Gen Z and millennials are now as likely to have a banking app as a social media app on their phones, new research from Mastercard has found.

According to the study, which was based on a survey of just over 2,000 adults, 80 per of Gen Z have a banking app, while 76 per cent have a social media app on their phone. This compares to 75 per cent of millennials that have a banking platform on their mobile and 73 per cent that have a social media account on their phone.

Across all generations, there has been an increase in popularity of banking apps, with almost one in ten – 9 per cent – of the people currently using them only doing so since the pandemic.

Overall, mobile banking apps are the second most owned in the UK – 63 per cent – just behind social media apps at 66 per cent.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has hit people’s finances hard in the UK, with the youngest in society particularly impacted,” said Kelly Devine, divisional president, Mastercard. “As a result, we’ve found people are increasingly focused on keeping track of their finances on the go and the marked acceleration in the use of online and digital banking services, across all generations, is enabling this.”

Devine added: “Adoption of digital banking has really picked up amidst the pandemic however there are still many in society who are not fully comfortable with it. To ensure no one is left behind in the digital economy, more must be done to build digital skills and trust in digital financial services. The government can lead by example in adopting Open Banking and FinTech solutions within public services. Bolstering the financial and digital resilience of those most severely impacted by the pandemic must be the cornerstone of the Government’s recovery strategy.”

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