Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 26

Nearly half of cellphone owners expected to start banking by phone by next year
"One in five people who have a cellphone have used it recently to do their banking. By next year, nearly half of cellphone owners are expected to use them to check their bank account balances, pay bills or deposit checks. That may not surprise the 44 percent of people who currently own smartphones and already use them for everything from real-time traffic updates to comparison shopping while standing in a store aisle. It may surprise the 32 percent of consumers who have never even accessed their bank accounts from their home computer."

Mobile banking expected to skyrocket by the end of 2013
"By the end of 2013, roughly 43% of bank customers are expected to be using their smartphone for banking on the go, according to The Federal Reserve. The report said that it is the younger customers leading the trend. But not all young smartphone users are ready for mobile banking. 'I would never use my phone for banking personally, I don't even use the Internet, I don't think it is secure,' said Cleveland State University senior Megan McKenney."

Barclays introduces new mobile banking app
"Barclays PLC has introduced a free mobile banking app, Barclays Mobile Banking app, allowing its personal and small business customers to view their balances and last 30 transactions, make transfers between accounts, pay bills and find branches or Barclays ATMs. In addition, Barclaycard UK personal customers who also hold their bank account with Barclays will be able to view their credit card balance and recent transactions and make a repayment off their last statement balance."

Web - The Forgotten Channel?
"According to many recent analyst reports, including the World Retail Banking Report 2012 co-authored by Cap Gemini and EFMA, customers are viewing the Internet - alongside the branch - as one of the two most important channels of retail banking worldwide. In this context, I find it odd that many banks and nonbanking financial service providers are virtually treating the web as a non-existent channel while communicating the value proposition of their phone, mobile banking and mobile payment services. Let me cite a few examples of this trend."