Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 28

Payment innovations: Are you in?
"Like most banks, Home Federal Savings Bank, a $1 billion-assets institution in Sioux Falls, S.D., is wary of nonbank competitors in payments. Says Natalie Sundvold, senior vice-president, service and support, “From my seat in a financial services company, the thought of an outsider coming into payments is frightening. It doesn’t feel good, especially because consumers may not understand how payment security works.” When evaluating payments players and planning their own strategy, banks would be wise to keep the words of the Chinese general and military strategist Sun-tzu in mind: 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.'”

Does Your Financial Institution’s Digital Strategy Pass the ROI Test?
"Large investments in emerging services like mobile and online do not always translate into higher customer satisfaction or even high financial performance. Javelin Strategy & Research, a leading financial services analyst firm, is releasing the company’s new competitive benchmark service, Outperform, which is a result of analyzing over 20 leading financial institutions and provides insights to improve each banks’ return on investment on emerging bank services—mobile and online banking services."

The globalisation of immediate payments – rolling out faster transactions
"The proliferation of smartphones, for example, has created a society that is locked into the internet whenever and wherever, with constant and immediate access to a huge array of services and 24/7 communication. The subsequent demand for immediacy and convenience has fundamentally changed the expectations customers have of service providers – and this extends to banking and payments. The growth of online and mobile banking has seen reliance on traditional bank branches fall dramatically, with customers instead choosing to conduct their financial affairs on the move and at their own convenience."

Study: Hard Numbers Reveal Growing Mobile Usage
"The latest data dump from Malauzai Software – which now provides mobile banking apps to 108 credit unions and banks – reveals continued, strong growth in mobile banking usage. The just-released July numbers show that among financial institutions that have offered mobile banking for at least one year, 'the average month-over-month (member usage) growth rate is 4.19%. The best-in-class number is 11.56% with several banks and (credit unions) topping 10%,' according to Malauzai in Austin, Texas."

Sonoma Bank Launches Mobile Banking Solutions
"Sterling Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:STSA), whose principal operating subsidiary does business in California as Sonoma Bank and Borrego Springs Bank, today announced that Sonoma Bank is launching a robust mobile banking suite for consumer customers. Now, Sonoma Bank customers can manage accounts with a mobile phone or a tablet using the Sonoma Bank Mobile App, which is available for iPhone, iPad and AndroidTM devices. Customers can also access accounts with Mobile Web or enroll in Text Banking and text the bank to receive account balance and recent transactions."

Mobile Banking Getting Easier And Faster
"No question banking on-the-go is easier than ever thanks to our smartphones. And now many banks are offering more services than just paying bills and depositing a check with your phone. Want to split the check for dinner with your friends, pay the babysitter on-the-spot, or the neighborhood kid to mow your lawn? Now you can use your phone for that too. No cash, no checks required."

Microfinance Institutions Benefit Most from Mobile Banking in Mature Markets
"New research from the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) finds that microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their customers can derive clear benefits from integrating with mobile banking services. However, MFIs are not yet playing a driving role in the adoption of mobile banking. Instead, MFIs successful in using mobile banking are located in mature markets where mobile and agent infrastructures are already established and where customers are experienced with viable mobile payments solutions. The benefits of mobile banking services to MFIs largely depend on the success of the existing mobile banking service itself: in markets where mobile banking is strong, MFIs and their customers can more easily benefit."

Ameriana Bank unveils Allied Payment’s mobile bill pay platform "Ameriana Bank has implemented Allied’s Picture Pay mobile bill pay, which allows its customers to pay any bill easily and securely by capturing a photo of the bill with their mobile devices. The lender, which combined the Picture Pay into its existing mobile banking application, said that the deployment of the new technology will reduce the complexities during the bill pay process."

'Lines Are for Losers': The Mobile Banking Mantra
"Just maybe Albuquerque media expert Casey Echternacht has the slogan for today's mobile banking generation: "Lines are for losers," he said when asked why he is a self-professed fanboy for mobile banking. He's a new convert - 'I just signed up a few weeks ago,' he said, after discovering his credit union offered a mobile banking app. 'They won't be seeing me in branches much anymore.'"

Banks target larger companies for mobile services
"Many U.S. banks have been quicker to offer mobile banking services to their consumer and small-business clients than to larger middle-market and corporate customers. But with customer demand rising significantly, the race is now on among the top 50 U.S. banks to roll out corporate mobile banking, according to a recent Aite Group report. For the company's "Corporate Mobile: Gaining Momentum" study, Christine Barry, Aite Group's wholesale banking research director, surveyed 32 U.S. banks with more than $14 billion in assets, representing approximately the top 50 U.S. banks ranked by total assets. The survey, conducted in June, excluded small-business mobile banking and focused solely on middle-market and corporate mobile banking."

The promise of NFC: Mobile payments and mobile advertising will make life better for all of us "Mobile payments have remained a small but fast-growing part of the explosion of smartphone usage in America. According to a study by Creditdonkey.com, 87 percent of Americans have a mobile phone but only 21 percent of mobile phone users have taken advantage of mobile banking in the past year. Mobile payment products like Visa's payWave or Paypal's apps for iOS and Android may be the way all of us buy goods in the future, but a number of consumers are resisting the technology. According to CreditDonkey's survey, 68 percent of respondents said that they would not like to replace cash with a mobile payment product. It is going to take time for the mobile phone to replace the wallet."