4 Companies Embracing a Major Technological Shift

"Banks are closing branches around the United States as the consumer banking model shifts. Many have begun focusing their efforts and technology on their mobile banking offerings, and investors could benefit from owning the banks with the best apps.

Let's look at who's doing the best job so far with the new technological wave. The 'Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2013' study from the Federal Reserve released this past March found mobile banking adoption among consumers in the U.S. was at 29%, up from 21% last year." Continue Reading

Mobile Banking Updates - June 16

What Tops Consumers' Mobile Banking Wish List?
"As plastic and digital transactions boom, the use of paper checks is in decline. Although checks still represent about 20 percent of all non-cash payments, the Federal Reserve processes less than a third of the checks it did 20 years ago. With fewer checks in circulation, you may be surprised to learn that the most desired improvement to mobile banking is … the ability to deposit checks."

Big data to drive banks' mobile wallet strategies - Finextra research
"Research from Finextra finds that banks around the world are looking to discounted offers and big data analytics to beat off the competition from telcos and tech start-ups as they battle for control of the consumer mobile wallet. For the research - conducted on behalf of Clear2Pay and NGData - Finextra surveyed more than 183 bankers on the key issues around the monetisation of mobile payments."

Itinerant customers embracing mobile banking faster than military banks expected
"Many banks treat mobile banking like an ancillary service channel, but it’s quickly becoming the main game for the highly-mobile customers of USAA and Australia’s Defence Bank. The head of customer strategy for military bank United Services Automobile Association (USAA) admits to being “a little scared” after recently watching mobile banking services usage rocket past the levels initially expected by the end of 2015 — but he relishes the challenge as USAA and contemporaries like Australia’s Defence Bank embrace new technologies to keep the personal touch."

Banking goes mobile
"Dan Brower fished a much awaited check from his mailbox but didn’t have time to swing by his bank’s branch. So the Kansas City resident fired up his 2-week-old iPhone, and with just a flick of his finger — disappointment. Commerce Bank’s mobile banking app doesn’t accept deposits."

Portland banking startup Simple raising more money, filing suggests
"Portland online banking startup Simple Finance Technology Corp. is raising more money, according to a regulatory filing this afternoon. The filing suggests Simple, as the company is known commercially, has raised $2.3 million in new investment. But such filings often give an incomplete picture, and Simple said it will have more to say soon."

KeyBank Expands Mobile Capabilities for Commercial and Consumer Clients
"KeyBank is making banking more convenient for all clients - commercial and consumer - to manage money while on the move with an expanded suite of mobile banking services. 'We're seeing double-digit growth in our clients' use of consumer mobile banking, and we know our commercial clients have increasing interest in mobile,' said Matthew D. Lehman, head of KeyBank's Community Bank online and mobile banking. KeyBank's mobile banking use increased by 45 percent between 2011 and 2012."

Popular Community Bank Launches New iPad App in Latest Expansion of Mobile Banking Platform
"Popular Community Bank,* a subsidiary of Popular, Inc. and one of the nation’s premier community banks, expanded its “anywhere, anytime banking” program with the launch of its new application optimized for the iPad, available at the Apple iTunes store. The Popular Community Bank free iPad app compliments the bank’s iPhone® and Android™ apps, Business Mobile Banking and recently enhanced Internet banking. Through the iPad app customers can:"

Mobile Banking Updates - April 24

Better Authentication is Key to DDoS, Mobile Banking Protection: Jeff Carter
"'When you don't have trusted identities for accessing your online banking infrastructure, anyone in the wild can make a request, and you have to respond to it,' says Jeff Carter, who ran innovation for Bank of America and the Center for Future Banking, a joint venture between Bank of America, MIT and Harvard University, for six years and is currently chief strategy officer at EyeLock. He has a vested interest: his company's technology scans the human iris to create a "trusted identity" that can be used to authenticate users of anything, including a mobile banking app or online banking site."

Dr. Gavin Michael Joins JPMorgan Chase as Head of Digital for Consumer and Community Banking
"Chase announced today that Dr. Gavin Michael has joined the firm as Head of Digital for Chase's Consumer and Community Banking division. Michael served as the Chief Technology Innovation Officer at Accenture since 2010, where he was responsible for the innovation agenda, technology strategy, and research and development. He will report to Gordon Smith, CEO of Chase Consumer and Community Banking, and Guy Chiarello, Chief Information Officer for JPMorgan Chase. 'We are extremely pleased to have Gavin join the firm,' said Gordon Smith, CEO of Consumer & Community Banking. 'With over 31 million active Chase.com users and more than 12 million active mobile users, it's important that we continue to innovate and provide exceptional customer experience in our internet and mobile channels. Gavin has more than 20 years of experience across Retail Banking technology, including governance, organization, strategy, and innovation. His experience in running large, complex global projects across financial services and consulting makes him a great fit to lead Chase's mobile and digital channel.'"

Mobile banking: Increased acceptance equals greater opportunities for FIs
"Mobile devices have become a part of everyday life around the world, used for banking, entertainment, communication, payments, budgeting and even shopping. A recent survey by the U.S. Federal Reserve focused not only on the general growth in mobile usage but also on the increasing number of U.S. consumers turning to mobile for their financial service needs. Mobile phone and mobile Internet access have become much more widespread in the United States; 87 percent of the population now own mobile phones, 52 percent of which are smartphones. More surprisingly, the Federal Reserve found that 28 percent of mobile phone owners have used their phones for mobile banking in the last 12 months. An even larger proportion of smartphone owners (48 percent) have done the same. The most common uses of mobile banking are to check account balances or recent transactions (87 percent), and to transfer money (53 percent) and deposit checks (21 percent)."

IAB: 58 per cent of Americans use mobile banking apps
"But 52 per cent say they want a concrete guarantee their transactions are safe before using mobile banking more often. One billion people are expected to use mobile banking by 2017, while NatWest and RBS recently strengthened their mobile solutions with in-app customer service tools. IAB now finds that 58 per cent of Americans user their bank's mobile app, while 50 per cent use their bank's mobile website. Meanwhile, 25 per cent are aware of the app and 26 per cent are aware of the site, though they're yet to use them."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 9

U.S. Bancorp's Plans to Remove Friction from Mobile Banking
"U.S. Bancorp, which last month became the first large U.S. bank to offer mobile photo bill pay, hopes that letting people pay their bills with a tap of a smartphone camera will enable it to do three things. 'One is to take away some of the friction,' says Niti Badarinath, senior vice president and head of mobile banking and strategy at the $354 billion-asset Minneapolis bank. Over the next few quarters, the bank plans to further use imaging to save customers having to type their own details into their mobile banking app. 'We want to take away some of the more tedious manual data entry,' he says."

C and F Bank launches new I-Deposit24 mobile banking service
"C and F Bank has rolled out its latest offering in mobile banking, I-Deposit24, which will enable customers to deposit cheques directly to their bank account with their smartphone. The lender said that the new technology provides customers with updated products in electronic banking and a complete mobile banking product suite. Its mobile banking technology and services offer safe, simple, and secure mobile access to C&F Bank accounts. Using the new mobile banking suite, account holders can view their balances and recent transactions, transfer funds, pay bills, receive customized account activity alerts and find C&F Bank branch and ATM locations."

Mobile Banking Usage Rises, But So Do Security Concerns: Survey
"Consumers continue to move to mobile banking although security concerns may keep some bank customers from reaching for their devices. Twenty-eight percent of all mobile phone owners have used mobile banking in the past 12 months, up from 21% a year earlier, according to a survey released recently by the Federal Reserve Board that updates findings of a similar survey the Fed fielded in 2011."

River City launches new bilingual mobile-banking app
"River City Federal Credit Union has rolled out a multilingual app for the Apple iPad that customers can use to conduct mobile banking in English and Spanish. Malauzai Software Inc. in Austin completed development on the app in 17 business days. The company specializes in creating mobile-banking apps."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 7

RBS Group Endures Mobile Banking Outage
"Bank divisions of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group suffered from a mobile banking app glitch for a few hours late last week. The outage affected mobile banking customers at RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank. All three banking units took to Twitter to inform their customers about the technology issue."

Texas Trust Launches Mobile Deposit for Consumer Banking Applications
"Mobile banking has become more convenient at Texas Trust Credit Union with the introduction of mobile deposit. This new mobile banking service allows members to deposit checks in real time from anywhere, simply by taking a picture of the check with a smartphone or mobile device."

Mobile Commerce Market Shows Continued Growth, No Consensus on Mobile Payment Methods
"The report also provides a quick overview of mobile banking, which includes services such as balance inquiries, transfers, bill payments and applying for loans and credit. According to data from Forrester, by 2017 mobile banking’s user base will double to 108 million — 46 percent of all US bank account holders. Mobile automated clearinghouse rules were adopted in the US in January 2011, while a Vodafone-sponsored mobile banking service called M-Pesa helps govern mobile banking transactions in seven developing nations including India, Kenya and Tanzania."

Half of American smartphone owners use mobile banking
"Nearly half of American smartphone owners used their handsets to access financial accounts last year, according to research from the Federal Reserve Board. The FRB's poll of nearly 2600 people late last year shows that 48% of smartphone owners had used mobile banking in the previous 12 months, up from 42% in a December 2011 survey. Of all mobile phone owners, 28% had used their handsets to access a bank, credit card, or other financial accounts, up from 21%."

Regions Bank Rolls Out Innovative, New Mobile Apps That Let Customers Make Deposits, Load Pre-Paid Cards and Select Speed of Funds Availability
"Mobile Banking customers can now make deposits to their accounts using their mobile device. With the introduction of Regions Mobile Deposit, customers can now use their phone or iPad to take a photo of a check and place those funds in a consumer deposit account or load them to a Regions Now Card, a reloadable Visa® prepaid card. The Mobile Deposit service has three funds availability options – a standard option of two business days, an intermediate same day availability option, and an immediate availability option. Costs per Mobile Deposit transaction are as low as 50 cents."

Intuit Making Mint Available to Banks
"Intuit Financial Services announced today it is making popular PFM tool Mint available to financial institutions to integrate into their online and mobile banking services. Intuit, which acquired Mint in 2009, will offer the Mint integration on a limited basis in 2013, before rolling it out to its more than 1,200 financial institution clients in 2014."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 4

Misys introduces new online and mobile banking products
"Misys has launched a new innovative range of online and mobile banking products, Misys BankFusion Digital Channels, to enhance the way banks provide products and services via the internet or mobile devices. Misys BankFusion Digital Channels comprises a range of proven and mature modules covering online banking, mobile banking, personal financial management and internet brokerage, which enable banks to extend their services and add more value to their customers."

BII REPORT: The Mobile Banking Ecosystem Explained
"Over the years, retail banks have innovated to make personal banking more convenient and consumer-friendly. They've built sprawling branch networks, introduced credit cards, and developed automatic teller machines. In its latest evolution, banking is going mobile. With smartphones and tablets increasingly at the center of financial decisions — especially those of younger consumers — banks have to get their mobile strategies right. If they don't, they risk losing business to more mobile-savvy competitors, as well as tech companies like PayPal, that are developing their own payment and personal finance solutions."

HOW TO BUILD A WORLD-CLASS MOBILE BANKING STRATEGY
"Mobile has gotten a lot of attention at banks recently. In fact, other teams in a firm’s organization are starting to feel like Jan Brady, the voices in their heads chanting “Mobile Mobile Mobile!” But there’s good reason for the increased focus on mobile banking efforts: mobile is the most important strategic change in retail banking in over a decade. It is shifting your customers’ behavior, raising customers’ expectations, and opening up new opportunities for banks, their competitors, and new disruptors."

VIDEO: HOW TO PLAY THE MOBILE BANKING REVOLUTION
"I visited Fox Business Network on Thursday, March 21, to discuss my recent column on the “cashless craze” and some stocks that investors can buy to play the trend. We hop around a bit, but the stocks highlighted here include:"

Fed: Mobile banking on the rise
"Mobile banking is continuing to gain a foothold in the United States, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve. The percentage of mobile phone owners using that technology for banking and other financial purposes was on the rise at the end of 2012. Twenty-eight percent of all mobile phone users, and nearly half of smartphone users, reported they had used their devices for banking purposes in the last year. Those numbers represent a 33 percent increase from the last Fed survey on the issue at the end of 2011."

Mobile Banking Security - April 2

Fed On Mobile Banking: Use Is Up, Confidence In Security Down
"The Credit Union National Association's Payments Subcommittee will review the Federal Reserve Board's new mobile financial services survey results, which note significant increases in how consumers use mobile phones and smartphones for banking and payments."

ATMIA Publishes Best Practices for Preventing Mobile Banking Fraud
"ATMIA today announced the publication of a new best practice manual for preventing mobile banking fraud, with special reference to applications linked to ATM systems. Due to the increasing popularity of mobile phones, and in particular smartphones and tablet computers which are capable of full internet access, mobile banking and related mobile commerce has become an important channel for the financial services industry, including the ATM industry."

CONSUMER AFFAIRS: Safer mobile banking
"The latest issue of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s FDIC Consumer News offers consumers tips for safer mobile banking. The FDIC urges consumers to be proactive and create strong passwords or pins and periodically change them. Don’t write down or give passwords or pins to others. Also, ensure that any “time-out” or “auto-lock” features on devices are enabled."

Mobile Banking Updates - Mar 31

Bell State Bank Deploys Fiserv's Mobile Banking System
"Bell State Bank & Trust in Fargo, N.D., has chosen Mobiliti, Fiserv's mobile banking service. Mobiliti allows customers of the $2.6 billion-asset bank to make payments from their smartphones, the Wisconsin-based fintech firm said Tuesday. The bank also began using Mobile Source Capture, Fiserv's mobile deposit system. Mobiliti is currently available to Bell State's customers through text messaging, web browsers, iPhone and Android phones, and the bank plans to add iPad compatibility, the release says."

Fed: Number of Americans using mobile banking increasing
"Nearly 1-in-3 mobile phone owners accessed a financial account via their phone in the past 12 months, a marked increase from a year earlier, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. For those who own a smartphone, the number jumps to nearly half of all users, according to the study of consumer attitudes released by the reserve’s Board of Governors."

Mobile devices increasingly popular for banking services
"More consumers are using their mobile phones and smartphones for their banking needs, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey released this week. Twenty-eight percent of mobile phone users and 48 percent of smartphone users had used mobile banking in the 12 months prior to the survey being conducted in November 2012, up significantly from 21 percent and 42 percent in December 2011, according to the board’s Survey of Consumers’ Use of Mobile Financial Services."

Demand for Online, Mobile Technology Services Growing Among Business Banking Clients
"It’s hard to ignore that more and more people are using mobile devices to communicate, and banking institutions are aware of the growing demand for their services via the Internet among business clients. According to the American Bankers Association, businesses and consumers are demanding more payment options. This, coupled with shifting demographics, have banks re-thinking their service models to offer a wider range of products."

Mobile banking will break the 1 billion user mark in 4 years
"By the year 2017, studies are showing that the use of these services will have skyrocketed. The latest mobile banking study data from Juniper Research has indicated that an increasing acceptance of this type of smartphone and tablet based service has caused users to bring the number of users up to nearly 200 million."

Bank of Atlanta Mobile Banking
"Bank of Atlanta Mobile Banking allows you to bank on the go. Its free to download and offers quick access for managing your Bank of Atlanta accounts. Just like Online Banking, securely sign in with your current login information to check your balances, pay bills, transfer money, and locate ATMs and our banking centers."

Silicon Valley Bank Launches Mobile Banking App for Businesses
"Silicon Valley Bank, financial partner to technology and life science companies of all sizes, launched Apple® and Android™ mobile banking apps for its commercial clients in the US."

Mobile Banking Security - Oct 29

Protecting Yourself from Mobile Banking Attacks
"It’s true – mobile banking is an easy and efficient way to view your account balances, review individual transactions, and send or receive payments while you’re on the go. But its convenience isn’t just attracting smartphone users worldwide – it’s also attracting cybercriminals, and it’s easy to see why. According to a recent report by the Federal Reserve, 42 percent of mobile banking users have transferred money between accounts; meanwhile, 21 percent of mobile payment users have transferred money directly to another users’ bank, credit card or Paypal account."

Mobile Banking's Security Advantages
"As demand for mobile banking and payments transactions grows, banking institutions face increasing pressure to ensure security, says Dennis Simmons of SWACHA, a Texas-based electronic-payments adviser for banks and credit unions. As a result, Simmons says, banks and credit unions must take advantage of mobile device features, such as geo-location, biometrics and device identification, to enhance authentication."

Blackhole Exploit Toolkit 2.0 and Mobile Banking Malware Are Top Trends in AVG's Q3 Threat Report
"AVG Technologies (NYS: AVG) , the provider of Internet and mobile security to 128 million active users, today released its Q3 2012 Community Powered Threat Report. This quarter's report investigates a number of malicious software developments including the newly launched 2.0 version of the Blackhole Exploit Toolkit, the evolution in malware targeting mobile banking services, a surge in malicious ads targeting social network users and a trick to hide malware inside image files."

iovation Presents Mobile Banking Impact on the Financial Services Fraud Landscape
"iovation, the Device Reputation Authority™ protecting online businesses from fraud and abuse, today announced its upcoming panel presentation discussing the increase in mobile service offerings by financial institutions and the impact that increased mobile usage is having on the fraud landscape. John Haney, Sales Executive at iovation, will share recent mobile trends based on iovation’s cybercrime intelligence network, and explain how banks and other financial institutions are detecting mobile fraud early in the process."

Report: Mobile banking could be more secure than online banking
"London-based research and consulting firm Goode Intelligence has released a report and white paper that indicate that the mobile banking channel has the potential to be more secure than online banking. The report, “Mobile Banking Security,” looks at the current security measures of mobile banking and how banks are working with technology companies to create means to prevent fraud and identity theft."

bile banking attacks on Android platforms are here
"The growing popularity of mobile banking and the Android platform for smartphones is combining to make this a fertile area for cyber criminals to target. AVG’s latest Threat Report confirms this trend and believes it will only continue to grow as cyber criminals are increasingly targeting the Android mobile platform with sophisticated social engineering attacks to hack into unsuspecting users’ mobile bank accounts."

International Mobile Banking Updates

Dallas Fed economist sees mobile banking as the way to reach the world’s unbanked 
"The fast growth of mobile technology means cell phones maybe the way to reach the unbanked in many parts of the world. That’s the premise of Janet Koech, an assistant economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. 'In developing countries with a high mobile-phone penetration rate but a lack of robust financial services, the need for efficient payment methods has contributed to M-banking’s appeal,' Koech wrote in today’s issue of the Dallas Fed’s Economic Letter."

Mobile banking takes a hit on road to broader adoption
"Mobile banking is becoming increasingly popular with consumers and financial services firms alike. A recent UK survey conducted by Fujitsu of 50 CIOs from across the wholesale, investment and retail banking industry found that mobile is now seen as a top business priority. While online banking is commonplace and widely accepted by consumers, mobile banking still retains that touch of uncertainty that only time and education will gradually dispel."

Mexican Bank Expands Mobile Banking Service Following Trial
"Banorte, Mexico's third largest bank, and mobile payments service provider, Rêv Worldwide have announced the expansion of MiFon, a mobile-based financial services program piloted earlier this year, explicitly designed to foster financial inclusion among individuals with limited access to basic financial services."

Karur Vysya Bank looking to offer students fee-payment service via mobile
"Students can soon reduce the drudgery of standing in queues to pay their fees. They can instead use their mobile phone and do it from the comfort of their hostels or homes, a top official of Karur Vysya Bank said. The Tamil Nadu-based bank wants to tap universities and institutes with large student strength to offer mobile banking services. All that the students need is to have an account with the bank, says K.Venkataraman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer."

Citigroup Mobile Banking Users Reach 1.1 Million In Asia Pacific
"Citigroup Inc. (C) said Tuesday the number of its clients who use mobile devices to conduct their banking transactions in the Asia Pacific has reached 1.1 million."

Factors affecting mobile banking in SA
"The cost-to-income ratio is arguably one of the most important items in any bank’s annual reports. It shows how much of every rand earned is used to pay for the costs of running the business, and therefore, how efficient the bank is in the process of creating value for shareholders. One of areas that banks are focusing on in their quest to improve the ratio is to reduce customer reliance on branches and to encourage customers to start using cheaper self-service channels. The growth of cellphone ownership and Internet access in South Africa has provided banks with a window of hope to further reduce their costs and improve their cost-to-income ratios."

India: Can mobile phones take the place of banks?
"Getting poor people into the banking system -- which will allow them not only to save money, but also borrow funds to increase their earning power -- has been one of India's biggest challenges. But as a new article from Forbes India points out, an outfit called FINO, which was started by ICICI Bank in 2006, has been quietly making serious progress. When I wrote about mobile banking for Newsweek back in 2007, it was little more than a good idea, though a host of firms were already setting up "banking correspondents" in India's towns and villages. But since then, FINO has flown under the radar to make some pretty big strides, writes Forbes."

Mobile banking - mKesh
"A short video about the daily life of a research project fieldwork in Mobile Banking by NOVAFRICA - Centre for Business and Economic Development from the NOVA School of Business and Economics, Lisbon, Portugal."

Islamic banking industry has bright future in UAE
"The Islamic banking sector has a bright future in the UAE as it has been playing a major role in financing infrastructure projects, residential properties and corporate expansion, a top official of Noor Islamic Bank said. The Islamic lender, which was established with a vision to be recognised as the financial icon from Dubai, is developing its online and mobile banking products and services to expand its reach to the customers. The bank is all set to launch its latest product – A Bank in Your Hand — at Gitex Technology Week next week."

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."

Mobile Banking Security - Apr 4

Hacker Intrusion Worries Slow Mobile Banking, Fed Official Says
"U.S. consumer concerns that hackers may gain access to private financial information are slowing use of smartphones and mobile devices for personal banking, said Sandra Braunstein, director of the Federal Reserve’s consumer and community affairs division.

'Consumers expressed concerns about hackers gaining access to their phones and exposing their personal financial information,' Braunstein said in remarks prepared for testimony today to the Senate Banking Committee in Washington."

Experts Ponder Which Security Threats May Gain Speed
"Wake up and smell the hack. 'Mobile banking, I would argue, presently, is significantly more secure than is online banking,' said Kevin Travis, a partner with Novantas, a New York-based management consulting firm.

For skeptics, that may be the shocker. Some financial IT consultants insist that, although online banking is 20 years old and mobile is younger, maturity has not necessarily produced a safer banking platform when users log into their accounts, typically via a Windows PC or laptop. Windows claims about 92% of computers versus 6% for Apple and 2% for all others."

How safe are your mobile banking apps?
"How safe are your mobile banking apps? Not very, based on the findings of a 2011 study by digital forensics and security firm, viaForensics. According to the study, 25% of the mobile banking apps tested didn’t provide adequate security: passwords, partial credit card details, payment history and transaction details were easily retrieved from the handset. What’s more, another 31% of banking apps had less severe security issues with 44% offering adequate security."

Mobile Banking Updates - Mar 21

Tablets Spur Mobile Banking Improvements
"Both my kids have desktop computers, but they vastly prefer to use the family iPad for homework or games. Why? I suspect it has something to do with the cool factor, but it’s also easy to carry around, has way better battery life, and great access to the App Store (once you master Angry Birds and need a new game to conquer). And with yesterday’s launch of the next generation iPad, it will also provide a sharper image display and the ability to connect to the Internet on 4G broadband networks, which will provide individual consumers and businesses alike with a more engaging user experience."

Fed Sees Potential in Cell Phone Banking
"A new Federal Reserve survey highlights a new way to give underserved consumers who don’t have a bank account access to a greater array of financial tools: cell phones. Cell phones are key because while there may be a computer digital divide that can make it harder for poor and working-class Americans to get access to computer-based high-speed Internet service, there’s no such division when it comes to cell-phone Internet access, according to the Fed report released Wednesday."

What's Next After Revolutionizing Twitter Banking? Mobile Banking -- Eventually
"When Vantage Credit Union was hit with unforeseen expenses a few years back, the Missouri-based credit union had to detour its budget allocated to developing mobile banking apps. 'We had to scrap some projects,' Eric Acree, executive vice president of Vantage Credit Union, tells Bank Innovation."

Mobility Matters – Tracking the Mobile Banking Revolution: Online Only
"Credit Union Mobile Banking Debut of the Week: Put it up and they will find it. That’s the guiding marketing principle at Palisades FCU, a $153 million institution in Pearl River, N.Y., which recently launched its mobile banking app."

Mobile Banking Updates - Mar 19

The Secrets to Chase's Mobile Success: Exclusive Q&A With SVP Ravi Acharya
"Mobile banking has exploded since it was first introduced. In less than 10 years, the channel has evolved from offering basic SMS alerts to providing the rich, fully functional banking experience available on tablets today (and back to text alerts again). JPMorgan Chase ($2.3 trillion in assets) has been at the front of the mobile space from the beginning. Bank Systems Technology associate editor Bryan Yurcan recently spoke with Ravi Acharya, SVP and head of product management for online, mobile and social at Chase, the New York-based company's retail banking arm, about the evolution of the bank's mobile offerings, lessons learned and what the future holds for the channel."

Fed Says 21% of Mobile Phone Users Did Banking With the Devices
"The Federal Reserve said 21 percent of U.S. consumers with mobile phones used the devices to access a bank account, credit card or other financial account during the 12 months that ended in January. 'The use of mobile banking is poised to expand further over the next year, with usage possibly increasing to one out of three mobile users by 2013,' the Fed said in a release today in Washington. 'However, the survey indicates that many consumers remain skeptical of the benefit of mobile banking and the level of security associated with the technology.'”

Nokia looks to withdraw from mobile money services
"Nokia is exploring options to discontinue its mobile money services in India. The Finnish handset maker also confirmed that it does not consider mobile money services to be core to its overall strategy in the future. Nokia has been running three mobile money services in India, including mobile banking services with Yes Bank and the Union Bank of India, and its own service, Nokia Money, which aimed to facilitate online payments rather than mobile banking. A spokesperson confirmed that Nokia has customers for each of those services in India, and is currently exploring exit strategies with its partners."

Not so fast on mobile banking, says survey
"Growth in mobile banking and payments is being driven by younger consumers, according to a new study. Most adults are more reluctant to bank over their cellphones. In an online survey of 504 U.S. debit cardholders conducted in January, Auriemma Consulting found that 40% of respondents had a cell phone capable of performing mobile-banking tasks. Of those, (84%) used their smartphone to bank within the previous year (PaymentsSource March 2)."

Fiserv Expands Mobiliti Solutions
"Fiserv, Inc (FISV) recently announced that Territorial Savings Bank (TBNK) can now offer its customers a comprehensive mobile solutions using Mobiliti from Fiserv. The Mobiliti product portfolio from Fiserv provides a variety of mobile banking and payments services which includes balance inquiry, transaction history, bill payment, person-to-person payments and transfers through a mobile device to clients of the company and their customers."