Juniper Research forecast consumers will increasingly prefer to pay their bills via mobile phones, tablets and PCs.

In 2014, the number of household bill payments made in this way will pass 20 billion – a figure which represents about 16 per cent of the global payment total. And this figure will grow over the next five years, said the report.

The firm said the trend is driven by consumer acceptance of transactional digital banking, as well as a greater adoption of mobile banking.

However, despite growing numbers of users paying bills on their handsets, the bigger sums are transacted via tablet and PC.

The reason is that users prefer larger screens for banking and bill payments and there is a perception of greater security associated with tablets and PCs.

There has also been work on adding wearables to the list of the devices from which users can make payments, said the report.

However, comments from author Nitin Bhas reflect an ambiguity – whether banks consider wearables a realistic payment channel or a means to attract younger consumers by adding some lustre to their own brands.

“Customers, particularly those of Gen Y, are attracted to banks that offer innovative and exciting new services. Banks are eager to capture these customers early and achieve lock-in. The ability to offer cutting edge banking applications and services is also a way for banks to secure customer loyalty and increase customer satisfaction”, he said.