Mobile Banking Updates - April 25

Refi Party Is Over, Mobile Money Party Is Just Beginning
"Mobile Money: Anglocentric coverage in today's FT. "For prospective employees mobile banking could prove one bright spot for pay and prospects in the sector," says one story. "Retail banks are expecting mobile banking to be the area where the most roles will be created this year, ahead of branch and internet banking." Another article looks at the competitive threat to incumbent U.K. financial institutions from nonbanks selling phone apps, prepaid debit cards, etc. "Banks will have a hard time coming down and playing in this space because of their regulators," a payments industry lawyer tells the FT. Sound familiar?"

4 tips for finding the best mobile banking
"Mobile banking use is exploding, and banks are quickly adding new services. Last year, 10 million more people signed up for mobile banking, according to Javelin Strategy & Research in Pleasanton, Calif., driven by soaring smartphone and tablet use. And, one-third of the U.S. population is now tapping into mobile banking, versus one-fifth in 2010. But mobile services vary widely. Here's the mobile banking landscape you're likely to encounter and how to choose the best bank and apps for you. Big banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and Citi have led the charge, offering the most robust mobile banking technology, says Mary Monahan, Javelin's research director of mobile. And they consistently head the class in mobile banking service quality rankings, though regional banks are also quickly adding mobile services."

CO-OP Introduces Mobile App for iPad
"Credit union clients of CO-OP Financial Services are now able to offer their members a mobile banking app for the iPad tablet. The new app will let members account balances and cash flow charts that summarize debit and credit activity; account history; transfers; and GPS-enabled access to CO-OP Network ATM or CO-OP Shared Branching locations, the payment CUSO said. In addition, the app enables each credit union to customize with member access to their own hosted web pages for loan/account opening services, rates and promotions; or social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube."

Regions online banking goes down due to "network issue"
"Many Regions Bank customers were without online banking access Monday after what the company calls an 'intermittent network issue.' The bank said in a statement on their Facebook Monday they are experiencing a network issue which is impacting some customer's ability to access their website. Those wishing to access the company's website, Regions.com, were taken to a Network Solutions backorder domain website. 'I've been trying to log on off and on since this morning and it is a different page and says the domain no longer exists. I didn't type any info in because I was afraid I'd be hacked,' says Leanne Eldridge."

Wells Fargo's Big Idea: Shrinking Branch Office
"Can neighborhood bank branch offices works smarter, and not harder? Oh, and can they work smaller, too? Wells Fargo (WFC) aims to find out starting this month. The San Francisco banking giant opened a branch Monday in Washington, D.C., that is one-third the size of the usual and comes well-stocked with such features as mobile banking, new ATMs and image-based bank deposits."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 14

BBB offers top 5 tips for mobile banking
"Gone are the days of waiting in line at the bank or even waiting for your computer to boot up. Now you can access your bank account from anywhere in the world via your smart phone or tablet. But consumers need to be more cautious than ever when banking through any device, as hackers can prey on the unsuspecting. The FINRA Investor Education Foundation, part of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, offers these five tips on how to keep your identity safe and your money in the bank:"

Mobile Banking Continues to Increase
"A late-November study, Consumers and Mobile Financial Services, showed that 28% of mobile-phone owners have used mobile banking in the past 12 months, an increase from the 21% found in a December 2011 study. Another 10% of the mobile owners who are not using mobile banking plan to do so in the next year. Smartphone owners are even more likely to use mobile banking: 48% of smartphone owners used mobile banking in the past year compared with 42% in 2011."

Century Federal Credit Union Launches Mobile Banking Application - Eagle Mobility
"Members of Century Federal Credit Union (CFCU), one of the largest credit unions in Northeastern Ohio, now have access to their accounts 24/7, via CFCU’s new Eagle Mobility – Mobile Banking Application. Eagle Mobility allows CFCU members to securely login to check balances, transfer funds, pay bills and find a nearby location/ATM all on their Smartphone. CFCU members can turn on this service via the Online Banking Portal at http://www.CenFedCU.org or download an Android or IOS/Apple version of the application from their phone’s App Store."

Regions Bank Embraces Mobile Banking
"Regions Bank has just confirmed plans to embrace mobile banking and a multitude of cutting edge mobile financial services in the coming weeks and months. Regions Bank customers can expect to enjoy everything from remote deposit capture to various prepaid features. A January 2013 report from Juniper Research finds that over one billion mobile phone users will have made use of their mobile devices for banking purposes by the end of 2017, compared to just over 590 million this year."

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 - Sept 27

M&T adds to customer app
"M and T Bank’s mobile banking app now offers customizable alerts for customers who want to stay up-to-date on account information and check card activity. The Buffalo bank announced the new alerts Sept. 17. Customers, who can receive text messages, emails and notifications through the app regarding account balances, withdrawals and deposits, cleared checks and M&T Visa check card transactions, can sign up for the alerts through M&T’s web banking site, through the bank’s customer service phone line or at a local branch."

Bank of America's wild patents on live-video analysis could reinvent mobile banking, shopping and more
"A bunch of new patent applications from Bank of America reveal that the company's R&D lab has been working on new mobile technologies that would enable smartphone users to analyze their environment with their smartphone's video camera; recognize the objects around them, including those with embedded sensors; and generate automatic budgeting and wish lists."

Regions Bank Upgrades Mobile Apps and Adds Mobile Access to Regions Cashback Rewards®
"Regions Bank (NYS: RF) is bringing a simpler and improved way of managing your finances to its Mobile Banking platform. With the introduction of new apps for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry, Regions is upgrading its mobile experience with faster products and a streamlined user experience. In addition to the enhancements, Regions is also rolling out a new, retina display optimized iPad app."

Banks deploy Fiserv mobile apps
"Fiserv Inc., a global provider of financial services technology solutions, announced that more than 1,100 financial institutions have selected mobile banking solutions from the company. Fiserv's flagship mobile banking and payment platform, Mobiliti, currently powers mobile financial services for millions of consumers at banks and credit unions on five continents across the globe. The number of accounts supported by the platform is growing an average of 10 percent each month, reflecting the growing consumer demand for mobile banking and payments technology."

Mobile Banking Updates - Mar 16

The Rise of Mobile Banking
Bank of America's Mike Upton explains on-the-go financial services.

Regions Widens Mobile Banking Menu
"Regions Financial Corp. has updated its mobile banking capabilities to allow customers to transfer funds among internal accounts, pay bills and receive text alerts about balances and other details. The Birmingham, Ala., banking company said Wednesday that its online banking customers can use text banking as well as visit its mobile website, m.regions.com, or download an application for Apple Inc.'s iPhone."

Generating loyal customers through mobile banking
"Banks are now sitting up and taking notice of mobile banking - with an abundance of analyst reports in its favour, banks can no longer afford to put off the adoption of this channel. According to research from TowerGroup and Accenture published in early February, the introduction of mobile banking services can achieve an ROI of up to 300 percent for retail banks. This, coupled with Juniper Research's statistic that 400 million people worldwide will be engaged in mobile banking by 2013, makes for a compelling case for banks to invest in mobile."

Mobile Banking Updates - Nov 30th

PayPal Passcode Sent by Text Message
"PayPal Inc. announced the introduction Monday of PayPal SMS Security Key, which transmits a passcode to customers' mobile phones using the short message service for text when they log on to the payment service's Web site."

Are You Ready for Mobile Banking (Again)?
"Mobile banking can be viewed as a hook for customer acquisition, but takedown shouldn't be relied on for customer retention. This tool of convenience can complement an institution's existing offerings, but before joining the mobile banking bandwagon, evaluate whether it's right for your processes, personnel and customers."

Regions Mobile Banking Service Available for US Users
"Regions Financial Corporation has announced the Regions Mobile Banking, which can be accessed by wireless customers of AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Cellular South and Alltel Wireless."

ClairMail Hits 12 Transactions per Month Milestone
ClairMail, a vendor of mobile phone-based customer interaction products, reportedly has announced that its so-called “ClairMail System” has reached “millions of monthly mobile banking transactions” and increased growth, with more than 12 mobile banking transactions conducted every month per consumer."

ClairMail Chosen by PNC to Enhance Mobile Banking Services
"ClairMail, Inc., the leader in 2-way mobile phone-based customer interaction, today announced that PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. expanded its mobile banking services by integrating ClairMail's comprehensive mobile banking solution."

Sybase CEO sees mobile commerce as future
"John Chen, chairman, CEO and president of Sybase, has led a dramatic turnaround for the Dublin company by focusing it on infrastructure software that helps companies go mobile. Now a leader in mobile middleware, device management, messaging and mobile databases, Sybase topped $1 billion in revenue last year and is on pace for a record 2008."

Jack Henry & Associates Announces 103rd Mobile Banking Customer
"Jack Henry & Associates, Inc., a leading provider of integrated technology solutions and data processing services for financial institutions, today announced goDough, its state-of-the-art mobile banking solution, has been adopted by 103 of its core financial institution clients."

Diebold offers mobile banking through strategic alliance with ClairMail
"Diebold, a provider of self-service delivery and security systems and services, has announced that it is providing ClairMail's two-way mobile platform, as an integral part of its total outsourcing strategy, through a strategic alliance with ClairMail."

Mobile Finance: Indigenous, Ingenious or Both?
"In Ghana, it's popularly known as susu. In Cameroon, tontines or chilembe. And in South Africa, stokfel. Today, you'd most likely call it plain-old microfinance, the nearest term we have for it. Age-old indigenous credit schemes have run perfectly well without much outside intervention for generations. Although, in our excitement to implement new technologies and solutions, we sometimes fail to recognize them. Innovations such as mobile banking -- great as they may be -- are hailed as revolutionary without much consideration for what may have come before or who the original innovators may have been."

Txt Me: SMS Gains Mobile Bank Traction
"Most mobile banking services use browsers and specialized software available for high-end phones, but several financial companies are turning their attention to the basic text message. Advocates of texting say that this simple format can help banks reach almost any customer with a mobile phone, and that their immediacy makes texts well suited for alerts that can prompt a quick response."

Regions Mobile Banking - FREE Phone

Over the last 18 months there have been a number of strong marketing campaigns promoting mobile banking, but this one is NEW!

To help launch their mobile banking solution Regions is giving away 25,000 free "high-end" phones (i.e. Blackberry Pearl, LG Shine, or LG enV). Learn More >>

At first I was blown away (and don't get me wrong I'm still impressed) but after a little research I did discover that E-Trade is promoting a similar offer. Learn More >>



In a related story...
BlackBerry Targets iPhone, Android With Application Store
"The Apple iPhone did it with the AppStore. And Google Android did it with the Android Market for the T-Mobile G1. Now BlackBerry is following suit launching an application store of its own to let users find and download applications to their smart phones."