Mobile Banking Updates - May 14

Mobile Banking Must Read: Obopay Responds To American Banker’s Article On Mobile Money for Banks
"Obopay SVP, Michael Diamond, responds to the American Banker's recent article that characterizes Obopay's decision to deliver mobile money services to bank as potentially too late and as a mobile money transfer play, rather than a suite of mobile banking services. If you are interested in mobile banking, you will want to read this."

Retail Bankers - Wake up to the 21st Century!
"James Gardner did a great post on his blog today that got me thinking. Why is it so hard to get Mobile banking and social media on the minds of the top bankers today?

The iPad has sold over 1 million units in just over 1 month since its release, but this pales in comparison to the iPhone which has exceeded 100 million total units, with sales globally expected to reach 58 million this year alone. Considering that the iPhone has only recently been officially launched in Japan and China, we can expect the future of iPhone sales to be extremely robust. But this is only part of the smartphone revolution. Google’s Android operating system has been a huge success too. In Q1 of 2010 in the US market, Android-based phones actually outsold iPhones with 28 percent of the marketshare of smartphones going to Google’s platform. Blackberry still commands 36 percent of the US market due to its strong enterprise support."

Mobile Banking Set to Soar
"For consumers, mobile banking is about convenience: the ability to check account balances, pay bills and transfer funds from a device they take with them everywhere. For financial institutions, it is a means to deepen customer relationships, streamline operations and cut costs. Several forecasts predict that by 2015, 50% or more of US mobile users will be conducting transactions from their mobile devices.

'The ubiquity of these devices offers banks an opportunity to connect with customers outside the online channel, including those who are always on the go as well as the underbanked and unbanked consumers who lack consistent Internet access,' said Noah Elkin, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report 'Mobile Banking: Financial Services Firms Look to Cash In.'"