In an unscientific poll of 500 Facebook users (see note 1), we found that 13% of respondents are interested in accessing their bank balance through their Facebook account (red bar below).
Source: Online Banking Report, 9 April 2008, n = 500
While that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of the idea, it’s potentially enough early adopters to get the service rolling. Most of the interest emanated from younger segments. For example, 18% of 18-to-24 year-olds said they’d probably use Facebook banking (gray bar below) compared to about 5% of the 25-49 group (green and yellow bars below).
Source: Online Banking Report, 9 April 2008, n = 500
But it will take education to move “Facebook banking” into the mainstream. The majority of respondents, 70%, said there is “no way” they’d bank within Facebook and another 13% said probably not, resulting in a strong 83% negative rating. Given well-founded concerns surrounding online security, that’s not surprising.
For more information:
- See previous posts on Facebook banking apps from mShift and Galaxy
- See Online Banking Report on Social Personal Finance
Note:
1. Survey was conducted April 9 through Facebook’s polling mechanism. Total respondents = 500. Respondents are self-selected so the results should not be used to forecast specific demand.