Mobile Banking Updates - July 25

Where's the Love for Android?
"With the large public debacle that was Steve Jobs' and Apple Inc.'s "Antennagate," a growing number of smart phones and connected devices on America's other wireless carriers and an ever-maturing mobile OS and app marketplace, Android is looking more attractive all the time. And while mobile banking apps and features seemingly pop up everyday on iOS, the same can't be said for Android.

While the public uptake of mobile banking might be slow to develop, it would seem that with a growing number of Americans choosing Android devices over iPhones, banks and providers would at least try to offer parallel services in the Android Marketplace. And the openness of app development and deployment on Google's mobile OS seem like a good opportunity to get on board."

KPMG Survey: Mobile Banking Steadily Gaining Acceptance Among U.S. Consumers
"Mobile banking and the use of mobile devices such as cell phones, smartphones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) for financial transactions and payments are increasingly gaining acceptance among U.S. consumers, according to results of a survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm.

The results of KPMG's fourth annual Global Consumers and Convergence survey show that 19 percent of U.S. consumers have conducted banking transactions on a mobile device, compared to only 9 percent when KPMG last completed this survey 18 months ago. More than 5,600 people in 22 countries worldwide participated in the survey, which examines trends in the use of mobile technology."

Mobile Remote Deposit Capture by the Numbers (thanks USAA)
"USAA is now doing the same for the fledgling consumer-remote-check-deposit market. USAA was the first major financial institution to introduce the service a year ago. Earlier this month, Chase Bank became the second major bank to offer mobile capture.

In a press release last week, the direct banking giant said that more than 1.5 million checks, worth $930 million (an average of $620 per item), had been deposited through its mobile remote deposit app released last summer. Mobile accounts for about one-third of the bank’s consumer remote capture volume. The online version, introduced in late 2006, still outnumbers mobile volume 2 to 1."

Mobile Banking Sees Success in Senegal
"Thanks to a mobile banking system launched last month in Senegal, people with no previous access to bank accounts were able to watch the World Cup via satellite services that they paid for electronically with a few taps on a mobile phone. The service is a clear sign that mobile banking is taking off in Africa, giving some of the world's poorest people a way to access financial services.

The system, which is called Yoban'tel by Obopay and was launched on June 24 by Obopay and Société Générale de Banques au Sénégal, lets customers use text messages to transfer money to satellite and cell-phone providers. Users walk into a participating store and make a deposit into their Yoban'tel account. They can then use that money to pay bills. "

TOP 5 MOBILE COMMERCE TRENDS FOR 2010
"Mobile commerce, or m-commerce, is simply the ability to conduct business transactions through a mobile device. With smartphone sales rising 49% in the first quarter of 2010, never before has it been so easy to shop, anywhere, anytime from the palm of your hand. There is an enormous amount of ongoing market research, and though there has been a variety of numbers estimated and reported, they all conclude that mobile commerce is a profitable and rapidly growing market.

By 2015, it’s estimated that shoppers from around the world will spend about $119 billion on goods and services bought via their mobile phones, according to a study by ABI Research released this past February. In the United States alone, mobile shopping rose from $396 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2009, and mobile campaign spending also increased by 25 to 30% over the past year, with companies shelling out just under $313 million according to the same study. Senior Analyst Mark Beccue, said that he’s forecasting U.S. sales to reach about $2.2 billion in 2010."

Maybank Targets To Increase Mobile Banking Customer Base By 53 Per Cent
"Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is targeting to increase its mobile banking customer base by 53 per cent to over 290,000 by July 2011 with launch of its enhanced Mobile Banking Service or M2U Mobile.

The enhanced M2U Mobile enabled customers to access the bank's portal Maybank2u.com using any phone model or telco operator for their banking, bill payment or e-commerce transactions, Maybank said in a statement Tuesday."

150 Credit Unions Choose Mobile Money(TM) From Fiserv
"Fiserv, Inc., the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions and the largest provider of business-driven technology solutions for credit unions, today announced that 150 credit unions have chosen to implement Mobile Money(TM) from Fiserv to date, including 84 that are already live.

Mobile Money gives credit union members the flexibility to use any mobile device to check account balances and history, transfer funds, pay bills, and track account activity. Mobile Money is the industry's most complete mobile banking and payments offering, supporting all three mobile access modes: SMS (text messaging), mobile browser, and downloadable applications. Mobile Money is available as an in-house solution or hosted by Fiserv through an application service provider (ASP) model."

Fiserv brings mobile banking person-to-person with ZashPay
"Fiserv is a big financial services provider, and also what you might call a mobile payments “enabler”. For months, we’ve reported as Fiserv provides mobile banking services to smaller, regional banks and credit unions. Today, it’s aiming even smaller – with a person-to-person mobile payment system called ZashPay."