(Reuters) - Over 42 million customers have used Bank of America's ( BAC ) virtual financial assistant more than 2 billion times since its launch in 2018, the lender said on Monday.

The assistant, Erica, helps users with money transfers, bill payments and other mobile banking operations.

It can also help customers of the bank's Merrill Lynch arm with placing trades and tracking the performance of their investments.

As of July last year, 37 million of the bank's clients had used the assistant.

The ease of mobile banking is crucial in determining lenders' popularity among customers, many of whom prefer to transact online instead of going to branches.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru)