Mobile Banking Updates - June 23

Mobile banking trends continue to expand 
"When was the last time you went to the bank? We took the question to Nicollet Mall.'6 months ago, maybe?' was the first response we got. 'Does an ATM count? I would say I went a couple of months ago with my kids, to cash their piggy banks,' was the second answer we got."

Must-Have Mobile Banking Services In 2013
"As much of the country has become mobile-reliant, it makes sense to check out the available mobile apps and features in regard to your banking needs. Mobile apps can be useful in many ways, especially when you’re on the go and need to take care of your finances. Apps make it easy to keep track of your bank accounts as well as your personal finances as a whole."

Mobile banking shifts into overdrive
"Online banking was a big hit with customers from the start. They loved being able to sit at their home computer and pay bills with a keystroke, or check account balances with ease. Today, electronic screens are smaller, but online banking, and its latest incarnation – mobile banking – is bigger than ever, said Bill Russell, executive vice president of retail banking at Bell State Bank & Trust, which is based in Fargo."

Banks embrace mobile as trend picks up speed
"Mobile banking is rapidly shifting some customers' expectations of the total banking experience, digital strategy executives in the industry say. 'Mobile is the fastest-growing channel in the company's history,' said Armin Ajami, vice president for mobile products management at Wells Fargo. 'It's far surpassed online.' The ratio of Americans using mobile banking, from downloadable apps to texting services, grew from one-fifth in 2010 to one-quarter in 2011 and to one-third in 2012, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. Bank executives say that in addition to new users, more people are using multiple services."

Banking now going mobile
"Dan Brower fished a much-awaited check from his mailbox but didn't have time to swing by his bank's branch. So the Kansas City resident fired up his 2-week-old iPhone, and with just a flick of his finger -- disappointment. Commerce Bank's mobile banking application doesn't accept deposits."

ING Direct adds remote cheque deposit to mobile app
"Banking at ING Direct just got more simple and convenient. Beginning today, clients can deposit cheques into their accounts remotely using Cheque-In, a new feature of the bank's existing mobile app. Cheque-In allows clients to take a picture of their cheque using their mobile device and have it deposited immediately into their ING DIRECT account. The feature is the first available on all major platforms, including Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android Phone, Android Tablet, BlackBerry Mobile devices with BB10 OS, and tablets running Windows 8."

Want To Stand Out As A Retail Bank? Try Customer Centricity
"Just last month I decided to invest some of the cash I had in my bank’s money market with the bank’s brokerage services. I met with the rep at my local branch, signed the papers, and left smiling. Five days later, having received no paperwork – no nothing – I went back to the branch. My rep was on vacation, and the folks on the floor knew little about brokerage services. Excuse me?"

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Mobile Banking Updates - June 20

Using Mobile Banking to Expand Financial Access
"According to the FDIC’s “2011 Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Consumers,” approximately 17 million adults in the United States, or 8.2 percent of the population, do not have a checking or savings account—a group known as the “unbanked.” Another one in five households in the United States are “underbanked,” meaning they do have some sort of bank account but still use alternative, nonbank financial-services providers such as check cashers and pawn shops."

Credit union fills branches with 'technology champions' to push mobile services
"An American credit union has put a 'technology champion' in every one of its 76 branches to help members get up to speed with its mobile and online services. As more consumers turn to digital channels to conduct their daily banking transactions, the downward trend in branch activity levels is accelerating, fuelling the debate over the value of branch networks in a 21st century banking model."

What do mobile banking users want most?
"With the rise of plastic and digital transactions, the use of paper checks continues to decline — the Fed processes less than one-third of the checks it did two decades ago. But even with fewer checks in circulation, the most desired improvement to mobile banking is the ability to deposit checks. Nearly one-quarter of mobile banking users polled in the 2012 Fiserv Consumer Trends Survey selected check deposit as an improvement they'd like to see in their mobile banking application."

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International Mobile Banking Updates - June 19

Net banking: How it helps you save time and money
"Did you know that approaching a bank branch to get a duplicate account statement can cost you around Rs 100, while the same could be had at half the price through online banking? Similarly, a stop payment request that costs upwards of Rs 50 through traditional banking channels is a free service for those who opt for net banking."

Customers take leap into mobile banking
"The number of bank customers who use mobile phones and iPads is growing at breakneck pace, with billions of dollars of transactions now taking place every month. Major banks say the speed that customers had taken up mobile and tablet banking is running much faster than the rate at which they took to internet banking. They say the technology is also changing the way people do their banking, challenging the definition of traditional banking hours."

CaixaBank hosts international forum for mobile banking experts
"CaixaBank will be hosting MobeyDay 2013 in Barcelona, bringing together financial institutions from all over the world, as well as network operators, technology providers and consultancy firms specialising in mobile banking. The international Mobey Forum meeting organised in association with Finextra will be held at CaixaForum in Barcelona, tomorrow, 11th of June 2013."

The mobile banking game-changer in Ethiopia
"New regulations will bring m-banking to Ethiopian consumers, but limits on the companies involved and how transactions must be managed could slow growth. On 1 January 2013, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) issued a long-awaited directive that allows transaction-based mobile banking for the country's unbanked citizens."

Meethaq launches state-of-the-art cloud mobile banking application
"Meethaq, the pioneer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat, on June 11 launched a state-of-the-art mobile banking application redefining Islamic banking with the concept of ‘24/7 anytime, anywhere’ service. The Meethaq Cloud Banking application offers a wide range of unique features. The smart mobile app, which is quick and easy to download, provides a secure and convenient 24/7 access to the account."

Village Bank updates mobile banking
"Village Bank, based in Midlothian, has announced the launch of a new and improved mobile banking service for personal banking customers who use a smart phone or other web-enabled phones. Mobile Banking is a free service that allows personal banking customers to access account information, view transaction history, transfer funds and find a branch location or ATM from their mobile device."

Why Mobile Technology is Bad for Some Businesses, Great for All Consumers
"Here are some of the estimates and statistics we’ve plucked from a McKinsey Global report we mentioned last week:
 * 1.1 billion people currently use smartphones and tablets, with a potential to reach two billion to three billion more.
* The processing power of the average smartphone has increased by about 25% per year over the last five years.
* By 2025, nearly 80% of all internet connections could be through mobile devices.
* Near field payments grew 400% in 2012 and are expected to increase 20 fold by 2016."

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Mobile Banking Security - June 18

POLICE: Louisville man steals thousands via mobile banking
"A Louisville man has been arrested after police say he used mobile banking to steal thousands of dollars from multiple Kroger stores. Police say 34-year-old Boma Robert Spero-Jack went into several different Kroger stores and purchased at least 32 Western Union money orders. Each money order was issued for an amount between $195 and $500, according to an arrest report."

Mobile Banking On Unsecure Wireless Networks Is Risky Business
"Mobile banking is exploding. According to a new study from Yodlee Interactive, while physical banks continue their decline, nearly a third of U.S. adults with a bank account say they use a mobile device to access their banking information. The study conducted by Harris Interactive found that close to half of those with a bank account access their banking information on their smartphone compared to 36% of tablet owners who have a bank account."

Lenders work to make mobile banking safer and more convenient
"As more and more people use smartphones for everything from paying bills to making deposits and checking statements, banks are working to meet customer demands for faster and securer mobile options. A March report by the Federal Reserve shows that as of Nov. 28 percent of all mobile phone users and 48 percent of smartphone users had used mobile banking in the past 12 months. This was an increase of 7 percentage points from December 2011."

New Breed of Banking Malware Hijacks Text Messages
"Out of band authentication — communicating with a customer outside of his mobile banking app to verify his identity or a specific transaction — is a generally respected means of deflecting mobile banking fraud. But RSA's Anti-Fraud Command Center on Monday found and reported on a Trojan called Bugat that has been updated to hijack out-of-band authentication codes sent to bank customers via SMS. This doesn't mean out-of-band authentication via text messaging is useless, but it can be compromised using a dated, unsophisticated piece of malware."

Considering Mobile Authentication: The Why, the What and the How
"It's the single biggest banking innovation of our lives. Mobile banking is quickly becoming the channel of choice for customers, forcing banking institutions to deploy mobile solutions ahead of their strategies. What are the risks? How can institutions deputize customers to ensure mobile banking security? Join banking and security leaders from Citibank and VASCO Data Security for a frank discussion about how to create a mobile banking roadmap, including:"

Faces of Fraud: New Survey Debuts
"How are banking institutions responding to increasing cross-channel fraud attacks, and where are they making their biggest investments to enhance authentication for online and mobile banking? These are just two of the questions posed by our annual Faces of Fraud Survey, which we just launched. If you have not yet responded to this survey, please take a few moments to participate: 2013 Faces of Fraud: The Threat Evolution."

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Mobile Banking Updates - June 16

What Tops Consumers' Mobile Banking Wish List?
"As plastic and digital transactions boom, the use of paper checks is in decline. Although checks still represent about 20 percent of all non-cash payments, the Federal Reserve processes less than a third of the checks it did 20 years ago. With fewer checks in circulation, you may be surprised to learn that the most desired improvement to mobile banking is … the ability to deposit checks."

Big data to drive banks' mobile wallet strategies - Finextra research
"Research from Finextra finds that banks around the world are looking to discounted offers and big data analytics to beat off the competition from telcos and tech start-ups as they battle for control of the consumer mobile wallet. For the research - conducted on behalf of Clear2Pay and NGData - Finextra surveyed more than 183 bankers on the key issues around the monetisation of mobile payments."

Itinerant customers embracing mobile banking faster than military banks expected
"Many banks treat mobile banking like an ancillary service channel, but it’s quickly becoming the main game for the highly-mobile customers of USAA and Australia’s Defence Bank. The head of customer strategy for military bank United Services Automobile Association (USAA) admits to being “a little scared” after recently watching mobile banking services usage rocket past the levels initially expected by the end of 2015 — but he relishes the challenge as USAA and contemporaries like Australia’s Defence Bank embrace new technologies to keep the personal touch."

Banking goes mobile
"Dan Brower fished a much awaited check from his mailbox but didn’t have time to swing by his bank’s branch. So the Kansas City resident fired up his 2-week-old iPhone, and with just a flick of his finger — disappointment. Commerce Bank’s mobile banking app doesn’t accept deposits."

Portland banking startup Simple raising more money, filing suggests
"Portland online banking startup Simple Finance Technology Corp. is raising more money, according to a regulatory filing this afternoon. The filing suggests Simple, as the company is known commercially, has raised $2.3 million in new investment. But such filings often give an incomplete picture, and Simple said it will have more to say soon."

KeyBank Expands Mobile Capabilities for Commercial and Consumer Clients
"KeyBank is making banking more convenient for all clients - commercial and consumer - to manage money while on the move with an expanded suite of mobile banking services. 'We're seeing double-digit growth in our clients' use of consumer mobile banking, and we know our commercial clients have increasing interest in mobile,' said Matthew D. Lehman, head of KeyBank's Community Bank online and mobile banking. KeyBank's mobile banking use increased by 45 percent between 2011 and 2012."

Popular Community Bank Launches New iPad App in Latest Expansion of Mobile Banking Platform
"Popular Community Bank,* a subsidiary of Popular, Inc. and one of the nation’s premier community banks, expanded its “anywhere, anytime banking” program with the launch of its new application optimized for the iPad, available at the Apple iTunes store. The Popular Community Bank free iPad app compliments the bank’s iPhone® and Android™ apps, Business Mobile Banking and recently enhanced Internet banking. Through the iPad app customers can:"

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Mobile Banking Updates - June 13

Wolberg-Stok at Citi Aims for a Single, Globetrotting Mobile App
"Andres Wolberg-Stok was promoted about a year ago to global mobile and tablet banking director at Citigroup. 'It's a bigger field in which to inflict damage,' he jokes. So far this year, he's traveled to Singapore, Mexico, London and Brussels. 'It keeps us true to the old motto, the Citi never sleeps. Having a global team in with members in the US, Europe and Asia is extraordinary because the sun never sets on the team, people are always working. You can get a lot done.'"

Mobile Banking Seen Needing Improved Authentication, ID Verification
"Financial institutions need to step up the security they provide for mobile banking, experts on a panel at the Mobile Banking Summit agreed today. 'Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and World of Warcraft all have multi-factor authentication,' says Robert E. Lee, business analyst at Intuit. 'If you're a bank and still using challenge questions, I have to ask you, why is your security worse than an online video?'"

Riding the Wave of Mobile Banking
"Smartphones have created a consumer demand for all lifestyle tools to be packaged in one neat space that we keep in our pocket and can access on the go, from any location. Improvements in security and performance have resulted in an increasingly confident consumer that is more open to banking through their phones. Mobile dominates our social and business lives – and this is just the start of it. To that effect, over the last few months there has been a noticeable spike in the number of financial institutions who integrate mobile into their banking offering, perhaps as part of wider projects to revamp legacy systems."

Mobile Bankers Applaud Obama Plan to Crack Down on Patent Trolls
"The plan President Obama announced Tuesday to crack down on patent assertion entities or "patent trolls" — companies that buy up patents to extract licensing fees — was met with approval by attendees at the Mobile Banking Summit in Miami. Obama's plan would require patentees to file updated ownership information when filing a claim. It would let courts award attorneys' fees as a sanction for abusive court filings. It would permit a wider range of challengers to petition for review of issued patents before the Patent Trials and Appeals Board. It would protect consumers and businesses from legal liability when they use a product off the shelf and solely for its intended use."

Should A Bank Outsource Its Mobile Strategy?
"Now more than ever before, banks need to be able to offer their customers innovative digital services, and bank IT spending trends point to this conclusion. According to U.K. analyst group Ovum, mobile banking is the clear IT investment priority in 2013 among the digital channels, as retail banks attempt to capitalize on the features unique to mobile, such as location-based services. According to a report from the firm released earlier this year, spending on digital channels, which includes mobile, will grow 6.7% in North America in 2013 and rise at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% between 2013 and 2017."

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Mobile Banking Updates - June 12

B of A's Gopalkrishnan Uses 'Hackathons' to Create Mobile Apps
"Like most of the bankers we profiled this year, Hari Gopalkrishnan, managing director, consumer and wealth management, ecommerce technology, consumer banking architecture and segments technology executive for Bank of America Merrill Lynch speaks of simplicity in mobile banking design and user experience."

Feeling Insecure About Mobile Banking? You're Not Alone
"It's a scary cyber-world out there, and fear concerning Internet security is one of the top reasons that bank customers avoid mobile banking. For banks, expanding mobile offerings is win-win, enabling them to shutter expensive branch locations while opening newer, more modern spaces that cater to banking via the Internet. So, what do banks need to do to assuage customers' fears about mobile banking -- and, more importantly, what is being done to improve security measures to protect consumers' private information?"

Wells Fargo & Co (WFC), Bank of America Corp (BAC) & Citigroup Inc (C): Feeling Insecure About Mobile Banking? You’re Not Alone
"It's a scary cyber-world out there, and fear concerning Internet security is one of the top reasons that bank customers avoid mobile banking. For banks, expanding mobile offerings is win-win, enabling them to shutter expensive branch locations while opening newer, more modern spaces that cater to banking via the Internet. So, what do banks need to do to assuage customers' fears about mobile banking -- and, more importantly, what is being done to improve security measures to protect consumers' private information?"

Blackhawk and Monitise in mobile gift card partnership
"Blackhawk Network and Monitise are partnering to make mobile gift card purchasing available to consumers through certain banks and financial institutions in the US. In addition, the companies intend to expand their relationship into additional markets. Prepaid gift cards from Blackhawk Network's popular GiftCardMall will be available to consumers for purchase from participating banks and payment companies' mobile wallets, powered by Monitise. With this new relationship, Blackhawk's extensive network will integrate into Monitise's mobile banking ecosystem, making it easier for consumers to purchase Blackhawk gift cards from popular retail brands via mobile."

Mobile Banking Is Mainstream — What About Security, ROI, Payments?
"Sitting alone at the back of a hotel meeting room, Theodore Iacobuzio had a stern message for bankers: "The train is leaving the station," said Iacobuzio, a MasterCard executive, referring to the emerging mobile payment economy. 'You have to get on.' Earlier that Wednesday, Iacobuzio had spoken on a panel at the Mobile Banking and Commerce Summit in Miami about using data to drive relevant offers to cardholders. Mobile banking and payments are at the forefront of his mind."

Threat of the Week: Mayhem in the Mobile Browser
"It’s coming. For the past five years warnings of a coming assault by cybercriminals on mobile banking have kept getting louder. Yet the plain fact is that successful attacks on the mobile channel in the United States have been scarce. 'Mobile threats remain nascent,' said Vince Arneja, a vice president at security firm Arxan. But just maybe that’s about to change, mainly because more cyber crooks are putting more energy into mobile and, lately, there are signs that the bad guys are starting to cash in on a vulnerability that is found on just about every smartphone."

Consumers Calling the Shots in Mobile Banking
"In mobile banking, customers are faster at conveying what they want than banks are at delivering the goods. That was one of the main messages conveyed by a panel of bank technologists at the Mobile Banking and Commerce Summit on Tuesday. The customer in control marks a wild transformation from years past, when banks waited for account holders to call them. Such a passive communication approach is no longer acceptable for financial institutions."

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