Mobile phone banking transactions made by British customers have nearly doubled in a single year, according to new industry figures compiled by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

Customers are now making more than 5.7m transactions a day using smart phones and other internet-enabled technology.

The findings feature in the BBA’s opening Way We Bank Now study. It shows that customers of the five biggest retail banks have:

• Downloaded more than 12.4m bank apps
• Used their mobile phones for 18.6m transactions a week in 2013 – up from 9.1m in 2012
• Made nearly 40m mobile and internet transactions a week in 2013
• 28.4m debit and credit cards fitted with contactless technology
• Signed up to receive more than 457.7m SMS balance alerts and other text messages during 2013.

Anthony Browne, chief executive of the BBA, said: “A revolution is underway in how people spend, move and manage their money. This is not just about the phenomenal growth of mobile banking, which has already allowed millions of British customers to make billions of transactions from the palm of their hand.

“Consumers are also rushing to use contactless cards, text alerts and a range of other easy-to-use technology. This is innovation that connects us more strongly to our banks than ever before and gives us greater freedom to handle our money wherever and whenever we please.

“Make no mistake, the branch will remain integral to banking services in the 21st century – especially for those big moments in life such as arranging a mortgage. But the day-to-day use of branches is falling and part of that is because there is a groundswell of people who now find that banking on the move is fast, easy and convenient.”