In the holiday spirit, I thought I’d lay out the perfect mobile banking/payments app for 2011 (note 1). These are the features I hope to be using on my smartphone at this time next year: 

Security

• Option to log in with 4-digit PIN only
• Authorize unusual and/or declined card transactions and unusual checks presented for payment

Bank account management

• Banking data presented in order of importance with new transactions in bold (like Gmail Priority Inbox, previous post)
• Quick view of current balance with predicted balance going forward based on known upcoming transactions

Paper management

• Deposit paper checks via camera (remote deposit)
• Pay bills by taking a picture of the billing statement (photo bill pay)
• Scan-and-store paper receipts and statements

Payments

• Use NFC or bar-codes at the point of sale to make payments directly via phone, without the plastic
• Pay bills or individuals via their mobile phone number

Alerts & calculators

• Receive important alerts via push messages to the phone’s main screen
• Take action or adjust alert sensitivity by responding to messages via text messaging or within the app
• Key financial calculators, such as loan/mortgage payments

And a partridge in a pear tree.

Enjoy the real thing here:

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Notes:
1. I’m missing important features, but I had to stop at 12 to fit the holiday theme. Thanks for bearing with me.  
2. For more info on mobile banking, see our previous Online Banking Reports.
3. Photo credit: Apple holiday promotion in United Kingdom <itunes12daysofchristmas.co.uk>