Mobile Banking Growth and Operating Efficiency in Indian Commercial Banks: Evidence from Ten Public and Private Sector Banks, FY2017-18 to FY2024-25

Mobile banking has become a major delivery channel for Indian banks, but its link with bank operating efficiency remains unclear. This study examines ten commercial banks (five public-sector and five private-sector) using Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bank-wise mobile banking statistics for FY2017-18 to FY2024-25 and standalone financial data for FY2024-25. Average monthly mobile banking transactions of the ten banks rose from 106 million to 10,985 million, and annual volume grew by 54.9% a year between FY2021-22 and FY2024-25, although year-on-year growth slowed in each year. Public-sector banks accounted for 68% of FY2024-25 volume. Using a cross-section of the ten banks, usage intensity (monthly transactions per active customer) showed a positive but statistically insignificant association with the cost-to-income ratio (Spearman ρ = 0.35, p = 0.33), and public-sector and private-sector banks did not differ significantly in their cost-to-income ratios (49.4% against 45.9%, p = 0.44). Because financial data were available for one year only and the sample is small, the efficiency results are exploratory and do not indicate causation. Keywords: mobile banking; digital banking; operating efficiency; cost-to-income ratio; Indian commercial banks