Trai prescribes ceiling tariff at Rs 1.50 for USSD-based mobile banking services

"To facilitate mobile banking for financial inclusion, the telecom watchdog TRAI has prescribed ceiling tariff for use of USSD for USSD-based mobile banking service. It aims at establishing a framework to facilitate the agents of the banks to interface with the access service providers for use of SMS, USSD and IVR channels to provide mobile banking services.

TRAI has prescribed that ceiling tariff for an outgoing USSD-based mobile banking service shall be Rs 1.50 per USSD session." Continue Reading

Sri Lanka moving towards a cashless society, says HNB

"Hatton National Bank, a premier private sector commercial bank in Sri Lanka, hopes to pioneer next generation banking through a number of technology related initiatives. The bank has identified information and communication technology (ICT) as a key driver in the bank’s progress and will take a number of steps to position itself as the leader in Tech-Banking in Sri Lanka in the years to come.

In this light one of the key areas of focus is multichannel banking through the use of technology which is going to make innovative changes in the banking landscape in Sri Lanka. As a first, the bank recently introduced a mobile banking platform that can be assessed by four different channels namely Mobile App, Mobile Web, USSD and SMS. This gives the customer a range of applications to engage in mobile phone banking using a smart phone to a basic mobile phone." Continue Reading

How Banks Can Leverage Mobile Network Operators for Security

"Some banks are already using mobile network operators to help secure customers’ access to their accounts, says Joe DiFonzo, CTO of Syniverse, which helps connect different mobile networks worldwide. A simple example of this would be if a bank sends a short authentication code to a customer’s mobile device when they log into online banking from a new computer." Continue Reading

Indian central bank sets up mobile banking committee

"The Reserve Bank of India has set up a Technical Committee on Mobile Banking to examine the feasibility of introducing encrypted SMS-based funds transfers across all mobile handsets. The Committee will conduct an in-depth study of the challenges faced by banks in taking mobile banking forward and the hurdles to introducing an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) channel for person-to-person payments." Continue Reading

Mobile Banking Matures and Keynote Announces Who Does It Best – Overall Adoption Reaches 33%, Mobile Payments Expected to Reach $90 Billion by 2017

"Keynote®, the global leader in Internet and mobile cloud testing and monitoring, today announced the results of the Fall 2013 edition of the Keynote Mobile Banking Scorecard, first launched in 2011 and the standard in benchmarking consumer mobile banking offerings. In the latest Scorecard, Chase achieved its fourth consecutive win for Overall Score.

Also repeating were Wells Fargo in second place and Bank of America in third, with U.S. Bank moving into the top tier, tying with Bank of America. Leaders for individual mobile modes included BB&T, repeating as the leading provider of SMS (text) banking capabilities and Bank of America repeating for the leading Android banking app.

Looking across the four modes -- Text, Mobile Web, iPhone App and Android App -- the Scorecard found that Chase performed best in two of the four categories, Ease of Use and Quality & Availability, while Bank of America took first in Functionality and Wells Fargo led in the Privacy & Security category." Continue Reading

Tap NAB’s app and bump to transfer funds

"National Australia Bank has become the latest bank to take on peer-to-peer payments, with a new mobile app that will allow its customers to transfer money using a mobile number, email or Facebook message. After more than six months of internal trials, NAB will this week release Flik, letting customers bypass the convoluted process of entering bank-state-branch (BSB) and account numbers to transfer money.

Instead, customers can transfer money using an email address, SMS message, or through Facebook. It also allows customers with compatible Android smartphones to bump phones together using near-field communications technology." Continue Reading

Mobile Banking Updates - Jul 26

4 Ways Smartphones Will Replace Brick-and-Mortar Banks
"There's an app for just about everything these days, from blowing out your birthday candles to helping UC Berkeley measure earthquake severity. A lot of us have jumped on the smartphone bandwagon. Worldwide, 1.2 billion people regularly access the web from their smartphones. But it's not just mustachioed apps that are drawing us to our phones; we're conducting serious business on-the-go. More than half of U.S. smartphone users are accessing mobile banking features, according to a Digital Trends white paper."

Mobile banking: One channel to rule them all?
"The report, based on more than 13,600 consumer surveys, finds SMS alerts are still the most popular form of mobile banking in most countries, but use of mobile banking apps is growing fast, rapidly displacing other channels. Forrester believes that ubiquitous mobile banking will mark a bigger strategic shift for the industry than the adjustments needed to accommodate home-based online banking."

Community Banks and Credit Unions Work with Malauzai to Enhance Users' Mobile Banking Experience
"When a customer of a bank can register for mobile banking instantly on a Sunday afternoon when the bank is closed, and deposit a check minutes after downloading the SmartApp, that is a great experience. When a credit union member can turn their debit card off and on to stop fraud in its tracks, that credit union is delivering a great member experience. Enabled by a second generation mobile offering that connects directly to the core system, more than 60 community banks and credit unions now leverage solutions from Malauzai Software, Inc. to create a rich user experience."

Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 2

Will the Apple Tablet be the ultimate portable netbook ever?
"Rumors about Apple Tablet device are everywhere last few days. Some say it will be released late this year, some say early 2010. But no one really knows other than few people at Apple.

But all in all Apple Tablet promises to be the ultimate device to consume the digital content on the go through a web-centric operating system. It is set to feature a 9.7-inch touchscreen, will include a camera and a microphone like the iSight on MacBook and MacBook Pro, and will have the anytime and anywhere Internet connection."

Javelin: U.S. Consumers’ Interest in Using Mobile Person-to-Person Payments Grows Rapidly, Threatening Slow-Moving Banks
"Javelin Strategy & Research today released a report that indicates financial institutions must act now to implement person-to-person mobile solutions before carriers capture the market. The report, Mobile Person-to-Person Payments: Mounting Telco Activity in a Mobile Channel Segment That Financial Institutions Can’t Afford to Lose, also reveals that conditions are growing ripe for potential widespread consumer use of mobile devices to send payments between one another: smartphones are now used by 17 percent of consumers, mobile banking is used by many, and use of the internet for banking and shopping has been common for years. These are just some of the conditions that have created an increased likelihood that consumers will soon begin to use mobile person-to-person (P2P) transfers."

Chinese Firm Writes First SMS Worm
"It’s a pretty cool concept, abusing the Symbian Express Signing procedure. It reminds me of the heydays of self-propagating e-mail worms when corporate e-mail servers were getting flooded because everyone in the company was sending the same attachment to everyone else in their address book."

Islamic Finance and Mobile Banking: Could, Would, Should
"Islamic Banking has developed rapidly over the last 30 years. Islamic Banks have proliferated in number and in geographic reach, with services now offered regularly on four continents. A number of innovative, successful financial products have also been developed, enabling Shariah compliant bonds, mortgages and savings accounts."

Traditional Texts Hang Tough in a Sea of Innovation
"Even in mobile banking, traditions die hard. While smart phones get exponentially smarter and app stores burst at the seams like FAO Schwartz in December, banks and consumers are not only still using basic text messaging-the mode is maturing to mainstream status."

ClairMail Sees Record 700% Year-Year Increase
"ClairMail, Inc., the leader in proactive mobile banking and payment solutions, today announced that its core product, the ClairMail Solution, has experienced over a 700 percent year-over-year increase in monthly mobile banking transactions. ClairMail's success continues to outpace the mobile banking industry, which experienced a six-fold usage increase in 2008, according to recent published reports."

Wells Fargo Introduces Online Same Day Payments
"Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - News) today announced the nationwide availability of its newest online bill pay feature, which allows customers to make “just in time” online bill payments to merchants, such as utility, auto finance and mortgage companies. The service helps customers avoid missing payments or making late payments. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, nearly three out of four consumers initiated expedited payments last year and use is expected to continue to rise in the next five years."

One in 63 Smartphones Infected by Mobile Spyware and Malware
"The study of 1,958 smartphones revealed infections by Spyware, Viruses Worms and Trojans, as well as hundreds of unlicensed software programs installed on the handsets reviewed. A comparison of these statistics to the worldwide smartphone population places the number of infected devices globally into the millions. Because the vast majority of these infections are designed to be stealthy and the fact that few smartphones posses Anti-Malware applications, most infected users are completely unaware their devices have been compromised."

Citibank Launches Citi Mobile(R) For Smartphones
"Checking your account balance or paying a bill used to involve a trip to the bank, and in recent years, logging on to your home PC. Today, Citibank is making banking easier than ever for its U.S. customers by expanding its mobile offering to smartphones, including most BlackBerry(R) smartphones, Palm(R) devices and iPhone(TM)( )mobile devices. Now, more Citibank customers can access and manage their bank accounts -- anytime and anywhere -- via their smartphone's mobile browser."

Denise Senecal - Demographics Matter to Mobile Banking Strategies

Today I found an article written by Denise Senecal (Research Manager - Callahan & Associates) titled "Demographics Matter to Mobile Banking Strategies."

Ms. Denecal writes, "The online survey of more than 11,000 credit union members examined needs and preferences among online members—the segment of your membership most likely to be the early adopters of mobile banking technology."

The article continues to cover topics including:
* Comfort with Mobile Features Varies with Age
* Understand Your Membership's Demographic Profile
* Consider Your Target Segments

Click here to read the full article >>

Mobile Banking Short Codes

Last week there were a number of newsworthy mobile banking events. I've included links to the majority of them below, but I wanted to take a moment to focus on one in particular.

Bruce Meyerson published an article in Business Week titled Why Wireless isn't Wide Open.

In short Mr. Meyerson says, "Even as the wireless industry chants a new gospel about opening mobile-phone networks to outside devices and applications, some of the biggest U.S. carriers are quietly blocking new services that would compete with their own."

The reason why I'm highlighting this article is because it's troubling on multiple levels:

1) It's concerning to think that a solution where the carriers already have a financial motivator (i.e. earning revenue per SMS) that short codes would be delayed.

2) That a large number of clients could be excluded from utilizing a mobile banking solution simply because the short code had not yet been approved.

3) Even a vendor with an existing relationship can not sail through the approval process.

If you're thinking about offering SMS banking without the assistance of a vendor I'd reconsider, and if you think you're going to design a solution that will circumvent the carriers - I'd think again.

Other Newsworthy Events:
Bank of America has a new iPhone GUI
Fundamo enters US
Clairmail Wins Red Herring 100
NACHA Announces Mobile Banking Initiative
Fidelity Adopts mFoundry Solution
Guardian Analytic Introduces FraudMAP

Wells Fargo Launches Mobile Text Banking

First Major Financial Services Company to Offer Consumer and Small Business Customers Both Browser- and Text-Based Account Access via Mobile Devices

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) today announced another component of its Wells Fargo MobileSM service: text banking. This addition makes Wells Fargo the first major financial services company in the country to offer its consumer and small business customers both browser- and text-based account access via their mobile devices. Click to read the full press release.

Mergers, Conversions and Mobile Banking

This evening as we wrapped up the tasks for our conversion something occurred to me. In the very near future banks will need to add a mobile banking plan to their bank-wide conversion process. This channel has enough intricacies that it could not conceivably be lumped into the retail online banking or business online banking tasks.

In addition, this is yet another reason for banks to offer a robust mobile solution encompassing: browser based, SMS, and Rich UX solutions. Can you imagine trying to convert a base of customers that passionately use SMS banking to a system that only offers a Rich UX downloadable application?

Chase Launches SMS Mobile Banking

This news is HOT! Chase has launched an SMS based mobile banking solution, but you will not find any information on their homepage. The links are only contained within online banking. Once you are in the system look for the link along the right-hand margin.

HSBC and SMS Banking

I have recently learned that HSBC has now launched an SMS based mobile banking solution for their business clients. To read more click here.

Also, sources tell me that this is the first of many pending announcements where banks that have already launched one type of mobile banking solution will be following up with a secondary offering. In order to keep an updated record of which institutions have implemented which solutions I have developed this Top 10 tracking page. Each time a new announcement is made I will update this page with the most current information. Please be sure to add this page to your favorites and check back frequently.