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ANZ’s Mobile Banking App is So Well Integrated, it Almost Feels Like Apple Built It

By Jim Bruene Posted on September 2, 2011
Categories: ANZ Bank, Fiserv, iPhone, M-Com, Mobile Banking

I look at lot of mobile banking apps. But there are several thousand in the U.S. alone, so I’m not going to claim that I know which one is “best” or even who should be in the top-100.

But I will say, of the mobile banking apps I’m familiar with, ANZ Bank’s is right up at the top. Kudos to the bank and Fiserv’s M-Com unit that helped with development.

Why is it so good? It’s full featured, of course. But it’s the first banking app that feels like it runs WITHIN the iPhone instead of being bolted on. It’s almost like what Apple would have done if it was building a banking app right into the operating system (notes 1, 2, 3).

I especially like how the person-to-person payments function integrates with iPhone Contacts. And how iPhone’s photo gallery can be used throughout the app to illustrate goals and payees with your pictures (click on inset above for a better view) and to store bill payment-receipts (see screenshot below).

But never mind what I think, look at actual customer usage. According to a July 15 investor presentation, in the year since it was released, the ANZ goMoney already accounts for 26% of the bank’s total online traffic. If ANZ mobile can continue that pace for another 12 months, it will surpass regular PC-based online traffic by this time next year.

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ANZ goMoney demo video is definitely worth two minutes of your time
Note: Clickthrough below to ANZ website and play the video (the version on YouTube is the older version of the app)

Notes:
1. Hyperbole alert. It’s Friday afternoon, so I may be getting a bit carried away. But I stand by the opinion.
2. I don’t have an ANZ account, so I’m basing my observations on the superb demo video, complete with Apple-esque soundtrack (see screenshot above).

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Dwolla Releases Developers Tools

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on September 2, 2011
Categories: Dwolla

Earlier this week, Dwolla rolled out two payment tools for developers, the Facilitator and an off-site gateway:

Facilitator: “Enables developers to set up a piece of software that incorporates Dwolla and keep a part of the transaction for themselves.”
Off-site gateway: “Allows an online business to tie into the Dwolla API in a fashion similar to the PayPal Express Checkout flow. During the checkout process, a customer jumps to Dwolla’s website, finalizes an order, and then moves back to the merchant site, where all of the order information is neatly tied up.”

To learn more about Dwolla’s payment platform, watch its FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

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Out of the Inbox: First Tech CU Pitches Auto Loans

By Jim Bruene Posted on September 1, 2011
Categories: Auto Financing, Email Marketing, Email Samples, Loans & Credit

As the country heads back to work and school, it’s a great time to remind customers that you have killer rates for auto loans. So, First Tech Federal Credit Union’s marketing email to members yesterday promoting a 2.99% rate was well timed. And I love how the message is direct and to the point.

While the email could use a little more visual punch (graphics/typography), First Tech nailed the timing, product, price, and headline. So it is 90% there even before reading the copy. However, that’s where the effort falls a bit short. Here’s why (numbers correspond to screenshot below):

Minor issues in copywriting:
1. The second sentence in the opening paragraph is awkward because the phrase “keep that new auto loan payment in check…” is hard to understand. If you pair “check” with “payment,” it sounds like you are referring to a checking account, not a low-payment amount.

2. Be careful with how you talk about rate discounts. They way First Tech wrote it, “.25% rate discount” sounds like the loan rate is going to be chopped by a full 25% instead of 25 basis points. It would be better to put a zero in front of rate, e.g., “0.25%” and perhaps call it a “rate reduction” instead of discount to be perfectly clear.

Weak “offer acceptance:”
3. It’s too hard to find the loan application in order to take advantage of the great rate. Members are directed back to the First Tech homepage where they must search for an loan app. The CU should either take members directly to a specific landing page for this offer, or at least drop them on the auto loan page. It does help that one of the four rotating homepage banners is for auto loans, but it’s third in the rotation and only stays in view for 15 seconds or so.

In addition, not everyone wants to research and/or apply online. A phone number, at least for more information, would be a welcome addition to the message.

Finally, there is no sense of urgency, e.g., “the rate is guaranteed through the weekend” or even “act now before rates increase.”

Overall grade: B

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First Tech Credit Union email to members promoting 2.99% auto loans (31 Aug. 2011; 9:28 AM Pacific)

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Fiserv Introduces Mobiliti Payments Suite

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on September 1, 2011
Categories: Fiserv

On Tuesday, Wisconsin-based Fiserv introduced Mobiliti, a mobile banking, alerting, and payments suite. This new platform supports a wide array of mobile banking functionality that includes remote deposit capture, bill payment, balance inquiry, and more.

“Mobiliti unites the functionality of Mobile Money from Fiserv and BankAnywhere from the recently acquired M-Com within a single product suite, and will replace both of those product brands. Mobiliti is available in multiple distinct versions tailored for use by financial institutions of varying sizes within both the United States and international markets.”

Considering the current environment, the release of this product is well-planned:

“Of nearly 2,000 clients polled during the Fiserv Focus client conference in April 2011, more than 74% indicated that they planned to increase their investments in mobile financial services during the next 12 months.”

To learn more about Fiserv, watch its FinovateFall 2010 demo.

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Outright’s Map Functionality Allows Users to View Sales by State

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on September 1, 2011
Categories: Outright.com

Online accounting software startup, Outright, recently improved the way users can visualize sales.

“At a glance, you can determine which states are sending you the most orders. You can click on the individual state to see exactly how many sales you made during that time period. Just go to the Reports tab and click on ‘Sales by State.’ You can click on the ‘Table’ link in the upper right to see the same information in a table format.”

To learn more about Outright, watch its FinovateFall 2010 demo.

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US Bank Implements eWise’s Secure Vault Payments for Online Tuition Payments

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on September 1, 2011
Categories: eWise

Yesterday, US Bank announced that it implemented eWise‘s Secure Vault Payments platform as a payment option for students at the University of Wisconsin-Stout who hold an account at US Bank or other Secure Vault Payment-enabled FI.

“With Secure Vault Payments, students or their parents initiate payments on a college or university web site and are automatically redirected to their own financial institution’s online banking platform to select which account they wish to use for payment. They are then returned to the school’s site, where they receive payment confirmation. Financial institutions authenticate the payer and immediately withdraw funds from the payer’s account and transfer funds to the school’s account the next business day.”

The school has received positive feedback so far and is expecting the new payment platform to mitigate tuition payment-processing costs.

To see an example of this payment platform, watch eWise’s FinovateSpring 2011 demo.

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FinovateEurope 2012 — Apply Now to Demo Your Newest Fintech Innovations Next Febuary in London

By finovate Posted on August 31, 2011
Categories: Finovate Europe

With FinovateFall coming up in a couple of weeks (please get your ticket before it’s too late) and a ton of buzz about the dozens of innovations that will debut there, you might have might have missed that we’ve begun accepting demo applications for our second annual FinovateEurope conference next February in London.

After selling out of tickets for our debut European conference weeks ahead of the event and winning rave reviews from the attendees, we’ve reserved a much larger venue to showcase the best new ideas in European/global banking and financial technology.

Applications for the London conference have already started to flow in at a strong pace — well ahead of last year’s volume — and we expect to showcase a diverse range of new innovations again. If you’d like to apply to demo your latest and great fintech innovation at the event, please email us at demo@finovate.com for more details.

FinovateEurope 2012 is sponsored by: BlueRock Consulting

FinovateEurope 2012 is partners with: Deutsch Startups, The Financial Services Club, and the Financial Services Innovation Centre

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FinovateEurope 2012 — Apply Now to Demo Your Newest Fintech Innovations

By finovate Posted on August 31, 2011
Categories: FinovateEurope 2012

FinovateEurope 2012 is sponsored by: BlueRock Consulting

FinovateEurope 2012 is partners with: Deutsch Startups, The Financial Services Club, and the Financial Services Innovation Centre

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miiCard Closes First Round of Funding with $900,000

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 31, 2011
Categories: MiiCard

Edinburgh-based miiCard, a company seeking to create a way for users to prove their identity online using an Internet identity card, closed its first round of funding today.

“The funding raised a total of over £550,000 ($900,000) from VC, angel and public sector sources. Investment has been secured from angel syndicate Par Equity, venture capital group IQ Capital and the Scottish Investment Bank’s Scottish Seed Fund.”

miiCard will demo its internet identity card at FinovateFall and is expected to launch in time for the 2011 Christmas season.

Get your ticket here to come see miiCard’s live demo at FinovateFall this September 20-21st.

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Launching: ING Direct Unveils $10 Million Campaign for Teen Banking

By Jim Bruene Posted on August 30, 2011
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Deposits, Checking, Savings, CDs, ING Direct, Youth market

Just last month we published a report (here) about the large, and mostly unmet, opportunity to bank tweens/teens AND their parents.

Evidently ING Direct didn’t need our report. The direct bank, soon to be part of Capital One, is launching an aggressive $10 million advertising campaign for its new MONEY account (note 1). There’s no official mention of the program at ING Direct, except for a wall post on its main Facebook page (see last screenshot).

However, several online elements have been released:

Microsite <ingdirectmoney.com> (see first screenshot below)
Facebook page <facebook.com/ThatsMoney> with 129 likes as of 2:00 PM Pacific, Aug. 29 (see screenshot 2)
Facebook app (screenshot 3-5)

Product: There’s only a few sentences describing the product, but it sounds like a standard checking account with debit card access. It will have no fees and no minimums and can be managed online (duh) and through a smartphone app.

Campaign: The $10 million campaign (note 2) is primarily fulfilled via Facebook (see screenshots below) and includes:

Advertising on Facebook and online
Supporting sweeps has (10) $1,000 prizes, (10) MacBooks, (20) iPod Touches
Those submitting pictures of themselves, may get it projected on a Times Square Jumbotron for 15 seconds (begins Sept. 15)

Our take: With 1% rates killing its traditional value proposition, it makes perfect sense for ING Direct to build for the future by positioning itself as a place that caters to the banking needs of the entire family. Well played.

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1. ING Direct’s teen-banking microsite at ingdirectmoney.com (30 Aug. 2011)
Note: In the lower right is a “pre-registration form” where the bank collects the name and email address of interested parties

2. Parents are encouraged to send a message to their children to let them know about the sweeps
Note: The lower right contains a place for parents to send email messages to their children

3. Facebook page at <facebook.com/ThatsMoney>

3. Facebook page info page (Facebook app)

4. Facebook page sign-up form

5. Thank-you page after pre-registering

6. Wall post this afternoon on main ING Direct Facebook page (link, 30 Aug. 2011)

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Notes:
1. New agency Berlin Cameron is spearheading the effort according to today’s Adweek article.
2. That’s about 40% of ING Direct’s projected $25 million media spend for 2011.
3. Hat tip: MyBankTracker
4. For more on teen banking, see our recent Online Banking Report.

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PayNearMe Announces Utility Bill Pay with Cash in Fairfield, CA

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on August 30, 2011
Categories: PayNearMe

California-based PayNearMe announced today that it has partnered with InfoSend, the billing-service provider for Fairfield, California, to allow residents to pay their utility bills using cash at 7-Eleven stores.

“InfoSend is able to print a unique barcode directly onto each City of Fairfield utility bill. Upon receipt of the bill, customers can go to any local 7-Eleven where their bar code is scanned at the register. They complete the transaction by paying in cash in a process that takes less than 60 seconds. The funds immediately post to customers’ accounts, and they receive detailed receipts for proof of payment.”

To learn more about PayNearMe, come see its live demo at FinovateFall in New York this September 20-21. Get your ticket here. And, to see an example of its cash-based utility payment service, watch PayNearMe’s Best Of Show demo from FinovateSpring 2011.

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New Online Banking Report Published: 2012 Guide to Remote Banking Products, Marketing, & Strategy

By Jim Bruene Posted on August 29, 2011
Categories: Online Banking Report, Planning, Strategic Planning, Strategies

It’s 479 days, 2 hours and 54 minutes until the end of the Mayan calendar* and you know what that means? Yep, it’s time to start putting together your 2012 business and marketing plans. And don’t think that the end of the world is any excuse to hold back.

As usual, we’ve got your back. Announcing OBR’s 2012 Online/Mobile Banking Planning Guide. Its goal: to provide a resource for financial institution managers (product and/or marketing) to help prioritize potential remote-banking projects for the coming year.

The latest version was released just this afternoon.

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About the report
______________________________________________

2012 Product, Pricing & Strategy Guide for Remote Banking (link)
Preparing for the mobile-first future

Author: Jim Bruene, Editor & Founder

Published: 29 Aug 2011

Length: 76 pages

Cost: No extra charge to OBR subscribers, $695 for others here

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The report contains a list of every idea that has appeared in Online Banking Report or this blog. There are more than 1,000 possible tactics listed in the current report, divided into the following categories:

1. Product tactics
A. Checking & transaction cards
B. Deposits & savings
C. Loans & credit
D. Personal finance management
E. Investments & insurance
F. Payments & transfers
G. Mobile banking/payments
H. Family (children, teens, tweens)

2. Online sales tactics
A. Increase online sales
B. Selling behind the password
C. Enter new markets & segments
D. Attract new residents (movers)
E. Increase referrals and word-of-mouth
F. Social media and Web 2.0
G. PR: appeal to community/shareholders

3. Service, security & retention tactics
A. Increase satisfaction levels
B. Enroll more online banking users
C. Encourage/reward self-service
D. Encourage paperless adoption
E. Address security concerns

4. Small business

5. Fee-based planner

6. Messages & alerts

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*We don’t want to feed into the Mayan calendar hysteria, but you might want to pick up these super cool keychains here.

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