银行和社交媒体的数字化：对存款定价的影响

The digitalisation of banking andsocial media: implications fordeposit pricing byMichael Brei,Giulio Cornelli, Leonardo GambacortaandBoris Hofmann Monetary and Economic Department June 2026 JEL classification: E43, E52, G21, O33 Keywords: deposit rate pass-through, digital banking,monetarypolicy transmission,social media activity,branch-level data, policy rate BISWorking Papers are written by members of the Monetary and EconomicDepartment of the Bank for International Settlements, and from time to time by othereconomists, and are published by the Bank. The papers are on subjects of topicalinterest and are technical in character. The views expressed in this publication arethose of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BIS or its membercentral banks. This publication is available on the BIS website (www.bis.org). The digitalisation of banking and social media: Implicationsfor deposit pricing* Michael Brei, Giulio Cornelli, Leonardo Gambacorta and Boris Hofmann Abstract This paper examines the implications of two coincident digital trends— the digitalisation ofbanking and the widespread adoption of social media — for the pricing of deposits in theUnited States. Using branch-level data, we analyse how both trends interact to influence thelevel of deposit rates as well as their adjustment to changes in the policy rate. Our analysisdistinguishes between traditional banks with physical branch networks and digital banks. Usingpanel regression analysis and local projections, we find that digital banks’ deposit rates arehigher and more reactive to changes in policy rates, consistent with the view that theircustomers are more price sensitive. We further find that digital banks offer higher deposit ratesand react more sharply to policy rate changes in counties with higher social media activity, asmeasured by Twitter usage, supporting the notion that high social media use further increasesprice sensitivity. JEL codes:E43, E52, G21, O33 Keywords:Deposit rate pass-through, Digital banking, Monetary policy transmission, Socialmedia activity, Branch-level data, Policy rate 1. Introduction Over the past decade, two major digital trends have affected large parts of the population: thedigitalisation of banking services, including the ability to manage deposit accounts remotely;and the spreading of social media as digital communication platforms where users can easilyshare information and other content. The proliferation of remote banking services andincreased digitalisation have enabled depositors to react more rapidly to price differences indeposit markets and to changes in market conditions. Depositors now find it easier to compareinterest rates across different banks or money market funds and to transfer funds to higher-yielding accounts. At the same time, the growing adoption of social media has been acontemporaneous development that has accelerated the diffusion of information.1 Both developments have likely affected the elasticity of deposit supply and deposit pricing. Inparticular, deposit rates offered by digital banks, i.e., banks operating primarily through onlineplatforms, would be expected to be higher compared to traditional relationship banks with aphysical branch network and to be more sensitive to changes in market conditions. Traditionalbanks typically incur higher costs, provide more banking and personalised services, and enjoygreater market power in their local environment. To compete, digital banks may have to offerhigher deposit rates. Since customers of digital banks are typically more accustomed to onlinebanking and less attached to their bank due to the absence of personal relationships, they mayreact more quickly and easily to changes in market conditions, thereby also forcing their onlinebanks to react faster. These effects are expected to be particularly pronounced in markets withstrongsocial media activity,which accelerates the speed and scope of informationdissemination. In this paper, we test these potential implications by comparing deposit pricing of digital banks,defined as centralised and virtually structured institutions, with that of traditional banks,defined as decentralised and physical branch-based institutions. First, we assess whether thereare systematic differences in the level of deposit rates offered by digital versus traditional banksand whether these differences are in turn affected by the use of social media in local markets.Second, we investigate whether the pass-through of changes in the policy rate to deposit ratesdiffers between digital and traditional banks and how it depends on the intensity of socialmedia usage in local markets. Our study extends the previous literature on deposit pricing (Drechsler et al., 2017; d’Avernaset al., 2023; Yankov, 2023) and its relationship with digitalisation (Jiang et al., 2023; Koont, 2023;Rose, 2023). Our contribution is a comprehensive analysis of the interaction of bankingdigitalisation and social m