposits are made through digital or ATM channels. Small business digital sales are nearly 300% above pre-2020 levels, and digital sales account for nearly 50% of total sales. Erica had engaged with clients for approximately 2.2 million hours in 2021. Clients can’t stop banking and are engaging with the bank’s full suite of capabilities:
— A record level of Zelle transactions totaled $231 billion sent and received in 2021, up over 64% year-over-year. Zelle accounted for 8% of total consumer spending at Bank of America in 2021, demonstrating client demand for fast, easy, and safe methods of paying friends and family, shopping digitally and in-store, and paying bills.
— Since launching in 2018, 24.6 million Bank of America clients have interacted with Erica, which is the most advanced AI-driven virtual financial assistant, a total of 659 million times. Last year, clients’ interactions with Erica were near twice the total of the previous two and a half years, with 123 million interactions taking place in Q4 2021 alone, a 247% year-over-year increase. Nearly 7 million clients engaged with Erica for the first time, and interactions among wealth management clients increased by 418% year-over-year.
— Bank of America Life Plan conversations in financial centers have led to the creation of more than 1.5 million future appointments to further discuss clients’ life priorities. Over 6 million Bank of America clients have created a Life Plan to set and track their financial goals and better understand and act on steps toward achieving them. Since launching in October 2020, Life Plan clients have created 2.1 million new deposit accounts, 78,000 new Merrill brokerage accounts, and opened 892,000 new card accounts.
— Since adding Merrill investment features to the Bank of America app in Q2 2020, Bank of America has seen a 90% increase in the number of clients accessing investment features through mobile. And Consumer Investments added 525,000 new funded accounts in 2021, bringing total accounts to 3.3 million. The Consumer Investments group is largely made up of Merrill Edge Self-Directed (MESD) accounts and Merrill Guided Investing (MGI) accounts. Last year, 40% of newly funded MESD and MGI accounts were opened by young investors under the age of 40, a 54% increase from 2019.
— Over 85% of Bank of America small business clients are using digital channels. In addition, 75% of the bank’s mid-sized and large corporate clients are relying on digital to manage their companies’ finances. In 2021, these companies approved $384 billion of payments through the CashPro app, a 119% increase year-over-year, with CashPro app sign-ins up 55%. Most recently, Bank of America launched CashPro Forecasting, a tool that uses AI and machine learning technology to more accurately predict future cash positions across client accounts at Bank of America and other financial institutions.
KEY QUOTES:
“Now more than ever, consumers and businesses depend on digital, and Bank of America continues to deliver efficient, safe, and reliable digital financial solutions. Our digital capabilities allow our clients to easily manage every aspect of their financial lives across banking, investing, lending and retirement, with access to advice and guidance from our financial professionals and through our financial centers when they need it.”
“Clients expect financial solutions that are timely, relevant, and secure. At Bank of America, we will continue to be at the forefront of innovation, leveraging best-in-class technology to support our clients through integrated and individualized capabilities to meet all of their financial needs.”
— David Tyrie, Chief Digital Officer and Head of Global Marketing at Bank of America
