Mobile Banking Updates - June 20

Using Mobile Banking to Expand Financial Access
"According to the FDIC’s “2011 Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Consumers,” approximately 17 million adults in the United States, or 8.2 percent of the population, do not have a checking or savings account—a group known as the “unbanked.” Another one in five households in the United States are “underbanked,” meaning they do have some sort of bank account but still use alternative, nonbank financial-services providers such as check cashers and pawn shops."

Credit union fills branches with 'technology champions' to push mobile services
"An American credit union has put a 'technology champion' in every one of its 76 branches to help members get up to speed with its mobile and online services. As more consumers turn to digital channels to conduct their daily banking transactions, the downward trend in branch activity levels is accelerating, fuelling the debate over the value of branch networks in a 21st century banking model."

What do mobile banking users want most?
"With the rise of plastic and digital transactions, the use of paper checks continues to decline — the Fed processes less than one-third of the checks it did two decades ago. But even with fewer checks in circulation, the most desired improvement to mobile banking is the ability to deposit checks. Nearly one-quarter of mobile banking users polled in the 2012 Fiserv Consumer Trends Survey selected check deposit as an improvement they'd like to see in their mobile banking application."

Mobile Banking Updates - May 12

Study: mobile banking apps key to bank loyalty
"Add mobile banking to ATMs as a major channel for cultivating bank customer loyalty. According to a study from Yodlee Interactive, a developer of financial mobile apps, one-third of those who use mobile banking name it as a reason why they stay with their bank."

DeMarrais: FDIC tips for safe mobile banking
"When's the last time you went into a bank? For many of us, trips to a local bank were once near the top of our weekly to-do list, but technology has changed that dramatically, allowing us to do most of our banking from the convenience of home or office whenever it suits us. Banker's hours? They're no longer an issue when you combine direct deposit, ATMs and online banking. Bank visits have been limited largely to opening accounts, applying for loans, resolving disputes or looking for a calendar."

Federal Reserve Board Survey Shows Growth in Mobile Banking and Payments
"Americans are increasingly using their mobile phones to access bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial accounts, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s latest report on mobile financial services. As of November 2012, 28 percent of all mobile phone users and 48 percent of smartphone users had used mobile banking in the past 12 months. This represents a significant increase from 21 percent in December 2011 for mobile phone users and 42 percent for smartphone users. While relatively less common, the use of mobile phones to make payments at the point of sale increased threefold over the same period, as 6 percent of smartphone owners reported using their phone to make a purchase."

Few Bank Shoppers Say Mobile Check Deposit Is A ‘Must Have’
"Within the last two years, more and more banks and credit unions have begun offering mobile check deposit on their mobile banking platforms. Today, there are 137 institutions listed on FindABetterBank.com and 33% offer mobile check deposit (see table below). Many banks and credit unions plan to roll out the service within the next 12 months."

ACLEDA Bank, Fiserv win tech implementation award
"Financial technology company Fiserv and Cambodian bank ACLEDA have won an Asian Banker Technology Implementation Award in the category "best mobile banking project." The award recognizes a collaboration by Fiserv and ACLEDA to extend the ACLEDA Unity mobile banking and payments service to new, untapped consumer segments using Mobiliti Reach from Fiserv."

Understanding Consumer Adoption of Mobile Banking in 2013
"It came a lot faster than anyone predicted: Mobile banking is growing so quickly that it is even overtaking traditional online banking. Just last week, the second largest bank in the United States, Bank of America, announced that its customers are logging into the bank’s mobile platform more than its online platform. It’s quite possibly the most significant innovation across the industry since the ATM."

Mobile Banking Plays Critical Role In Customer Loyalty While Tablet Apps Lag Behind
"A lack of banking apps optimized for tablets leaves consumers to resort to a cruder mobile web experience. According to a study from Yodlee Interactive, mobile banking may keep loyalty high while physical branches continue their decline. 71% of mobile bankers are either satisfied or very satisfied with their bank’s mobile and web offerings. One in three of those who use mobile banking now view their mobile banking experience as a reason why they stay with their bank."

Mobile Banking Updates - Mar 18

The Future of Mobile Banking
"Mobile banking apps make banking and managing finances more convenient and less time consuming. They also reduce the need for working with loads upon loads of paper, like all those forms you need to fill out in brick-and-mortar banks. The most common activities performed by mobile banking app users include scanning and depositing checks, monitoring account balances and, for some, managing travel or hotel bookings. Many banks also offer online banking options for those who want an easier way to control their cash flow, pay their bills, and locate ATM stations."

For Students, Banking 2.0 Involves Social Media (and the Ads That Go With It)
"Let’s say you’re in college. You’re taking a full load of courses, balancing classes with a work-study job that pays minimum wage, and whether you eat or not depends entirely on the credit still left on your weekly meal plan. Money’s tight and you’re caught in between independence and still having to rely on your parents’ generosity."

Banks must adapt to Hispanics' mobile banking needs, study says
"A recent study has found that as Hispanics across the country embrace mobile technologies, banks hoping to attract Hispanic customers must change their marketing tactics to be more mobile. The “Hispanic Mobile Banking Trends Study” — which was conducted by Zpryme Research and Consulting LLC, an Austin-based research advisory firm, and ThinkNow Research, a California-based Hispanic consumer research firm — found that 69 percent of Hispanics use their smartphone for mobile banking and 49 percent use their tablet for mobile banking."

Mobile Banking Will Help the Poor Prosper
"When it comes to strengthening our financial security, Americans' relative wealth means more access to banking and the kinds of innovative technologies that put financial management and security at our fingertips. In the U.S. and much of Europe, smartphone use is becoming ubiquitous, and virtually every major bank offers app-based banking services. Even in the U. S., however, access to basic banking services isn't as widespread as it may seem. One in 12 American households lacks any kind of deposit account, according to a recent report by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In much of the rest of the world, access to formal financial services of any kind is even harder to come by. An estimated 2.5 billion adults lack consistent, reliable financial services, according to data from the World Bank. For three out of four of the world's poorest individuals – those who live on less than $2 per day – access to basic financial tools is nearly non-existent. But there is hope."

Mobile Banking Fees: Money Maker Or Momentum-Killer?
"Will charging for mobile banking apps slow their rate of adoption? We could see an interesting case study in that debate soon, as PNC bank is reportedly considering charging for its mobile check depositing service. PNC’s mBanking features are, as they are for most major banks, currently free for customers. But according to this recent Mobile Commerce Daily piece, the potential to add revenue may be too great a temptation for banks to resist: even if it means fewer people us their services."

Next in Mobile Banking: Photo Bill Payments
"Now that many banking customers are used to depositing paper checks by snapping a photo with their cellphones, some banks are adding another feature: photo bill pay. U.S. Bank this week introduced a mobile “photo bill pay” service, which allows its online and mobile banking customers to snap a photo of a paper bill with their phone and have the information automatically loaded into their account. Then, they can pay the bill electronically. First Financial Bank in Abilene, Tex., began offering the service earlier this year, too. A hat tip to Netbanker for bringing that bank to our attention."

Report: Tablet boost to mobile banking
"A quarter of tablet PC users will use their device to pay bills by 2017. That is one of the headline findings of a new report by Juniper Research. Because of a sharp rise in tablet adoption, Juniper calculates that users of transactional tablet banking services will number almost 200 million in 2017. The research firm says this will account for around 19 per cent of total mobile banking customers in 2017, up from 9 per cent this year."

Mobile Banking Updates - Jan 8

8 Bank Technology Trends That Will Shape the Industry in 2012
"For the past several years, bank IT budgets generally remained flat. The financial crisis and ensuing fallout forced belt-tightening across the industry. In 2011, however, bank IT executives finally enjoyed some breathing room thanks to some revitalized spending power."

MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL: What should be the main 2012 trend? Mobile Security
"With all the predictions of what’s coming for 2012 floating around, one really should stand out: Increased mobile security. For example, it is extremely rare when any politician goes out on a limb, so it’s important to take note when they do. Case in point: Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) said the following at a trade group’s round table in December:"

Smartphone hacking will rise in 2012, experts warn
"Security experts predict 2012 will be a breakthrough year for cyber-attacks on smartphones. There are now enough of these mobile computers in use to make them an inviting target. 'Shopping and mobile banking are things that are going to leave a trail and contain lots of goodies that criminals can go after,' says Rachel Ratcliff Womack with the digital security firm Stroz Friedberg."

FDIC Reveals Banks Have Allowed for Theft of Mobile Banking Data
"The world just got a little scarier. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has publicly acknowledged for the first time that banks in the United States have had consumers' mobile banking data stolen during wireless transmissions. The FDIC made the disclosure in a dark corner of a document it releases quarterly called Supervisory Insights, which advises its on-the-ground compliance regulators."

Riverset Launches Mobile
"The $117 million Riverset Credit Union in Pittsburgh is now offering its 14,700 members mobile banking through the Mobile Money service from Fiserv’s Mobiliti operation. The mobile service is being offered through text, mobile Web browser and downloadable applications, the credit union said."