Google’s Android platform may be growing faster than Apple’s iOS across the globe, but iOS is still a friendlier platform to bankers and marketers.
Users of iOS devices are more profitable and engaged than Android users, according to data from mobile banking software provider Malauzai.
IOS users make up more than 66% of Malauzai software users, who come more than 100 banks and and credit unions. Given Android’s growing popularity, this runs counter to expectations. Malauzai theorizes that iOS devices are bought by “older end-users who can afford the devices and who are probably more profitable consumers to financial institutions.”
In the area of person-to-person payments and bill payment, the value of money moved is 80% higher for iOS users than Android users. IOS users also hold greater account balances than their Android counterparts.
IOS users also spend more time engaging with their accounts than Android users do. Among iOS users, 72.5% are active users (defined by Malauzai as logging in at least once during a 90-day period) versus 67% of Android users. Furthermore, iOS users are more active users of picture bill pay, a function that uses the smartphone camera to pay bills. IOS users use the service at a rate 70% higher than Android users. Additionally, iOS users are three times as likely to choose an expedited — fee-generating — option for paying bills.
Yesterday, the ad platform Nanigans released a study showing that iOS was a more lucrative platform for advertisers, as well. “For the first three quarters of 2013, RPC [revenue per click] on iOS averaged 6.1 times higher than Android and ROI [return on investment] on iOS averaged 17.9 times higher than Android.”
In August, the news was all about iOS’s flagging marketshare, Apple’s woes, and the inevitable dominance of Android. That may still be true. Just don’t tell bankers or marketers.