Compete has published an interesting survey about the Mobile Banking landscape. Mobile Banking was unsuccessfully launched around the year 2000, but is now seeing a revival as a result of improved Mobile Banking Strategies and better and more secure wireless technologies. Some key findings of the survey are:
- 29% of online bankers said they would definitely or probably use banking features if they available on a wireless phone
- An additional 33% were undecided, illustrating an opportunity for banks and wireless providers to win over another group of consumers
- Almost 70% of those open to using Mobile Banking would be interested in checking account balances
- Active bankers were interested in using less complex mobile banking services: contacting customer service, locating ATM/branches, transferring money and reviewing statements all received about 50% interest.
- More complex services, such as brokerage services and retirement account management ranked low in terms of interest
- Surprisingly, interest in swiping a phone at a retail point of sale ranked relatively low
Mobile Banking services are really taking off and Citibank has now introduced a free cell-phone-based service that lets customers pay bills, check their account balances and transfer funds, regardless of the wireless carrier they are using. With more services going mobile, the mobile advertisement market will become as lucrative as the online ad market. So Microsoft didn’t surprised anyone with their recent acquisition of Screen Tonic.
