International Mobile Banking Updates - Jul 31

Smartphones set to change mobile banking for good
"The way we do banking on our mobile phones is changing rapidly, very rapidly. While most cellphone banking in emerging markets like South Africa is still conducted via text messages, people are increasingly also using phone browsers for their banking. In fact, the latest survey results from tech research company World Wide Worx suggest that more than a third of South Africans now use their browsers for mobile banking. That said, only five percent of cellphone bankers exclusively use phone browsers for the purpose, but a further 36% use their browsers as well as text-based services like USSD and SMS."

Mobile banking has failed to take off in India: RBI
"The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor H R Khan has hinted that mobile banking has failed take-off in India and hence has called upon banks and mobile companies to work together for the benefit of their customers. At a seminar in Bhubaneswar, Khan said that the growth rate in the value and the volume of mobile based transaction is much lower compared to the number of bank accounts and number of mobile subscribers."

Digicel, Boom Sign US$17m Mobile Banking Deal
"The deal, completed late last week, is expected to result in products that offer lower transaction fees than remittance services that can cost some 10 per cent on US$100 of transfer. 'Our investment in Boom Financial is a reflection of the strong value of the Boom service and the high-quality company that the team has built. Digicel's customers in the Caribbean and Central America receive more than US$5 billion a year in cash remittances from the US,' said Colm Delves, CEO of Digicel Group, in a release posted on Digicel's website."

Westpac unveils new mobile banking app for iPad
"Westpac has today officially unveiled its new iPad banking application, the Westpac Mobile Banking for iPad app. The bank says the new app focuses entirely on the customer experience and was built using "enormous amounts" of customer feedback. The app was launched in the iOS App Store on Tuesday 10 July but was formally unveiled at a media briefing in Sydney today. Despite the launch of the new app on Apple's iOS platform for iPad, Westpac declined to confirm when a version of the app would be available for Android tablets."

Mobile Banking Services Coming Up In Malaysia
"Malaysian Electronic Clearing Corp Sdn Bhd (MyClear), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank Negara, has teamed up with three banks and is working with another three this year to offer mobile banking services. The three banks that it has tied up with to offer mobile banking service, scheduled for the fourth quarter, are: Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Bank Bhd and Public Bank Bhd. It, however, did not disclose the names of the other three banks."

20% of European online shoppers already use mobile payments, finds Forrester
"One-fifth of Western European internet users use mobile banking today, according to a new Forrester report based on more than 13,600 consumer surveys. SMS alerts are still the most popular form of mobile banking in most countries, but use of mobile banking apps is growing fastest. As mobile Internet use explodes and mobile banking is displacing use of other channels, Forrester believes that ubiquitous mobile banking will mark a bigger strategic shift for the industry than home-based online banking. Banks need mobile banking to provide a platform for mobile payments and to protect their retail payments businesses from digital disruption."

Mobile Banking Updates - Apr 2

6 Essential Mobile Banking Features For Community Banks
"Financial institutions have many choices when implementing a mobile banking solution. The majority of community banks do not have the resources to develop a mobile application in-house so they will most likely implement a mobile platform from a software vendor.

Community banks must offer robust and intuitive mobile banking apps to compete against large national banks and attract new customers, especially tech. savvy Gen Y consumers. Banks also benefit with the ability to sell more services to existing customers, retain current customers and reduce operational costs. In order for a bank to reap these benefits their mobile app must include many key features."

Mobility Matters – Tracking the Mobile Banking Revolution: Online Only
"Credit Union Mobile Banking Debut of The Week: “We are gearing this to a younger membership. We are ahead of the curve, that’s where we want to be,” said Christopher White, a senior vice president at Waltham, Mass-based RTN FCU, a $720 million institution with 37,000 members."

Consumers want mobile banking at its highest level
"Throw away the deposit slips. Forget about the zipper coin pouches and the locking night deposit bags.
This month Rivermark Community Credit Union became the first Oregon credit union to offer the latest in mobile banking technology — the ability to deposit a check by simply taking a picture of it with an android phone, iPhone or iPad."

ath Power Research Shows Customers Willing to Pay as Much as $11 Per Month for Mobile Banking
"ath Power Consulting, an industry leader in financial services research and customer experience strategy development, today announced the release of The ath Power 2012 Mobile Banking Study(TM). Key findings revealed that banks are not adequately promoting their mobile banking offerings, and that Remote Deposit Capture is the missing feature most sought by customers. The National study ranked customer satisfaction with today's mobile banking offerings, and USAA earned the top spot with 73 percent of its users claiming high satisfaction."

Mobile banking service
"Pageonce is a Mobile banking service is made easy and simple for you, allowing you to manage money on your smartphone screen anywhere you want. And this is also a free service and provide positive benefits to manage a variety of important transactions."

Boom mobile banking, Allpoint ATM network partner on services
"Boom, a mobile banking provider, and money transfer service owner m-Via have announced both a new low-cost pricing model and a deal with surcharge-free ATM network provider Allpoint to offer Boom users access to more than 37,500 ATMs located in retail stores across the U.S. and Mexico.

Boom operates on a membership-based business model for banking and money transfer. Membership in the U.S. costs $25 per year; outside the U.S., membership is free to individuals who receive money from a U.S.-based member."