Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 1

Editor`s Pick: 10 Must read on mobile banking and microfinance

The Mobile Mandate
"For Bank of America, mobile banking is a channel through which the $2.6 trillion institution hopes to truly reach the masses. BofA launched its mobile-banking platform in May 2007 and today has 5 million mobile WAP/browser-based and downloadable-banking-application subscribers. In May, BofA launched its SMS/text banking service - a service that is open to all BofA customers - and today has more than 500,000 users.

In an exclusive interview, Marc Warshawsky, BofA's senior vice president of mobile channel planning and design, shares his thoughts about the future of mobile-banking adoption. 'We're looking at ways to target a variety of customers, drive more awareness and attract a larger segment.'"

When it Comes to Mobile, Bank of the West is Done Waiting and Seeing
"The mobile banking train hasn’t left the station yet, but time is running low to be considered an early adopter before the service becomes ubiquitous among banks. In the case of Bank of the West, which introduced its new mobile platform last week, now’s the time to jump in as more banks will likely view mobile as a must-have in the near future.
“We’ve seen quite a bit of customer demand, and that noise has grown over the past six to eight months, especially as you’re seeing more mass marketing and mass media advertising around mobile banking,” says Matt Macomber, head of the Internet and online banking group at Bank of the West."

Schwab Needs to Catch Up In Mobile Apps
"Charles Schwab (SCHW) needs to more aggressively adapt to the growing use of mobile technology that is rapidly changing banking and investing in a way similar to the disruption previously caused by the Internet. Mobile banking is moving into the mainstream and financial institutions will soon face a competitive environment in which the majority of rivals offer mobile services, with success based largely on the company's technology strategy, according to Matthew Talbot, vice president of m-Commerce at Sybase 365, a division of SAP (SAP)."

TD Bank rolls out mobile banking apps to streamline customer service
"TD Bank is streamlining its customer service operations via mobile applications for Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android-powered devices. Initially, customers can use the mobile banking applications to find stores and ATMs, check deposit, loan and credit card balances, view pending transactions and account history, transfer funds and make bill payments."

Phones, Calculator Give a Glimpse of Mobile Tech in Afghanistan
"Afghanistan’s vibrant cellphone ecosystem is one of the country’s economic bright spots. There are about 12.5 million cellular subscriptions in the country of 27 million people. Jan Chipchase, executive creative director at Frog Design spent some time in Afghanistan recently for a research study on mobile banking."

Samba announces the launch of mobile banking
"Samba Financial Group, the premier banking services provider in Saudi Arabia announced the formal launch of their mobile banking applications for the Apple iPhone and Blackberry handheld instruments. It is a fully transactional service that allows Samba customers to check their accounts, make payments and transfer funds through their mobile phones at anytime, and from anywhere using the same user name and login password as on Samba online."