Mobile Banking Updates - July 18

Mobile-Banking Use Up, But Still Mainstream
"The use of mobile-banking services is increasing, but many consumers still prefer to bank online or at branches for more-complex transactions, new study data suggest. IDC Financial Insights, a Boston-based advisory research and consulting company, conducted the research in November, polling 1,008 U.S. adults ages 18 to 75 by phone. Of the participants, only 660 had mobile devices, and just 113 had used a mobile-banking service. However, 21% of total participants noted they used mobile banking to interact with their financial institution, up from 10% who did so in a similar survey IDC conducted in 2008."

Mobile Banking Use Rising, But Customers Say No to Paying More
"While the use of mobile banking is going up, smartphone users don't want to pay extra to do their banking from their devices, and banks aren't making money yet from the mobile services, says a new survey from IDC. Banks that do offer mobile banking saw almost double the use of these services from 2008 to 2009, according to IDC Financial Services' "2009 Consumer Mobile Banking Preferences Survey Results - Waiting for Takeoff." Use of mobile banking also showed an overall gain throughout the banking industry. Similarly, a recent study by comScore found that 13.2 million people accessed bank accounts from mobile sites during the month of April, 2010, a 70 percent increase over a year ago."

Mobile banking set for rapid adoption in SA
"Consulting services and outsourcing group Accenture South Africa said on Tuesday that the stage was set for the rapid adoption of mobile banking in South Africa, with more than 60 percent of the local adult population owning a mobile phone, the highest on the continent. Simon Russell, managing executive financial services, Accenture South Africa noted extensive positioning in the local mobile banking market with some innovative products including FNB's Send Money and Standard Bank's Mimoney."

Banks urged to invest in mobile banking
"Banks must think about severing the link between online banking and mobile banking if they are to meet the needs of an increasingly dissatisfied micro business market, according to Telstra-commissioned research from Roy Morgan. The research, conducted as part of a study sponsored by Telstra into how banks can better serve micro-sized businesses, found that 45 percent of micro business people don't see a role for a PC in their workplace, yet 60 percent have access to 3G enabled phones."

Smartphone, 3G Growth Creates Mobile Banking Opportunity in Latin America, Pyramid Finds
"The growth of smartphones in Latin America will provide the perfect ecosystem for the growth of mobile banking, enabling operators to offer new value-added services to their clients, reduce churn, and increase revenues, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com)."

UPDATE 1-Monitise to raise 32 mln stg, bolster ties with Visa
"Mobile banking specialist Monitise (MONI.L) said it would raise 32.4 million pounds ($48.68 million) through a share placing and subscription, and extended its partnership with credit card giant Visa Inc (V.N) by a year, sending Monitise's shares up as much as 12 percent. The company said it would raise 23.6 million pounds by placing about 114 million shares at 20.75 pence a share, which is a 1.2 percent discount to the stock's Monday close."

Tyfone Powers Explosive Adoption of Multi-Mode Mobile Banking Service to OnPoint Community Credit Union Members
"Six months after launching a mobile banking service based on Tyfone’s financial services infrastructure, OnPoint Community Credit Union reports that usage among its members of the new mobile payments capabilities have exceeded expectations and continue to grow at a rapid pace. Each month more OnPoint credit union members are discovering the convenience of performing secure banking transactions via their mobile phones, while the number of monthly mobile banking transactions continues to soar at an average of 33 percent per month."