Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 14

Four Ways the FTC's New Privacy Rules Affect Mobile Banking Apps
"The Federal Trade Commission has been toughening its stance on consumer privacy protection, and this directly affects the mobile applications banks offer their customers. On Saturday the agency issued a report, Mobile Privacy Disclosures: Building Trust Through Transparency, that offers advice on keeping using consumers' data private. It offers recommendations to four sets of stakeholders: operating system providers (like Apple and Google), app providers, advertising networks, and app developer trade associations. Banks that provide mobile banking, PFM, trading or wallet apps fit in the app provider category."

Consumers Ready for Mobile Banking, but Banks Aren't
"It's no secret that financial consumers are warming up to mobile banking, largely for reasons of convenience. According to Juniper Research's report, Mobile Banking: Handset & Tablet Market Strategies 2013-2017, more than $1 billion cellphone owners will use their devices for banking purposes by 2017, up from 590 million this year. To provide some context, total world population growth by 2017 is 7.6 billion."

Mobile Banking and Change is Coming
"I am reading the book Bank 3.0 by Brett King. In this book he writes about the monumental changes taking place in the banking industry due first to the Internet and now mobile. Here is an excerpt, 'The average individual is spending 94 minutes or so a day using apps, checking emails and texting up to 100 times per day. We're logging on to mobile banking 20-30 times per month and Internet banking around 7-10 times per month, but visiting a branch (of a bank) only a few times a year.'"

Will You Be Ready When Mobile Wallets Turn Banking Upside Down?
"Financial marketers had better wrap their heads around the impending mobile-dominant landscape, and fast. Mobile devices will soon be the central tool consumers use to manage banking relationships. When consumers start embracing mobile wallets and making digital transactions, banking will never be the same again. Are you ready? Around every 10 or 20 years, something big comes along that completely transforms the world of banking — ATMs, debit cards, the internet. Unquestionably, the next big thing to rock banking will be mobile wallets."

Jack Henry adds remote deposit capture to mobile banking app
"Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY) is a leading provider of technology solutions and payment processing services primarily for the financial services industry. It announced today that the app-based iPhone and Android versions of the goDough mobile banking solution have been enhanced with the remote deposit capabilities provided by its Remote Deposit Anywhere (RDA) solution. goDough is the state-of-the-art WAP, SMS, or app-based mobile banking solution that approximately 610 banks and credit unions have selected. It is currently supporting 99 mobile service carriers. It supports traditional in-branch and online transactions such as balance inquiries, funds transfers between accounts, and transaction viewing; and accommodates all account types, including checking, certificates-of-deposit, money markets, loans, and lines-of-credit."

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International Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 13

Mobile banking helps to empower Tanzanian women
"The ability to exchange money and make payments with smartphones is placing power in the hands of women. The GSMA mWomen Programme is working in combination with Bankable Frontier Associates (BFA) and Visa Inc. in five different countries in order to help to better use mobile banking to reach women who are underserved and whose needs can be directly met by this technology and its associated products."

Aircel, ICICI Bank launch mobile banking service
"Aircel and ICICI Bank have jointly launched a mobile banking service. Called Mobile Money, the service will be run on Visa’s mobile managed service. Mobile Money has been launched with a range of financial services on a mobile phone such as cash deposits, cash withdrawals and money transfer to third parties."

Leverage on developments in mobile banking — Gono
"THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono has urged the banking sector to leverage on the current developments in mobile banking as an effective distribution network for financial products to various segments of society. Mobile banking is a system that allows customers of a financial institution to conduct a number of transactions through a mobile device such as a mobile phone or personal digital assistant."

Rakbank launches new services on Mobile Banking platform
"Rakbank, the leading retail and small business bank in the UAE, announced the launch of new services on its Mobile Banking platform that allow customers to conduct a wider range of banking transactions on the go via their handset. By introducing added services on its Mobile Banking Application and Service, customers can now use their mobile phones to order new cheque books, transfer balances, apply for supplementary cards, and even report a lost or stolen credit card. Rakbank Mobile Banking saves time when seeking investment details and when applying for an advance against salary."

HSBC enhances its mobile banking offering in its continued commitment
"HSBC has enhanced its mobile banking offering in its continued commitment to helping businesses streamline their banking needs. The new offering will allow customers to initiate payments to existing beneficiaries across the world. The facility adds to the extended suite of mobile solutions the Bank already offers its customers."

Standard Chartered kicks off 2013 Mobile Ventures Fellowship programme
"Standard Chartered Bank today signaled its ongoing commitment to talent development in financial services technology by announcing the 2013 Mobile Ventures Fellowship (MoVe) programme. Now in its second year, the MoVe programme was initiated as a part of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore's (IDA) Company-Led Training Programme (CLT). It aims to train new infocomm graduates and professionals in emerging and critical technologies. In calling for new applicants today, Standard Chartered announced another 10 traineeships for young Singaporean technopreneurs (MoVeRs) in mobile banking technology."

Aussie smartphone owners gravitating toward mobile banking
"An Australian study has found that the proportion of that nation's smartphone users who conduct banking transactions on their phones is now greater than 20 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of smartphone users who bank online has dropped: Fewer than half of smartphone owners now use a computer for banking transactions, said the study from Roy Morgan Research."

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Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 12

Mobile Banking's Privacy Problem
"The FTC issued a report Saturday calling for better privacy protection for mobile device users. Financial data is a primary focus."

Will Tablets Be the Key for Corporate Mobile Banking?
"In February's Bank Systems & Technology digital issue, we looked at the current state of mobile banking for corporate customers, and examined some of the reasons why it hasn't been as quickly adopted as on the consumer side. We also talked to several industry experts about what could change that. One of those people, Patricia McGinnis, director of the commercial and enterprise payments solution at Mercator Advisory Group, believes tablets will be the driving force behind the eventual widespread adoption of mobile banking by commercial customers."

70pc of consumers want mobile banking app to avoid financial problems: study
"Consumers have high expectations with mobile banking, but many financial institutions are not following through, according to a report from Varolii Corp. In Varolii Corporation’s “Can you Bank on your Banking App?” study, the company takes a look at the gap between what consumers are asking for from their mobile banking and how financial institutions are delivering on their needs. The report outlines specific use cases when consumers want to be notified from their bank about their accounts."

Mobile Banking Blossoms on Smartphones
"mobilesecurity.com [Mountain View, CA] With internet access present in almost every home in the country, online banking has never been more convenient. New research shows that people are no longer tied to their PC or laptop when they want to check their statements or make transfers."

With 590M Mobile Banking Users Expected in 2013, New Insights From 41st Parameter Warn of Growing Fraud Threat
"41st Parameter, the global leader in fraud detection and prevention, warns that financial institutions are facing serious vulnerabilities as the usage of mobile banking skyrockets. To educate the industry, 41st Parameter has published a whitepaper that looks at adoption trends, threats and potential solutions to help mitigate the mobile risk to consumers and institutions alike."

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Mobile Banking Updates - Feb10

What's Next For Mobile Banking?
"Juniper Research estimates that by 2017 more than 1 billion mobile phone users will have used their mobile devices for banking purposes, compared with slightly more than 590 million users this year. As with any positive development, however, there are some potential downsides to this fantastic growth. Will banks be able to profit from the growth of mobile banking, or will it become a commoditized loss leader?"

APPLE MOBILE BANKING SYSTEM LETS USERS BORROW MONEY FROM PEOPLE NEARBY
"We’ve all had this happen to us at least once: you’re out and about, doing your shopping or hanging with friends, and you realize you have no cash. The place you’re at/going doesn’t accept debit or credit cards, and the nearest ATM that you can use without a ridiculous surcharge from the machine (and your bank) is ten blocks away. So what do you do? Normally, you’re forced to trek to the nearest ATM, eat the exorbitant surcharge, or have one of your friends spot you (if you’re not by yourself). There has to be a better way, and apparently Apple’s working on one."

'Me Too' Rules in Mobile Banking
"Ask Anthony Genovese, a vice president at payments company Compass Plus in St. Louis, to assess the current state of mobile banking apps and his verdict is bluntly unenthusiastic.'There’s a lot of ‘me-too’ apps,' said Genovese, who spoke in connection with the release of a new Compass Plus white paper, 'Mobile Banking: One Size Doesn’t Fit All.' (A free download is here.) 'I do not see very many truly empowering apps. Financial institutions are not signing up new customers because of their mobile apps,' said Genovese."

Mobile banking - safe as well as convenient?
"Mobile technology is all about portability, of course. But more than that, it's about the convenience and accessibility that this portability brings. Equal to the convenience of instant communication is the ability to perform tasks which once took time - and possibly required taking to the high street and joining the back of a queue. One way that mobile technology puts this power of accessibility in your pocket - and more in charge of your financial life - is with mobile banking services."

National Banking Survey: Mobile Apps Fall Short of Consumer Expectations
"Varolii Corporation, a market leader in customer interaction management, today announced the results of a national survey of more than 600 consumer adults across the United States about mobile banking applications. The survey revealed a surprising disparity in what consumers want in a mobile banking app and what they actually get from their banking institution. Americans increasingly want, and expect, to be able to conduct more advanced functions like depositing checks and receiving real-time notifications on account activity from their mobile banking apps."

Mobile banking the main IT investment priority for banks in 2013, research shows
"IT service analysts Ovum said that banks' "clear IT investment priority in 2013" would be mobile banking. It said that European banks would spend approximately 4% more on mobile banking and 'other channels' for services than they did last year. 'Other channels' also refers to TV banking and banking through independent financial advisors or other third-party providers."

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Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 7

Mobile Banking Trends To Watch Out For In 2013
"Mobile banking has evolved tremendously over the past years. As we move into 2013, there are a few key trends that we will see emerge and gain momentum. We believe that voice will be part of all enterprise class mobile applications in the next 3 to 5 years and will do more than just replace typing. Apple’s personal voice assistant Siri is just the beginning, and soon we will see a number of new speech-enabled uses and applications for the banking industry. Voice provides a much deeper interaction mechanism than just typing or going to a particular screen on your phone app or online. Humans use voice to communicate much more naturally than typing and have been doing so for several millenniums."

Compass Plus Releases White Paper on Mobile Banking
"Compass Plus, an international provider of retail banking software and electronic payments systems to financial institutions, has released a white paper, Mobile Banking: One Size Doesn’t Fit All, which examines why mobile banking should be a fundamental part of a financial institution’s a long term strategy to encourage customer acquisition and retention. According to the paper, financial institutions’ success hinges on staying relevant to consumers by adding value to the banking relationship and adapting to fulfil changing needs, such as the ever-growing demand for mobile banking services. Although innovation has been focused on the mobile banking channel in recent years, research shows that mobile banking still offers the least positive customer experience. Financial institutions must work to close the gap between the expectation and the experience."

Online Banking Design Succeeds or Fails on Feedback, Details: Citi's Weber
"After Forrester Research dubbed Citi's online banking site the best in the U.S. last week, we spoke with Tracey Weber, Citigroup's head of internet and mobile banking and Bank Technology News' Mobile Banker of the Year for 2012, about the bank's latest initiatives. 'We're feeling good, but there's always more to do,' she says. 'We did a big redesign in October 2011 and then did a lot of field work last year. We've evolved the design a lot this year in places, especially where we had customer feedback about things that could be played up and optimized.'"

Going Mobile and Your SAP Investment, Advantages - Risks
"If I was a Financial Director of a medium to large sized business there should be some alarm bells going off right now concerning moving to mobile devices. Especially if you have invested a huge sum of money on SAP, looking beyond FI/CO modules, any mobile initiative by the company could make large parts of the SAP system redundant for hours on end to users if you are not careful as users have the wrong technology in their hands. So let's look at the concerns;"

IIICTECH Develops Wink Mobile Banking App For Real-Time Overdraft Monitoring
"In the past 2 years alone, Americans spent nearly $70 billion in overdraft fees – no, that’s not a typo. How is this even remotely possible? It’s simple. It’s cumbersome to check your account balance while in the checkout line with your hands full. It’s a nuisance, at times, to have to log in to your banking app and navigate to your account balance every time you walk into a retail store. Every time. This is where IIICTECH’s (read: 3 C Tech) patent-pending app for iOS comes into play. WINK is expected to be a mobile app that delivers your account balance info once you walk into a retail shop. It seeks to eliminate having to repeatedly login with your password the next time you decide to grab a cup of coffee at your local java house. In essence, you get what you need, when you need it and helps in becoming a more conscious consumer."

Juniper: Banking is now mobile and branchless
"Mobile banking forms an essential component of the overall mobile commerce industry, wherein the two are closely interrelated. Empowering users to make account transactions whilst on the move, mobile banking enables supplementary mobile commerce actions to be undertaken as a function of a mobile wallet. Equally, a consumer adopting the mobile phone to make payments reinforces a mutual mentality in which individuals increasingly consider the device as a comprehensive financial tool, and subsequently naturalizes its use for ancillary payment actions such as banking. For example, although making a contactless NFC payment for a train or metro ticket is not mobile banking, the recurrent act of paying with a mobile device allows the customer to become more comfortable, and to then find related and additional transactions a more efficient undertaking via their mobile."

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International Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 5

Mobile banking market in China growing rapidly, report finds
"There are 150 million Chinese using mobile banking services, transacting more than US$550 billion a year through their mobile devices, according to a Celent report published yesterday. China thus accounts for 40% of mobile banking users worldwide. By 2014, the Mobile Banking Trends in China report estimates the number of users to reach nearly 500 million and transaction volume to exceed US$1.8 trillion."

Mobile banking sees a surge of new entrants
"During the quarter ending September 2012, the branchless banking segment saw more than 31.4 million transactions and Rs139 billion was managed through branchless banking channels, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. In an analysis of this fast growing segment, the SBP reports that branchless banking players registered a growth of 25% in mobile wallets; 7% in number of agents; 11% in number of transactions and 21% in value transacted during the July-September 2012 quarter."

Mobile banking rings up net victory
"THE number of Australians now using mobile banking has exceeded 6 million, with the pace of take-up coming at a faster rate than internet banking. While it took nearly four years for the 6 million figure to be reached for internet banking users, mobile banking hit this number in a little over three years, according to new figures released by financial services consultancy the Market Intelligence Strategy Centre."

Vipera in mobile banking project with Italian retail bank
"Vipera said it has been awarded a mobile banking project with an Italian retail bank, in conjunction with leading professional services firm. Vipera did not name the Italian retail bank, the company it has co-operated with to win the deal, or the value of the contract. The project would allow the bank to offer its customers full access to their bank account details enabling them to make credit card and utility bill payments and to instantly transfer funds anywhere in the world, it said."

QIB unveils its new look Mobile Banking application
"QIB - the leading Islamic bank in Qatar - has unveiled its new look Mobile Banking application which enables customers to access a wide range of services via their smartphones. QIB Mobile Banking is available on the iPhone, BlackBerry and smartphones using the 'Android' operating system. QIB Customers now have access to an extensive array of services that can be accessed anytime, anywhere."

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Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 3

Mobile Banking And Payment Startup mFoundry Sold To FIS For $120M On $165M Valuation
"Some consolidation in the world of mobile payments and mobile banking: mFoundry is getting acquired by FIS for $120 million. FIS — a banking and payment provider that works with some 14,000 banks worldwide — already had a 22% stake in the company; today’s deal will see it paying for the remaining 78% in cash, for a total valuation of $162-$165 million. mFoundry provides mobile banking and mobile payment solutions to some 850 banks and retailers, including Bank of America and Starbucks, which uses some of mFoundry’s technology to enable mobile payments, which complements the partnership that Starbucks has with Square."

Apple Patents Crowdsourced, Peer-To-Peer Mobile Banking That Could Use iTunes To Provide Cash On Demand
"Today the USPTO published an Apple patent application (spotted by UnwiredView) that ventures a little farther afield than most, and describes a mobile banking concept that is truly innovative, which could essentially turn iTunes into a micro-lending bank. The patent outlines a system whereby a user would post requests for small amounts of cash using their iPhone, which other nearby users could respond to to provide some quick funds when there’s no ATM nearby."

HOW TO ENCOURAGE MOBILE BANKING USE
"When we look at our Technographics data on mobile banking adoption by bank, it’s clear that some banks are doing much better than others. Why? Some banks are lucky. Some banks have distinctive brands or propositions that have earned them a customer base that is younger, better educated and higher income than the population as a whole. These customers are more likely to own smartphones, more like to use the mobile Internet, and more likely to be technology optimists. That makes them pre-disposed towards using mobile banking and so relatively easier to persuade to adopt mobile banking. Others have just worked hard. The rising tide of mobile Internet adoption is not raising all boats at equal speed. Some banks have persuaded far more of their customers to use mobile banking than others. The secret of their success? The digital banking teams at the most successful banks have worked long and hard to design, build and promote mobile banking services that meet their customers’ needs."

Mobile banking focuses on customer convenience
"Mobile banking is all about convenience. 'Customers don’t go anywhere without their phones anymore. With mobile, it’s all right there,' said Brad Larson, Great Western Bank operations manager. Great Western Bank launched mobile services last year, with text banking, a mobile website and applications for Apple, Blackberry and Android mobile devices."

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