Newsbyte: SAP Research Shows Mobile Consumers Demand Mobile Banking 2.0 as They Embrace More Complex Transactions

"SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the findings of a global study across 17 countries on cultural, economic and technology trends impacting consumer mobile appetite and how addressing consumer concerns can expand the opportunity and motivate greater use of mobile commerce services.

The research shows that globally consumers are increasingly utilizing mobile devices for banking transactions and account management. Half of the respondents surveyed turn to their devices to pay a bill (55 percent), make a bank transfer (52 percent) and set up a new account (48 percent). The announcement was made at the SAP Financial Services Forum North America, being held on September 18-19 in New York City." Continue Reading

International Mobile Banking Updates - May 21

Mobile Expert Series Mark Crofton
"Cognizant SMAC Analyst Kevin Benedict interviews SAP's Mark Crofton at SAPPHIRE NOW 2013 on the mobile solution and mobile banking market in Latin America."

RBC, Bell Mobility add to payments rivalry
"Canadian bank RBC and Bell Mobility, the country’s second largest mobile operator, are to launch a service that further heats up competition in the country’s payments market. RBC’s mobile banking customers will be able to buy goods in shops using their debit or credit cards, so long as they have a compatible NFC-based smartphone from Bell Mobility. The service will launch later this year, following a roadtest with selected merchants and consumers in the summer."

UPDATE 2-Safaricom warns on mobile banking tax as profit surges
"Kenya's top telecoms firm Safaricom expects to maintain its almost 40 percent earnings margin this year but "premature taxes" could stifle growth of lucrative mobile phone-based money transfers, its chief executive said on Tuesday. Safaricom, 40-percent owned by Britain's Vodafone, said pretax profit climbed to 25.5 billion shillings ($304.30 million) in its year to end-march, off the back of 16 percent growth in total revenue."

Noor Islamic Bank launches reality mobile banking app
"Noor Islamic Bank (Noor)’s augmented reality ‘Bank in Your Hand’ smartphone and tablet application is now available for download from Apple’s App Store, the banks announced in a press reealse. Work is also in progress on adapting the app to other smart phone platforms, it said."

HSBC Bank Brazil expands DIGIPASS for Mobile deployment
"VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (Nasdaq: VDSI; www.vasco.com), a leading software security company specializing in authentication products, announces that HSBC Bank Brazil, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, one of the largest financial conglomerates in the world, deployed the DIGIPASS for Mobile technology for an enhanced group of retail and corporate customers, while expanding the offered online and mobile services. Currently, more than 90,000 account holders use their mobile device to access all self-service channels to execute financial transactions. With this enhancement, HSBC Brazil is the first and only financial institution worldwide to fully integrate access to internet banking, mobile services, contact center, ATMs and e-commerce."

SAP Technology powers mobile banking for Standard Bank communities
"STANDARD Bank has introduced the SAP business solutions in bringing banking services closer to the people of Tembisa in South Africa. It introduced AccessBanking as a service to help people in communities apply for a bank account and then use the account. It has used technology from SAP to enable agents to enable customers to set up bank accounts without customers having to travel to a major city. SAP technology is used to enable new accounts to be configured in the field using a mobile handheld device."

Mobile banking up 11.5% in South Korea
"The daily use of mobile banking in South Korea rose 11.5 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, an increase aided by the growing use of smartphones, reports Yonhap News Agency citing the Bank of Korea. Transactions by mobile banking or banking services accessed via mobile handsets were valued at KRW 1.26 trillion per day in the January-March period, up from KRW 1.13 trillion three months earlier."

ING DIRECT Mobile Banking App Wins BlackBerry Achievement Award for 'Putting Customers First'
"ING DIRECT has been recognized for its unique mobile banking experience on BlackBerry® 10 smartphones. The bank, which was the first Canadian financial institution to introduce a BlackBerry 10 app, has won the BlackBerry Achievement Award in the 'Putting Customers First' category, which acknowledges customer-centric experiences that make a business stand out. The ING DIRECT mobile app provides customers with a convenient and secure way to conduct their banking transactions. The app puts an increased focus on savings through features like "Orange Alerts", pushing notifications to the BlackBerry® Hub for triggers such as account balances reaching pre-determined thresholds. This is just one of the intuitive features the bank has built into its mobile app with the aim to simplify and modernize banking for all Canadians."

PMC Bank Deploys Array's Application Delivery Controller
"Punjab Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank), provider of banking services to customers with utmost ease and convenience, has chosen Array Networks' ADC and server load balancing solutions to serve their customers with secure high speed connectivity for internet and mobile banking. PMC Bank required high availability, speedy performance and reliable security for their internet and mobile services portals. They wanted to enhance their online transaction processing in order to provide customers with good user experience and around the clock service. PMC Bank conducted a detailed requirements analysis with their compliance and networking teams which was subsequently shared with various vendors. All the leading ADC products were tested; Array Networks' Proof of Concept (POC) solution was selected after a month of live internet usage at PMC's production site."

Banking now goes high-tech with unmanned services
"Standard Chartered Bank customers no longer need to endure long queues to access financial services after the lender opened a digital branch last week that offers unmanned banking services. Dubbed ‘Breeze@ The Junction’, the electronic banking unit provides all the banking solutions available at traditional branches, but through online and mobile banking as wells as intelligent ATMs. The units are fitted with iPads, personal computers, touch screens mounted on walls, and free wireless Internet; allowing customers to carry out transactions on their own."

Mobile Banking Updates - May 7

Convenience No. 1 Factor In Customer Loyalty for Banks, Study Finds
"Customers want convenience more than any other attribute from their banking experience, according to a new online survey by Harris Interactive for Yodlee Interactive, an online banking solutions provider. The survey of 2,219 banking customers found that 63% of those surveyed said they stay with their current because of convenience. Customer service and low fees ranked next behind convenience, with 48% and 42% of the vote, respectively. And 33% of the respondents who use mobile banking said that their mobile banking experience is one of the reasons they stay with their banks."

Fiserv Names Jim Tobin Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Solutions
"Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that Jim Tobin has joined the company as senior vice president and general manager, Mobile Solutions, Digital Channels. In this role, Tobin will be responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day oversight of the market-leading Mobiliti™ mobile banking and payments solution from Fiserv. Mobiliti currently supports mobile banking, alerting and payments services for more than 1,000 financial institutions and millions of consumers in North America, Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East and Europe."

Mobile remote deposit capture adoption exceeds bank's expectations
"American Savings Bank is the first Hawaiian bank to introduce mobile remote deposit capture, a feature whereby depositing money into an account can be done simply by taking a photo of a check. Rick Robel, Executive Vice President of Operations at American Savings Bank, says that customer adoption of the mobile feature has "exceeded all expectations". Within the first month of the November 2012 launch, the bank achieved first year adoption goals and within two and half months their two-year adoption goals had been met. In March, 2013, mobile deposits with the bank soared by 40%."

Augmented Reality in FS - got your goggles?
"‘Mobile banking’ is not a very precise term. Today, we know it as meaning using your mobile phone for banking. However, back in the late 1990s, all that it meant was SMS banking. If your bank was particularly advanced, it may also have meant a WAP-based mobile banking service. It has only been since the launch of smartphones in the mid-2000s, that ‘mobile banking’ has come to mean a browser- or mobile app-based banking service."

Mobile Services Compared: Which Banks Are Setting the Trend?
"According to comScore, there were 133.7 million Americans with smartphones in February 2013, up from 104 million one year ago. As smartphones become necessities for Americans, banks have increased their focus on mobile banking, especially mobile banking applications. It has never been easier for bank customers to manage their money on-the-go. But, not every bank is able to deliver a feature-packed mobile banking experience as others might. With time, more and more consumers will consider mobile banking features in their decisions to choose a new bank."

Mercator Banking Channels Report: Mobile Banking Deployment: Partnering and Outsourcing
"In new research, Mobile Banking Deployment: Partnering and Outsourcing, Mercator Advisory Group reviews how the pace of innovation in mobility has caused financial institutions to consider new ways of bringing new mobile banking products to market efficiently and effectively."

Security Solution Provider Arxan to Lead Panel Discussion on Protecting Mobile Banking and Financial Apps at the FS-ISAC & BITS Annual Summit 2013
"Arxan Technologies, the leading provider of software security solutions that protects the global App Economy, announced today that Vince Arneja, Arxan's vice president of product management, will lead a panel session on emerging mobile application and risks in the banking and financial services market at the Financial Services - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) & BITS Annual Summit 2013. The FS-ISAC & BITS Annual Summit 2013 takes place April 29 - May 1, 2013 in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, and brings together more than 500 information security professionals in the financial services market, providing an industry forum for collaboration on critical security threats facing the financial services sector."

SAP’s Mobile Banking Innovation Gets Nod for "Outstanding Technology Implementation" at The Asian Banker Technology Implementation Awards 2013
"SAP, the global leader in mobile messaging and mobile commerce services, today announced that together with PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk (CIMB Niaga), both companies were recognized with the "Outstanding Technology Implementation Award" at The Asian Banker Technology Implementation Awards 2013. The award recognizes the collaboration between SAP and CIMB Niaga in implementing GoMobile, using innovative mobile banking technology to allow users easy, reliable and convenient access to various bank applications 24/7, through any mobile handset running on any mobile platform, including iOS, Android, BlackBerry, J2ME (old Simbian), SMS, USSD, and WAP. The project involved the development and deploying of a groundbreaking mobile application that meets the increasing demand for mobile banking in Indonesia, without users having to worry about the kind or platform of their mobile devices regardless of the network they are using."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 19

Al Salam Bank Bahrain launches 'Mobile' banking service
"Al Salam Bank-Bahrain, one of the leading Islamic banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain, announces the launch of its new mobile banking service "mobile", adding another unique feature to its bouquet of products and services. "Mobile" will enhance your banking experience by providing many convenient features at your fingertips."

Mobile banking helps Monitise
"TECHNOLOGY firm Monitise said people using its mobile phones to do their banking on the move had helped first-half revenues rise 63 per cent to £27.8million.It said its recent £108million acquisition of US rival Clairmail, now called Monitise America, had helped drive up demand but the cost of the deal had left it in the red at £24.4million compared with a £1.1million profit last time."

UCPB launches new mobile banking service
"The United Coconut Planters Bank reaffirmed its commitment to provide excellent customer service and further enhance day-to-day banking transactions through UCPB Connect, an online facility meant to provide banking flexibility and convenience to clients. UCPB Connect is a state-of-the-art technology that allows clients to access the bank’s services 24 hours a day for seven days a week and perform essential banking transactions such as paying bills, transferring funds, viewing balances or ordering checks even at the comfort of their own homes, offices or anywhere else that has access to the Internet."

Standard Bank and SAP Bring Mobile Banking to Over Half a Million "Flip-Phone" Customers in South Africa via SAP® Mobile Platform PR Newswire
"SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced that Standard Bank has been successful in introducing its new AccessBanking offering in South Africa, aimed at meeting the banking needs of the previously "unbanked." This includes the AccessAccount, a transactional banking account based on SAP® Mobile Platform. SAP Mobile Platform integrates SAP and third-party back-end systems, which allows users to create visually rich mobile apps to extend the information from enterprise systems straight onto mobile devices. Since its inception in March 2012, the model has attracted more than 550,000 new customers onto the AccessAccount."

Why mobile banking’s not too big
"If data were to be believed, a lot of you would have graduated from using Internet banking to mobile banking already but a lot of us have still not made the leap. Reserve Bank of India (RBI), 67% of overall banking transactions still happen through cash, according to a 2011 Deloitte-Assocham study."

Mobile Banking Updates - Nov 15

Keynote Mobile Banking Scorecard Reveals Top Retail Banks Fast Adopting Mobile Strategies
"Keynote® Systems (NAS: KEYN), the global leader in mobile and web cloud testing and monitoring, today announced the results of the Fall 2012 edition of the Keynote Mobile Banking Scorecard, first launched in 2011 and the standard in benchmarking consumer mobile banking offerings. Chase Bank achieved its second consecutive win for Overall Score, while second place went to Wells Fargo and third place to Bank of America. Leaders for individual modes include BB&T for Text banking, Wells Fargo for Mobile Web, Chase for iPhone and BlackBerry App banking and Bank of America for its Android App. Looking across the five modes, the Scorecard found Chase offers the best overall Functionality and Ease of Use while Wells Fargo leads in Privacy & Security and Quality & Availability."

Everything significant we are working on is around mobile?
"Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, famously said that “everything significant we are working on is around mobile,” reflecting the current core focus on mobile in the technology industry – something mirrored throughout financial services and retail. Schmidt’s quote also highlights the multitude of different mobile offerings currently on the market, and the fact that the largest companies are already choosing to keep several irons in the fire. At a recent Digital Banking Club event, this led the room to the question – should banking strategy now be mobile led?"

Mobile Banking and Payments Study: Multi-Device Mobile Support Becomes Ubiquitous; Rewards and Payments Grow
"First Annapolis Consulting’s third annual Mobile Banking and Payments Study reveals that 81 of the top 100 U.S. financial institutions currently offer some form of mobile banking, an 11% increase over the same figure one year ago. In addition to offering access through smartphone applications and the mobile web, 60 of the FIs offer some form of alerts or account management functionality via SMS (text message), and 26 banks have also launched an application optimized for tablets. This data highlights the omni-channel approach financial institutions are pursuing as mobile banking services become more widely accepted by customers."

This Exec Has An Outrageous Plan To Make SAP Bigger In Mobile Than Apple
"SAP, the enterprise software company, has a crazy ambition. It wants to get a billion people using its software by 2015. That's about double the footprint the company has now—and a lofty goal for a company that, despite its reach into the innards of businesses, is hardly a household name. The plan largely rests in the hands of Sanjay Poonen, who heads the company's mobile division and is also responsible for its analytics, database, and technology products."

Tech Companies Start Creating Windows 8 Mobile Banking Apps
"On the heels of Windows 8 officially hitting the market, financial services technology vendors have begun supporting Microsoft’s (MSFT) overhauled operating system for laptops, desktops and tablets. Harland Financial Solutions and Kony Solutions are among the first to create mobile banking apps for this platform."

80% of Consumers Deem Mobile Banking Important: Survey
"It’s a mobile world, and more and more consumers are hoping to use their devices to take care of their banking business. Indeed, new research shows that 80% of those surveyed say mobile banking is important. The survey of 200 consumers, published by Verve Mobile, a U.S. mobile advertising company specializing in location-powered solutions, also shared some insights on the most commonly used location services related to mobile banking, including an ATM locator by current location (51%), branch locator (19%), ATM by zip code (19%) and branches filtered by services (12%)."

Social Banking: When Financial Innovation Helps the 99 Percent
"For the world’s 2.5 billion people living on less than $2 a day, 80% of whom do not have access to a formal bank account, savings may seem like a foreign concept. Yet, in the book, Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day, the authors reveal that, despite limited formal options, lower-income populations do engage regularly in savings behavior — from informal networks and family ties to sophisticated savings clubs."

Mobile Banking Updates - May 24

3 Keys to Mobile Security
"Mobile banking is being adopted by consumers at an increasing rate, but it's just one piece of the overall mobile financial services puzzle. As the mobility trend grows, banking institutions are still figuring out how far ahead they should look, and what strategies make the most sense. But Paul Smocer, president of BITS, the technology policy division of the Financial Services Roundtable, says most institutions are doing much more than some observers give them credit for doing. Banking/security leaders are very concerned about mobile, and they're doing what they can to anticipate risks."

TMG on the Future of Mobile Payments
"The Members Group, in a wide-ranging webinar, offered up a provocative view of a banking future that in lots of ways challenges every idea credit union executives hold. 'Financial institutions do not have a God-given right to control payments,' said TMG executive Brian Day, who led the webinar on Thursday. 'Alternative payment providers want this market.' He pointed to Google, possibly Apple, certainly PayPal as aggressively on the hunt for thickening slices of the payments pie. To compete in a complex payments marketplace, said Day, 'credit unions need to look at creating new value for members and merchants.'”

SAP® Mobile Apps Connect Businesses and Consumers - from the Boardroom to the Shopping Center
"Extending its commitment to drive mobile innovation from the enterprise to consumers, SAP AG SAP -2.22% today announced a new wave of mobile apps designed to help people be more efficient whether at work, at home or pursing leisure activities. With the help of a thriving partner ecosystem, the new SAP® mobile apps lay the foundation for growth by providing real-time mobile access to human resources (HR), sustainability, finance, sales and mobile commerce functions. This includes updated versions of existing SAP mobile apps available on more mobile platforms, including Android and RIM BlackBerry. The announcement was made at SAPPHIRE® NOW, being held in Orlando, Florida, May 14-16, 2012."

Simple: Online And Mobile Banking With Style
"New services providing financial management usually evoke doubtful feelings within us, as we tend to rely on big, long-time running companies with a good reputation rather than small competitors new to the game. More or less exactly two years ago, in May 2010, Alex Payne joined and co-founded a company called BankSimple with the imagination of a bank without fees, caring for support and responsible money treatment — plus a love for good design and usability concerning its user-end products. It already sounded like an ambitious goal the day he published his announcement post."

Mobile banking app launched
"The app called Apprivo is being sold directly to banks and building societies with National Counties being the first mutual to take up the app. Customers will be able to access their accounts, access up to date product information, transfer money from one account to another and send outstanding information and documents including photos of wage slips and P60s. Advisers will also be able to use the app to submit information on behalf of clients in the same way."

To gain a competitive advantage with mobile, CIO readiness is all
"Ask Angelo Valletta, CIO at Sun National Bank, about IT's role in the company's sure-handed launch of its mobile banking platform back in early 2010, and he talks about team effort. Gaining a competitive advantage by being one of the first banks of its size to offer mobile banking was the result of a 'team going in the same direction,' says Valletta, who also heads bank operations at Sun National, a subsidiary of Sun Bancorp Inc., both headquartered in Vineland, N.J. 'IT is not the tail wagging the dog here.'"

Ally Expands Into Mobile Banking
"The latest TV commercial from Ally Bank, “Grocery,” (above) touts the brand’s "people sense" which translates into customer-centricity as good business sense, specifically, Ally’s Raise Your Rate CD, one of their most popular products. Ally Bank, a direct bank in the U.S., is a subsidiary of Ally Financial Inc., and offers a full suite of financial services including 24/7 live customer care, online savings, interest checking, money market accounts, IRA Plans and products, CD’s, reimbursement of ATM fees nationwide, an Ally Perks debit card reward program, and is a member FDIC."

Simple Releases First Mobile Banking App, Hits #13 in Finance Category of iPhone App Store
"The much-anticipated launch of the first truly virtual consumer bank is fast approaching. How do we know? From its tweets, of course (see inset). Customers who joined the wait list in 2010 are being told publically that they will receive invites "before spring is over." Others are being told "early summer," "mid-to-late summer," "early fall" and "fall." Based on those responses, it looks the company plans to work through its entire 100,000 wait list within the next 6 months."