International Mobile Banking Updates - Oct 23

Aussies way ahead in mobile banking
"Latest research from Google shows Australians are 65 per cent more likely than the British to do banking via their smartphone and 14 per cent more likely than Americans. St George Bank has more than 390,000 mobile banking customers and growing fast, especially in the demographic of those aged up to 35, who make up 75 per cent of the users.St George Banking Group's head of eChannels, Travis Tyler, says the explosion of consumers who have turned to phone apps to do their banking is continuing to skyrocket."

Namibia: Bank Launches Mobile Banking
"In its continuous efforts to improve the service offering to its customers Standard Bank Namibia (SBN) has announced the launch of Mobile Banking to the Namibian market. The service will be available to customers on Friday 12 October 2012. Mobile Banking offers a more flexible way of banking anytime, anywhere. It involves the access to and provision of banking and financial services through mobile devices."

Carfinance247.co.uk reveals how 86% of Brits shun mobile devices when applying for finance
"While mobile banking and contactless payments are hot topics now, surprising data from car finance and dealer specialist carfinance247.co.uk reveals that only 14% of people would actually feel comfortable applying for finance via a mobile device. An independent study asked: 'Would you feel comfortable applying for guaranteed car finance via a mobile device such as an iPad, mobile phone etc?'"

RHB Bank expects 1.5m internet, mobile banking clients by 2013
"RHB Bank Bhd expects to garner 1.5 million internet and mobile banking customers by next year, said its retail banking director Vince Au Yoong. The bank currently has 850,000 customers who use its online and mobile banking services, almost double the 450,000 users last year."

Mobile Phone & Smart Card banking accounts surge
"The Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Kazi Abdul Muktadir, has disclosed that Mobile Phone and Smart Card banking accounts have surged to nearly 1.45 million in the country, which indicates that Pakistan's financial sector is now going through a dynamic transition led by the latest technology solutions. Speaking at the launching ceremony of a new product, `Easy Paisa Khushaal' of Tameer Microfinance Bank (TMFB) and Telenor at a local hotel on Tuesday, he said: `The existing active players- the Tameer Microfinance Bank (Easypaisa) and UBL (Omni), have so far registered more than 1,447,381 mobile wallet accounts (mWallet accounts) of un-banked and under-banked population of the country."

Say goodbye to the branch — the future for banking is upwardly mobile
"In developed countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, mobile banking — describing the use of mobile phones to make financial transactions — is transforming banking from a physical (requiring visits to a bank branch) to non-physical activity. Visits to banks to deposit cheques, and cheques more generally, appear to be disappearing. A recent report from The Economist cited a finding from JP Morgan that over the past year in the United States, customers deposited 10 million cheques by taking pictures of them rather than visiting a branch. In the Netherlands, only half of all bank customers have stepped inside a branch in the past year."

10-month-old bank launches mobile services
"Customers of the first Tanzania’s fully Sharia compliant bank, Amana Bank, will now be able to use modern technology to access the bank’s products after it launched internet and mobile banking services. Amana Bank’s head of Business, Mr Sudi Marungu, said they have decided to introduce the services to enable their clients to experience maximum enjoyment as they access the bank’s services from wherever they are and in convenience all the time."

Digitization: Banking won’t change until banks do
"Across Asia consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with technology, with growing numbers using smartphones and tablets to bank on the go. Channels have multiplied, giving customers more choice than ever before. However, for all the innovation in banking in recent years, the drop in loyalty rates across Asia suggests banks are failing to get closer to their customers, or provide them with sufficiently useful and convenient products and services."

Wincor Nixdorf: Cross-Channel Integration Brings Mobile Banking to Customers
"To meet the fast-paced lifestyle of their consumers, banks are increasingly networking their services between the branch, Internet, mobile banking and self-service delivery channels so that customers can manage their transactions on the go. To help financial service providers meet their customer’s needs and be competitive in the marketplace, Wincor Nixdorf showcased its PC/EMobile Cash application as part of Wincor World, Oct. 16 in Germany."