USAA to Geico Test Voice Apps Seeking $12 Billion Savings: Tech

"USAA, Geico Corp. and other financial firms are turning smartphones into virtual clerks. USAA in February became the first to let depositors use its mobile application via spoken commands. Now, Wells Fargo Co., U.S. Bancorp and ING Groep NV also are among about 50 firms working with Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN:US) to use similar technology in mobile apps." Continue Reading

Announcing Javelin's 2013 Mobile Banking Financial Institution Award Winners

"The results of Javelin Strategy & Research's annual Mobile Banking Financial Institution study show that Bank of America, Citizens Bank, USAA, BBVA Compass, Wells Fargo, Chase and others banks are topping all competitors in mobile banking.

Javelin's sixth annual Mobile Banking Financial Institution study evaluates the abilities of financial institutions (FIs) to meet consumers' growing mobile banking needs as they evolve from mobile account monitoring to mobile money movement and beyond." Continue Reading

Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 15

BBCN Bank Experiences Strong Mobile Growth Through Malauzai Software SmartApp
"Malauzai, a leading provider of mobile banking SmartApps for community financial institutions, announced that Los Angeles-based BBCN Bank has leveraged the company’s mobile banking solutions to meet the multi-lingual needs of its customer base."

HID Global Fuels Adoption of Layered Authentication Solutions to Protect Online and Mobile Banking Transactions
"HID Global, a worldwide leader in secure identity solutions, continues its drive to help financial institutions secure online banking services that nearly half of all their customers prefer for convenient account access. Through its forward-looking Identity Assurance portfolio and channel partnership initiatives, the company is fuelling adoption of layered authentication as part of a cost-effective security strategy for protecting online and mobile transactions from anywhere, and from any device, more frequently than ever before."

M&T, First Niagara mobile apps criticized
"The mobile banking applications available at two of the region’s largest local banks scored poorly on a new report gauging user friendliness and customer satisfaction. Apps available at M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) and First Niagara Bank N.A. (NASDAQ: FNFG) are among the lowest rated in Xtreme Labs’ “U.S. Banking Apps Report.” Xtreme Labs based the rankings on publicly available customer comments on the Apple iTunes store and the Google Play store."

Is Mobile Banking the New Banking Reality? | Sherpas in Blue Shirts
 "Move over, Angry Birds. Your standing as “the largest mobile app success the world has seen so far,” (as stated on February, 18, 2011 in MIT’s Entrepreneurship Review) is giving way to mobile banking apps. Indeed, apps from American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Wells Fargo, Westpac, and others rank among the top apps on iTunes and the Android play store, with tens of millions of downloads already under their belt! And there’s little surprise about that…photograph your check and then have it deposited directly into whatever account you want, or send money to people via their email addresses or mobile phone numbers. Isn’t that cool?"

Mobile and Online Banking Cannot Replace Branches
"I recently read an article in one of Dubai’s local English-language news outlets touting a multinational bank’s regional launch of a new mobile banking app that promised to serve as a “virtual” branch for its customers. Shortly after, I read a separate article on The Motley Fool’s website titled “This Technology Will Save Banks a Bundle,” in which the author said, “As banks like PNC and Bank of America close branch locations, mobile banking may help them hang on to customers.”

Bank Via Smartphone? Simple Tips Can Protect Your Data
"More and more Americans are embracing digital banking – online and mobile. New numbers from The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project show 51 percent of adult Americans now bank online – up from 46 percent in 2010. When it comes to mobile banking, 35 percent of cell phone owners admit they bank online – up from 18 percent in 2011."

Apps from RBS Citizens, USAA Garner Best Customer Reviews
"Mobile strategy company Xtreme Labs has analyzed customer reviews from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and found RBS Citizens and USAA to have the highest-rated apps. The company looked at app reviews between May 18 and June 25 for the top 53 U.S. banks, as ranked by total assets."

Consumers want customized service in mobile banking "Retail banks can realize the full potential of mobile banking by offering segmented consumer experiences and advanced digital wallet capabilities. According to the study by Cognizant and Monitise plc , consumers are increasingly expecting banks to help improve their mobile lifestyles by providing anytime, anywhere capabilities, customized user experiences, shopping and social features, and value-added services. This, the study states, represents a new opportunity for retail banks to drive customer loyalty, attract new business, and generate more revenue."

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 - May 16

Mobile Banking Revolution (Infographic)
"It’s no secret that mobile banking has taken off in recent years and continues to grow by leaps and bounds. To help illustrate just how much mobile banking is growing FICO pulled together an infographic with some impressive mobile stats. For example, did you know that by 2017 an estimated 1 billion people will be using mobile banking? Read on to learn more about the mobile revolution."

Mobile banking expected to grow 18% annually through 2017
"The evolution of technology has brought on an onslaught of change to the banking industry, with banks becoming more convenient and consumer-friendly through mobile strategies, according to an article from Business Insider. The article says banks have become more competitive in order to stay ahead of other financial institutions. Currently, the mobile-banking user base is expected to grow 18% each year until reaching more than 1 billion users by 2017. By the end of this year, 590 million consumers will be using the technology."

USAA launches voice command mobile banking
"USAA members can now ask their iPhone how much they spent on groceries last month or tell it to pay the mortgage on Thursday. It's all done through voice commands that the financial institution's new software not only can hear and understand, but act upon. USAA has embedded Nuance's voice recognition service known as Nina into its iPhone app for mobile banking."

Survey: 75% comfortable with mobile banking
"Mobile banking has been getting a lot of press lately. Just last week, Hawaii-based American Savings Bank announced that adoption of their newly-introduced remote deposit capture mobile feature had exceeded all expectations. Juniper research recently published figures showing that the number of consumers using tablets to pay bills will soar between now and 2017, and mobile document capture software firm Mitek revealed 12 million Americans have now deposited more than $40 billion into bank accounts using mobile apps."

What will banks do to lure more people to online banking?
"The excitement around online banking is fading. After four years of rapid growth, banks are seeing only a trickle of new customers using their online services. As a result, consumers can expect more incentives as banks try to move more people out of the branches and away from the ATMs and instead deal with them through their computers and cellphones."

Mobile Banking Plays Key Role in #1 Factor for Customer Loyalty According to Yodlee Interactive Survey
"Banking convenience dominates all options amongst reasons to stay with banks, according to a new study conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Yodlee Interactive. With the convenience of online and mobile banking, more customers are utilizing these services, while banks are responding by reducing the number of physical branches. This survey was conducted among 2,219 Americans (ages 18+) between February 28 and March 4, 2013."

Device, Channel And Security Choices Featured At Mobile Banking & Commerce Summit
"The 2013 Mobile Banking & Commerce Summit, hosted by American Banker and Bank Technology News, will shine on a spotlight on the next generation of mobile banking applications and recent advances in mobile commerce and payments. The event will take place June 3-5, 2013 at the InterContinental Miami Hotel in Florida."

Does JPMorgan Plus Apple Equal a Mobile-Banking Home Run?
"Banking is going mobile. The largest U.S. banks have been fairly quick to adopt the new technology and are reaping the benefits as millions of users flock to mobile interfaces. JPMorgan Chase sports one of the best-received mobile banking platforms. Despite being a relatively small portion of the bank's overall operation, its ability to innovate new mobile products and efficiently serve more customers is good news for investors. In this video, Motley Fool banking analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson tell investors why this recent trend benefits JPMorgan, as well as tech giant Apple."

Mobile Banking Updates - Dec 6

Mobile Banking Adoption Grows
"Chase, Bank of America, and USAA are the top mobile banking providers equipped to deal with rising expectations from consumers, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy and Research. Javelin Strategy & Research’s latest report evaluates the 25 leading U.S. retail financial institutions (FIs) mobile banking offerings by comparing features, mobile access, app, Web and text banking, and mobile alerts."

LevelUp to Provide Mobile Payments at Louisville's KFC Yum! Center
"The KFC Yum! Center is the first sports arena to allow visitors to pay with their mobile phone at all hospitality and merchandise stands thanks to hospitality partner Centerplate, which announced that it has tapped LevelUp to provide the KFC Yum! Center's mobile payment experience at 200 merchandise and hospitality stands."

Applying Developing-Market Mobile Banking Models in the Developed World
"A U.S. federal report released in September found that 8.2 percent of households in the country are unbanked. That’s nearly 10 million households, and 17 million adults. Another 20.4 percent are underbanked—or 24 million households, and 51 million adults. Those numbers add up to more than a quarter of the population of the U.S. The percentage of both unbanked and underbanked has increased slightly since the last survey (conducted in 2009). Americans are also using alternative financial services more, including payday loans, check cashing, money orders, pawn shops, etc. Both increases are most likely due to the economic recession and resulting high unemployment rates."

Mobile banking and 'the real world' come together at the ATM
"With all the talk of 'the death of cash,' the trusty old ATM spitting out cash isn't going anywhere anytime soon. But financial services companies are exploring ways to more closely connect smartphones and apps with the ATM, seeing the ubiquitous cash machine as way to link mobile banking and payments to the 'real world.' One way ATM manufacturers are looking at the connection is by offering mobile 'prestaging' of cash withdrawals at the ATM."

New Boston Fed Report on Mobile Payments Technology
"The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has released a new report entitled, "Mobile Phone Technology: 'Smarter' Than We Thought"."

Windows 8

As Windows 8 Launches, Banks Ready Mobile Banking Apps
"Financial institutions are readying apps for Microsoft's new, radically different Windows 8 operating system for desktop, laptop and tablet devices, which officially launches today. Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, is one. 'We're developing an app for Windows 8 that will provide another convenient way for our customers to interact with Bank of America,' said a BofA spokesperson in a statement emailed to BTN. BofA's app is for PCs and tablets."

NEW - Dell Shop Application for Windows 8
Tap into the app to find everything at Dell. With Dell Shop, you can find the perfect new Dell PC or get more from your current PC with custom-recommended electronics and accessories from top manufacturers. Using your System ID, Dell Shop can identify your Dell PC and make compatible suggestions. And even if your PC isn’t a Dell, you can still use Dell Shop to buy those must-have items. You’ll find easy access to the most popular accessories, from monitors, printers, projectors, mice and bags, to wireless routers and external storage. And if you’re looking to outfit a home theater, home office, dorm room or a creative studio, you’ll find complete solutions right here.

Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 22

Bank of America Promotes Cash Back Deals
"Bank of America released its online and mobile cash back deals program nationally, so that with the click of a button, customers can choose deals they want through the company’s online banking and mobile banking app. With BankAmeriDeals, customers can get deals from a variety of retail categories in online banking, offers via mobile apps, cash back in their accounts and other rewards."

APAC Banks Evaluate NFC Models and Mobile Wallet Alternatives
"The face of mobile banking in the Asia Pacific region is set to change in a big way. Be it for Singapore, Australia or New Zealand, going by what’s happening in these countries, new forms of digital payments are finding their way in. International Data Corporation (IDC) has highlighted that now major banks in the region are set go beyond basic mobile banking services."

Cool Tech: Mobile Banking With Siri-Like Voice Commands
"Members of USAA will soon be able to ask their iPhone what their current balance is, how much they spent last week and when their next loan payment is due — all through voice commands. The voice recognition service, dubbed Nina, will be embedded into USAA’s iOS and Android application. To activate it, all a member needs to do is press the speech button in the USAA app and say “my voice is my password.” Then they can use natural language to make a wide range of banking inquiries."

Trying to Deposit Checks With My New iPhone
"Bank of America has (finally) begun offering a check deposit feature on its mobile banking app for smartphones and tablets. The addition gave me the push I needed to try mobile banking on my new iPhone. So I tested it, with varying results. Bank of America recently introduced the deposit feature with little fanfare. Citibank and Chase already offer 'remote deposit capture,' as it’s called, and some smaller banks, like USAA, have been offering it for even longer."

How APIs Are Fueling the Mobile Banking Wars
"While some folks tend to think about APIs are being little bits of arcane code that only developers care about it, the truth of the matter is that billions, possibly even trillions, of dollars are at stake in what will soon be a series of API wars. In no place is this more important than in mobile banking, where companies ranging from Google, the PayPal unit of eBay and lesser known entities such as MineralTree are all vying to usurp the role of traditional financial institutions."

Mobile Banking Updates - Jul 12

Making Up for Lost Ground in Mobile Banking
"Nearly every day, the financial technology press publishes new, eye-popping statistics on the trends in mobile banking and finance. Here are some of the more telling stats that I have seen recently: * By 2015, Forrester predicts that one in five US adults will be using mobile banking. * Mobile customers are the new "sweet spot" segment for the banks. They are younger, they are more affluent, and buy more financial products."

Why is USAA Building Financial Centers?
"USAA has always been known as a forward-thinking institution, especially when it comes to mobile banking - the San Antonio bank's military customer base necessitates a quick move by the institution into all things remote. USAA's efforts to serve a customer base that's always on the move has making it an incubator of sorts for remote access technology."

Area financial institutions roll out latest tech
"North Bay financial institutions are increasingly employing the latest generation of Web and mobile technologies, addressing a wave of consumer demand for conveniences that were once only within reach of large, national banks. Early adopters of these technologies, including Santa Rosa’s Summit State Bank and Community First Credit Union, have seen users readily embrace the new, free services, which allow functions like advanced money management and mobile check capture."

Quarter of mobile internet users 'use mobile banking services'
"Research from YouGov indicates that there is still room for growth in mobile banking. The research, commissioned by mobile web and app vendor Antenna, found that a quarter of UK mobile internet users use mobile banking services. Perhaps unsurprisingly, mobile banking is most popular with the young. 30% of 18-24 year olds and 33% of 24-34 year olds regularly use their mobiles to access their bank account."

Beefing up for mobile banking
"Banks are stepping up initiatives and making key investments in mobile banking in line with the industry's participation in this digital banking channel by the middle of next year. HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd head of retail banking and wealth management Lim Eng Seong said competition in mobile banking would intensify as customers were getting more demanding."

Mobile Banking Updates - Jun 3

The Untapped Market: Corporate Mobile Banking
"Banks have been so focused on building the mobile retail solutions for consumers that they could be missing out on a huge opportunity in commercial mobile banking. As with most trends of new innovations and technologies it starts with the consumer, but it’s only a matter of time until mobile transcends into the corporate treasuries of both SMEs and large enterprises. In fact, a report by Aite Group, found there is a high demand for corporate mobile banking services amongst treasures. Of the 300 treasury executives who were polled globally, approximately two-thirds said they’d use mobile corporate banking services to perform basic transactions such as checking balances or transferring funds."

San Antonio Credit Union Takes on USAA's Mobility
"After a slow start, San Antonio Federal Credit Union is getting mobile fast. The credit union is moving from very little mobile banking to a broad suite of applications that operate on practically every device, including most features that other financial institutions are offering on mobile devices. The pace demonstrates the impact early adopters can have in pushing other institutions to move quickly to catch up or lose sales. The San Antonio-based credit union is located near USAA, a famously tech-friendly financial services provider. Like USAA, SACU serves a large military customer base, though it also serves a substantial non-military segment."

Pioneer Bank launches Kasasa 360 and Mobile Banking
"Pioneer Bank recently announced the launch of Kasasa 360 and Mobile Banking, the bank’s latest innovations available from the southern Minnesota community bank. Kasasa 360 provides account holders around-the-clock access to personal finance management (PFM) tools through an online and mobile-based platform. Designed to deliver a user experience that leapfrogs even the best megabank systems, the latest Kasasa innovation allows consumers to securely aggregate and manage all of their financial products, including those they hold at other financial institutions."

Just Because Banking Customers Are ‘Satisfied’ Doesn’t Mean They Won’t Switch
"The 2012 World Retail Banking Report survey from Capgemini and Efma found that 65% of banking consumers say they are satisfied, but only 51% say they have no plans to switch. The survey included more than 18,000 customers in 35 countries across six geographic regions, making it one of the most detailed studies of its kind. Online surveys polled samples of at least 500 retail-banking customers in every country covered."

Big Banks Arm Themselves (and You) for Looming Mobile War
"The rough and tumble economy isn’t keeping Americans from buying smart phones, or using them to revolutionize the way they handle their personal finances. That's leading the biggest U.S. banks to move quickly in developing a suite of mobile account services, from person-to-person smart phone payment to account deposit via an image text message of a check, all in anticipation of a day when customers will come to expect banking by smart phone as opposed to view it as a novelty."

What's the Future of Mobile Banking?
"On Tuesday I chaired the Future of Mobile Banking conference held in London. It was a great event, with a wide variety of highly qualified speakers and some very smart debate on topics including mobile banking, usability, innovation, and m-payments. What made the conference so compelling was that it came at a particularly interesting time."

Mobile Banking Updates - Apr 2

6 Essential Mobile Banking Features For Community Banks
"Financial institutions have many choices when implementing a mobile banking solution. The majority of community banks do not have the resources to develop a mobile application in-house so they will most likely implement a mobile platform from a software vendor.

Community banks must offer robust and intuitive mobile banking apps to compete against large national banks and attract new customers, especially tech. savvy Gen Y consumers. Banks also benefit with the ability to sell more services to existing customers, retain current customers and reduce operational costs. In order for a bank to reap these benefits their mobile app must include many key features."

Mobility Matters – Tracking the Mobile Banking Revolution: Online Only
"Credit Union Mobile Banking Debut of The Week: “We are gearing this to a younger membership. We are ahead of the curve, that’s where we want to be,” said Christopher White, a senior vice president at Waltham, Mass-based RTN FCU, a $720 million institution with 37,000 members."

Consumers want mobile banking at its highest level
"Throw away the deposit slips. Forget about the zipper coin pouches and the locking night deposit bags.
This month Rivermark Community Credit Union became the first Oregon credit union to offer the latest in mobile banking technology — the ability to deposit a check by simply taking a picture of it with an android phone, iPhone or iPad."

ath Power Research Shows Customers Willing to Pay as Much as $11 Per Month for Mobile Banking
"ath Power Consulting, an industry leader in financial services research and customer experience strategy development, today announced the release of The ath Power 2012 Mobile Banking Study(TM). Key findings revealed that banks are not adequately promoting their mobile banking offerings, and that Remote Deposit Capture is the missing feature most sought by customers. The National study ranked customer satisfaction with today's mobile banking offerings, and USAA earned the top spot with 73 percent of its users claiming high satisfaction."

Mobile banking service
"Pageonce is a Mobile banking service is made easy and simple for you, allowing you to manage money on your smartphone screen anywhere you want. And this is also a free service and provide positive benefits to manage a variety of important transactions."

Boom mobile banking, Allpoint ATM network partner on services
"Boom, a mobile banking provider, and money transfer service owner m-Via have announced both a new low-cost pricing model and a deal with surcharge-free ATM network provider Allpoint to offer Boom users access to more than 37,500 ATMs located in retail stores across the U.S. and Mexico.

Boom operates on a membership-based business model for banking and money transfer. Membership in the U.S. costs $25 per year; outside the U.S., membership is free to individuals who receive money from a U.S.-based member."

Mobile Banking Updates - Apr 1

UPLEX Global Launches Powerful Secondary Loan Market
"Paul J. Giefing, CEO and Founder of UPLEX Global, today announced the release of a powerful, global, online secondary loan market to allow banks, credit unions, private investors and numerous other financial institutions to efficiently and affordably trade whole loans, loan portfolios and loan participations.

'I’ve found that the old way of buying and selling loans and portfolios has simply become too expensive and time consuming, especially during these challenging economic times,' said Giefing. 'With UPLEX Global, we’ve truly changed the way the way secondary markets work by offering an online ‘broker-less’, paperless platform to efficiently and securely manage loan portfolios. Our technology allows financial firms to maximize time and make more money by putting them in total control of their own portfolios.'”

Mobile Banking Consolidation: Monitise Buys Clairmail For $173 Million
"One more sign of the mobile money space continuing to grow up: some significant consolidation underway. Today, the UK-based mobile banking specialists Monitise announced that it is buying Clairmail, a U.S.-based competitor, for $173 million, as part of its global expansion.

The combined group says it will serve 13 million customers world-wide processing some $10 billion of payments weekly, and will give Monitise a much bigger and direct presence in the North American market: one-third of the top 50 U.S. financial institutions are now clients of the group."

Why did Monitise acquire Clairmail?
"The traditional mobile banking category, of performing PC based on-line banking tasks on the phone is stabilizing. The growth of mobile banking is in mobile payments including person-to-person, interbank transfers and the mobile wallet.

The competition in this more broadly defined mobile banking + payments market is heating up fast. PayPal and Square have made merchant as well as person-to-person announcements in the last week. ISIS (with is operator partners) and Google have also announced several new partnerships and function so far this year. These vendors plan a revolutionary approach to mobile payments."

USAA Tops Mobile Banking App UX Study
"USAA wins out when it comes to customer experience and satisfaction with mobile banking offerings. That's according to the 2012 ath Mobile Banking Study, which was recently conducted by financial services research and customer experience strategy development firm ath Power Consulting.

The study combined an online survey of more than 1,500 mobile banking users with hands-on user audits of mobile banking applications from about 240 banks and credit unions. Seventy-three percent of users surveyed claimed high satisfaction with USSA's mobile offerings. Huntington Bank and BB&T ranked right below USAA in terms of in customer satisfaction."

Smart Phones Helping Consumers Manage Their Money
"Using a mobile device to access your bank account is not only convenient, but it appears to be helping consumers better manage their finances. A new Federal Reserve study shows that mobile phones and Internet access are in widespread use and changing the way that consumers access their financial services. According to the study, 21 percent of mobile phone owners have used mobile banking in the past twelve months, and an additional 11 percent think they will probably use it within the next year."

Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 6

Mobile RDC First, Then Banking
"Mobile tech firm mFoundry’s looking to tap a niche’s niche—banks that are warming up to mobile financial services by offering remote deposit capture first, then rolling out full-fledged mobile banking later—by developing a new standalone mobile deposit solution that can seamlessly convert to full mobile. The product is aimed at banks that don’t have a mobile banking offering, enabling consumers to deposit checks via handsets. This app is pre-integrated with mobile banking capabilities, which can be rolled into the RDC app when the bank’s ready."

Mobile banking is primary channel for 13%
"Mobile banking is becoming the primary channel for interacting with the bank for a growing number of users. In May 2010 USAA reported that 38% of their mobile banking users considered mobile to be their primary interface with the bank. Now research firm Novarica has found that 13% of smartphone users consider mobile their primary means to check balances."

Forrester: Banks Must Innovate for Mobile Banking Growth to Continue
"Since 2007, mobile banking has more than doubled in use. According to analyst firm Forrester, this trend will continue, with usage again doubling by 2015, but analyst Emmet Higdon says that a few changes and realizations need to be made for mobile banking to really catch on.

According to Higdon, mobile banking lacks 'any clear differentiated functionality' and 'appeals most strongly to those consumers already inclined to use the mobile channel.' To really gain adoption, says Higdon, 'U.S. banks will need to enhance today's functionality significantly.'"

Finovate so far: the big themes in banking
"Some of the best minds in business are gathered at the London Business Design Centre today to witness cutting-edge financial and banking technology innovations at Finovate 2011. Chris Skinner kicked off the show by talking about what he sees as the top themes in innovation and the things he believes are having the biggest impact on banking."

Heartland Bank Launches iPhone App!
"G. Scott McComb, President and CEO of Heartland Bank is pleased to announce the launch of the iPhone App with Heartland Bank's Mobile Banking. Heartland Bank online banking customers can access their account information via SMS Texting, Web Browsing, or with the Heartland Mobile Banking App from the Apple Store!"

Comerica Unveils Mobile Banking Apps
"Comerica launched a Mobile Banking downloadable application (app) for the iPhone in the Apple App Store, and a downloadable app for the BlackBerry is also available. The downloadable apps for Comerica Mobile Banking allow customers to use their smart phones to securely view balances, check recent account activity, perform funds transfers, pay bills, and locate Comerica ATMs and banking centers, the Company said."

Banks Have Yet to Create the Killer App for Mobile Banking
"Although the use of mobile banking has grown from 5% of the U.S. online population in 2007 to 12% in the second quarter of 2010, according to a report released this week by Forrester senior analyst Emmett Higdon, such that 10 million Americans engage in mobile banking today, banks have yet to create the kind of 'killer app' that will make mobile banking truly appealing to bank customers."

Mobile Banking Security

Banks Rush to Fix Security Flaws in Wireless Apps
"A number of top financial companies and banks such as Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp. and USAA are rushing out updates to fix security flaws in wireless banking applications that could allow a computer criminal to obtain sensitive data like usernames, passwords and financial information."

Our Mobile-Banking Warnings about Security Prove Prophetic
"Not to be gauche, but in 2009 you saw the Internet security warning here first. Mobile banking is so risky an IT security guru said don’t do it. That was the online security warning on Sept. 7 from the authoritative Dr. Stan Stahl of Citadel Information Group in Los Angeles. Dr. Stahl’s analysis in my column included this stern warning: 'All in all, cell phone on-line banking is a big NO!!!'”

How Vulnerable Are Mobile Apps?
"Late last week, security firm viaForensics announced it had discovered security vulnerabilities in mobile banking smart-phone apps for Google's Android and Apple's iPhone. Apps from Bank of America, Chase, TD Ameritrade, USAA, Wells Fargo and Vanguard were all targeted by the firm. "

USAA's Mobile Banking: Security is a Top Priority
"The Wall Street Journal has reported potential security issues with some of the latest mobile banking applications. A digital forensics firm, viaForensics, collaborating with The Journal, tested banking apps from at least seven financial institutions. viaForensics found that USAA's Mobile App on the iPhone® passed all tests and is secure. However, viaForensics identified a potential vulnerability within USAA's application on the Android™."

Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 22

BofA and Visa to test cell phone payments
"Bank of America Corp, the largest U.S. consumer bank, and Visa Inc, the world's largest payment processor, plan to begin a test program next month that lets customers use smartphones to pay for purchases in stores.

The program, to run from September through the end of the year in the New York area, is the biggest step yet by the two companies toward creating a 'digital wallet' with a host of financial capabilities built into the latest, most sophisticated mobile phones."

Challenges are mobile opportunities: GoMo News Interviews Kazi Islam of Grameenphone
"GoMo News recently had the opportunity to meet innovative and exciting movers and shakers at the MLove conference in Berlin. One of the most notable in a sea of notables was the keynote speaker, Mr. Kazi Islam, CEO of Grameenphone IT. Until recently, Grameenphone IT was an internal division of Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s largest mobile phone company, whose innovations in using mobile phones to improve the lives of Bangladeshis have won praise and awards from around the globe."

USAA Federal Savings Bank Ranked Best in Class in Mobile Banking for Second Year in a Row
"A new Javelin Strategy & Research report issued today – '2010 Mobile Banking Scorecard – Shift in Smartphone Ownership Calls for a Shift in Focus: How 19 Top Financial Institutions Compare on Mobile Channel Retail Delivery' – has rated USAA Federal Savings Bank 'Best in Class' in mobile banking for the second year in a row. USAA excels in meeting the needs of its customers – current or retired Armed Forces personnel – who, because of the nature of their profession, lead a mobile lifestyle."

ClairMail Expands International Mobile Banking Effort With New Product Capabilities
"ClairMail, Inc., the leader in mobile banking and payments solutions, today announced a new suite of international mobile banking capabilities designed to facilitate transactions across global markets and multiple currencies. The new international features include..."

Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 8

Jailbreaking Joins the List of Security Issues For Mobile Banking Developers to Ponder
"Mobile banking program developers have a lot of security issues to think about, the latest of which is iPhone jailbreaking. Last week, the Librarian of Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office said that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a law that forbids anyone from breaking through encryption technology to copy or modify copyrighted works, does not apply to the copyrighted encryption built into the bootloader that starts up the iPhone OS operating system, as Apple claimed it did."

A glimpse of the future of mobile banking
"Mobile banking in the United States has been making impressive gains in usage, reflected by the launch of higher-end services by top banks. JPMorgan Chase's new remote deposit app falls into that category. But the rest of the world seems a little farther down the adoption curve. We're seeing top banks roll out some impressive services in countries where mobile banking is more established. The latest example: Taiwan."

Banking With State Farm Bank® as Easy as Point-and-Shoot
"With the newest version of the State Farm® Pocket Agent™ iPhone® app, State Farm Bank customers can deposit checks into their State Farm Bank deposit account directly from their phones.
The process is simple: Just endorse the check, enter the amount and take its picture. Mobile Check Deposit supports scanning of unlimited checks per day, up to $10,000. State Farm Bank is making banking easier with secure check deposits whenever – and wherever – it's convenient for people."

Survey: Consumers Warming Up to Mobile Devices for Banking
"Mobile banking through mobile devices such as cellular phones, smart phones and personal digital assistants has more than doubled globally since 2008, with consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, Central and Eastern Europe and the United States at the forefront, new research from KPMG International suggests.

The New York-based audit, tax and advisory firm in late July released results from its Global Consumers and Convergence survey. KPMG conducted the research earlier this year through an online and telephone survey of 5,627 consumers in 22 countries including as Australia, Germany, France, Japan and India. Respondents on average were 35 years old; in the U.S. respondents on average were 37."

Concern rise over smartphone security
"Alarms are ringing on the security flaws of smartphones that hackers could exploit to tamper with users’ personal data. But experts say the gadgets are not much more vulnerable to intrusion than other computing devices. They may be secured through caution, and programs now used to protect personal computers and mobile devices. A multitude of warnings on the safety of mobile operation systems from Apple and Google were issued last week by both government and private watchdogs."

Why Smart Crooks Don't Use Smartphones
"How does the modern criminal plan out a caper? Not on a cellphone -- if he's smart, that is. Smartphones can take pictures tagged to a particular location and time, provide turn-by-turn directions, find the closest gas station or the best nearby Italian restaurant, and communicate via voice, texting, e-mail and even videoconferencing. They can also store all that information, yielding everything the cops need to capture a bad guy. The iPhone is particularly popular with cops, because it's so popular with consumers."

Public Adapting Quickly to Mobile Banking
"With everything from music to shopping to chatting with friends going digital these days, an increase in the prevalence of online and mobile banking should come as no surprise. According to a Lafferty Group study, smart phones will be the banking portals of choice by 2020. By 2029, bank branches will be an afterthought, responsible for one-twentieth of transactions."

Tell us about your visit to Washington DC?
"The State Department had a half day event for employees and guests about Mobile Money. Well attended and great interest in mobile money for “development” (improving political, economic, and human conditions around the world).

The group was diverse in experience – which is a challenge for a presenter. Since I co-presented the first session my goal was to create a common understanding of mobile money, how it is successfully implemented, and what are the benefits. I wanted to make sure the audience came up to speed quickly and got beyond the simplistic view."

Europe’s First Launch of microSD-based Contactless Mobile Payments
"Visa Europe recently announced that it is launching Europe’s first microSD-based mobile payment systems in Turkey with its technology partner, DeviceFidelity, and Akbank, one of Turkey’s leading retail banks."

Mobile Banking Offers USAA a New Road to Cross-Sales
"USAA Federal Savings Bank is shifting mobile banking into high gear by offering auto loans through customers' phones.

While most mobile financial services mimic banks' online bill-payment and account-management offerings, the San Antonio banking company may be the first to embrace handheld devices as a sales channel. USAA has emerged as a mobile banking technology leader, largely because it recognizes that phones offer much more than just a small Web browser.

Mobile Banking – the shape of things to come?
"Every now and then innovation disrupts the existing status quo. There is probably no better recent example than Apple, with iTunes and iPod, the introduction of the product revolutionised the music industry.

Twelve years ago the Retail Banking industry thought the end of ‘bricks and mortar banking’ era was nigh with the introduction of main stream internet banking. This however did not materialise as Banks in their quest to differentiate, realised the value of the Branch in the selling process and its necessity for customer acquisition and authentication. The internet became a convenience channel and every customer with access to a PC expected their Bank to provide an internet enabled banking service. Also without a clear integrated multi-channel approach Banks have in general not realised the expected cost savings and revenue opportunities of introducing an internet channel. Will mobile banking change the Banking landscape in SA?"

Mobile Banking Updates - July 25

Where's the Love for Android?
"With the large public debacle that was Steve Jobs' and Apple Inc.'s "Antennagate," a growing number of smart phones and connected devices on America's other wireless carriers and an ever-maturing mobile OS and app marketplace, Android is looking more attractive all the time. And while mobile banking apps and features seemingly pop up everyday on iOS, the same can't be said for Android.

While the public uptake of mobile banking might be slow to develop, it would seem that with a growing number of Americans choosing Android devices over iPhones, banks and providers would at least try to offer parallel services in the Android Marketplace. And the openness of app development and deployment on Google's mobile OS seem like a good opportunity to get on board."

KPMG Survey: Mobile Banking Steadily Gaining Acceptance Among U.S. Consumers
"Mobile banking and the use of mobile devices such as cell phones, smartphones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) for financial transactions and payments are increasingly gaining acceptance among U.S. consumers, according to results of a survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm.

The results of KPMG's fourth annual Global Consumers and Convergence survey show that 19 percent of U.S. consumers have conducted banking transactions on a mobile device, compared to only 9 percent when KPMG last completed this survey 18 months ago. More than 5,600 people in 22 countries worldwide participated in the survey, which examines trends in the use of mobile technology."

Mobile Remote Deposit Capture by the Numbers (thanks USAA)
"USAA is now doing the same for the fledgling consumer-remote-check-deposit market. USAA was the first major financial institution to introduce the service a year ago. Earlier this month, Chase Bank became the second major bank to offer mobile capture.

In a press release last week, the direct banking giant said that more than 1.5 million checks, worth $930 million (an average of $620 per item), had been deposited through its mobile remote deposit app released last summer. Mobile accounts for about one-third of the bank’s consumer remote capture volume. The online version, introduced in late 2006, still outnumbers mobile volume 2 to 1."

Mobile Banking Sees Success in Senegal
"Thanks to a mobile banking system launched last month in Senegal, people with no previous access to bank accounts were able to watch the World Cup via satellite services that they paid for electronically with a few taps on a mobile phone. The service is a clear sign that mobile banking is taking off in Africa, giving some of the world's poorest people a way to access financial services.

The system, which is called Yoban'tel by Obopay and was launched on June 24 by Obopay and Société Générale de Banques au Sénégal, lets customers use text messages to transfer money to satellite and cell-phone providers. Users walk into a participating store and make a deposit into their Yoban'tel account. They can then use that money to pay bills. "

TOP 5 MOBILE COMMERCE TRENDS FOR 2010
"Mobile commerce, or m-commerce, is simply the ability to conduct business transactions through a mobile device. With smartphone sales rising 49% in the first quarter of 2010, never before has it been so easy to shop, anywhere, anytime from the palm of your hand. There is an enormous amount of ongoing market research, and though there has been a variety of numbers estimated and reported, they all conclude that mobile commerce is a profitable and rapidly growing market.

By 2015, it’s estimated that shoppers from around the world will spend about $119 billion on goods and services bought via their mobile phones, according to a study by ABI Research released this past February. In the United States alone, mobile shopping rose from $396 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2009, and mobile campaign spending also increased by 25 to 30% over the past year, with companies shelling out just under $313 million according to the same study. Senior Analyst Mark Beccue, said that he’s forecasting U.S. sales to reach about $2.2 billion in 2010."

Maybank Targets To Increase Mobile Banking Customer Base By 53 Per Cent
"Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is targeting to increase its mobile banking customer base by 53 per cent to over 290,000 by July 2011 with launch of its enhanced Mobile Banking Service or M2U Mobile.

The enhanced M2U Mobile enabled customers to access the bank's portal Maybank2u.com using any phone model or telco operator for their banking, bill payment or e-commerce transactions, Maybank said in a statement Tuesday."

150 Credit Unions Choose Mobile Money(TM) From Fiserv
"Fiserv, Inc., the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions and the largest provider of business-driven technology solutions for credit unions, today announced that 150 credit unions have chosen to implement Mobile Money(TM) from Fiserv to date, including 84 that are already live.

Mobile Money gives credit union members the flexibility to use any mobile device to check account balances and history, transfer funds, pay bills, and track account activity. Mobile Money is the industry's most complete mobile banking and payments offering, supporting all three mobile access modes: SMS (text messaging), mobile browser, and downloadable applications. Mobile Money is available as an in-house solution or hosted by Fiserv through an application service provider (ASP) model."

Fiserv brings mobile banking person-to-person with ZashPay
"Fiserv is a big financial services provider, and also what you might call a mobile payments “enabler”. For months, we’ve reported as Fiserv provides mobile banking services to smaller, regional banks and credit unions. Today, it’s aiming even smaller – with a person-to-person mobile payment system called ZashPay."

Mobile Banking Updates - Mar 7

How do banks and operators feel about mobile banking?
"There’s a definite different between mobile payments and mobile banking. Mobile payments are all about the secure transfer of money across mobile channels (don’t let my one sentence description there fool you - it’s a hideously complex and necessary service). But mobile banking is about offering full banking and financial services to people over their mobile phone. Early forms of this were focused on SMS notifications - banks would send you a text when certain things happened to your account (bills paid, large amounts taken out or put into an account, etc). But what a lot of people including myself have found is that we want complete control of our bank account from our mobiles."

More than 100 Banks to Launch POPmoney™ Person-to-Person Payments Service in First Half of 2010
"CashEdge Inc. (www.cashedge.com), the leading provider of Intelligent Money Movement™, announced today that more than 100 financial institutions are adding POPmoney™ (www.popmoney.com) to their customer offerings. All are preparing to launch the groundbreaking email and mobile person-to-person payments (P2P) service by the end of Q2 2010, demonstrating strong momentum and growing consumer demand for the POPmoney service."

USAA Makes Mobile Financial Transactions Simpler, Safer with Quick Logon
"USAA, a leading financial services provider for members of the military community and their families, is giving its mobile users faster, more secure mobile logon access to their banking, insurance and investment accounts through its new quick logon and authentication security software. USAA has teamed up with VeriSign, Inc. to simplify account access for USAA members while strengthening the logon security for its popular USAA Mobile App."

Visa courts phone firms for slice of mobile banking pie
"Global payments technology company Visa International is courting mobile phone network operators with a view to tying up partnerships that could give the company a foothold in the emerging mobile phone banking services, the group’s general manager for Sub Saharan Africa has said."

Equity to join mobile banking
"Equity Bank has announced its intention to join mobile banking. This was revealed last week by Equity Bank Uganda’s executive Director Apollo N. Njoroge during the official opening of the bank’s branch at Oasis Mall in Kampala. The service, dubbed Eazzy 24/7, targets Equity Bank customers with mobile phones."

USAA Launches Android Application

"The free Android app is loaded with helpful tools to keep you connected and in control of your finances — from wherever you are. Besides immediate and secure access to your accounts, our versatile app features a convenient ATM locator that guides you to fast cash and a loan calculator that helps you estimate monthly payments when shopping for a new home or car." >> Learn More

Mobile Banking Updates - Dec 21

USAA Thwarts Mobile App Fraud
"USAA recently stopped a software developer from selling an imposter USAA application designed for use with Google's new Android phone. The developer had posted it for sale within Google's Android Marketplace, but USAA took immediate action and had the application removed."

GETTING PERSONAL CANADA: Carry Your Bank In Your Pocket
"While mobile banking took some time to become established in the Canadian market, mobile-payment services are expanding faster than waistlines at Thanksgiving.

Mobile payments - using your cell phone to pay bills, purchase merchandise, check your bank balance, and transfer money through an embedded chip - is growing five to 10 times as quickly as Internet usage spread throughout Canada in the late 1990s, according to Richard Crone, a California-based payment-services consultant."

First Two Banks Go Live with CashEdge's POPmoney(TM) Person-to-Person Payments Service
"CashEdge, Inc. (www.cashedge.com), the leading provider of Intelligent Money Movement(TM) services, announced today that two top U.S. banks are the first in the nation to launch POPmoney(TM), its groundbreaking new email and mobile person-to-person (P2P) payments service offered through banks. Five additional financial institutions have signed on to launch the service in early 2010, demonstrating strong momentum for the innovative new P2P payments service."