The Effects of Mobile Banking Apps on Financial Decisions: Evidence on Overdrafts and Delinquency
(A2026-133852)

AUTHORS

Ernesto Rodríguez, Universidad de Zaragoza; F. JAVIER SESE, University of Zaragoza ESQ5018001G; Ana Minguez, University of Zaragoza; Huan Liu, Business School, Nankai University

ABSTRACT

In an increasingly complex financial environment, making good financial decisions becomes challenging. Mobile banking apps are increasingly used in everyday money management, yet causal evidence on whether they help or hinder financial decisions remains limited. Using a longitudinal panel of 50,000 customers from a major bank for the period 2015–2020, we study how the adoption and usage of the bank app affects overdrafts and delinquency. We combine Coarsened Exact Matching with staggered Difference-in-Differences to address self-selection and heterogeneous adoption timing. Results show that app adoption increases both the incidence and amount of overdraft, and it also raises delinquency amounts, with effects strengthening over time. Effects are larger for app usage in mobile (vs. tablet) devices, and for customers with less online banking experience, lower tenure, and less educated. The findings indicate that financial apps can shape financial decisions in undesired ways, highlighting the need for responsible design and usage