April 8 (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)