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In yesterday’s post, I missed an important client of Trusteer’s anti-malware software. Zions Bank, a leader in showcasing its online security efforts (see 2006 post on multi-factor authentication), is the only Trusteer client to feature the program on its homepage (see below).
Zions Bank home page (10 June 2009)
Zions Bank security page (link)
Zions Bank Rapport page (link)
Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union is the latest big-name client for Trusteer’s anti-malware Rapport browser plug-in. The CU’s 350,000 members, or anyone else for that matter, can now download the free program via a link on the PSECU security page.
Current clients of Trusteer:
For more information and analysis, see previous posts on Trusteer and our Online Banking Report on New Security Techniques.
Trusteer homepage showcases ING Direct and PSECU (8 June 2009)
PSECU “security software” page (link, 8 June 2009)
Day two of the Mobile Commerce Summit ran just for the morning (see Day 1 highlights), but anyone who overslept missed the highlight of the conference: the much-too-short panel discussion on revenue opportunities that started at 8:15 AM and ended at 9:00 (note 1).
Panel: Mobile revenue opportunities
Observations from the panel:
Panel: Smartphone impact on the customer experience
Armin Ajami, VP retail Mobile channel, Wells Fargo
Alain DeSouza, sr. mgr., market development solutions marketing, Research in Motion
Note:
1. Note to conference organizers: Never start a session at 8:15 AM after a Thursday night in Las Vegas.
About 100+ folks gathered in the brand new M Resort near Las Vegas for the third annual Mobile Commerce Summit by SourceMedia. Jeff Dennes from USAA and Jim Simpson from City Bank of Texas, both provided an extraordinary amount of metrics on their mobile rollouts (details below).
The biggest innovation of the day was iPhone-enabled remote check-deposit capture soon to be available from USAA (official launch June 25; see picture below).
Session highlights
Jeff Dennes, executive director, mobile money & movement, USAA:
Jim Simpson, VP IT, City Bank of Texas
Ginger Schmeltzer, SVP, SunTrust
Patrick Reetz, VP & director, online banking, M&I Bank
Ellen Johnson, SVP retail online services, Huntington Bank
Juli Anne Callis, president & CEO, National Institutes of Health Federal Credit Union (previously at Keypoint Credit Union)
Amy Johnson, channel manager — CEO Mobile, Wells Fargo
Kevin Morrisson, AVP card products, H&R Block
Rebecca Mann, director of strategic alliances, Western Union
Lisa Stanton, CEO, Monitise America
Matt Krogstad, VP business development, M-Com
Clint Heyworth, attorney, consumer finance group, Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel
Tom Wills, senior analyst, Javelin Strategy & Research
Rebecca Sausner, editor, Bank Technology News
Sean Moshir, CEO, CellTrust (also mobile banking sub-committee co-chair of Mobile Marketing Association)
Chase Bank is sparing no expense in launching its brand in former WaMu strongholds, particularly Seattle, the previous headquarters of WaMu. The bank is remodeling the branches, hanging new signage, taking full-page ads in the Seattle paper, running radio spots, and bidding for the top spot on Google.
Analysis
The Chase Washington State microsite is gorgeous, really impressive. The graphic design is eye-catching, serene, and uplifting. Chase’s logo is superimposed where the sun would be, creating a nice effect and great first impression of the bank, which is new to Washington state (see screenshot 1 below).
While the website designer scores an A+, the online app gets an incomplete (as in, I couldn’t get it to work), at least for the checking account I tried to purchase (note 2).
My first issue with the application, and this is more of a nitpick, is the location of the compare accounts links. Chase lists four main checking choices plus two student-oriented accounts (see screenshot 2 below). Since the account names provide no help in selecting the right one, I looked for a way to compare accounts. But my eyes were drawn to the Get Details and Open now buttons, and I never saw the links in the upper right corner. Since most users will need help selecting the right checking account, the Compare option should be at least as prominent as the Get Details button.
The much bigger issue prompting me to write this article is that online account opening didn’t work, at least for the account I selected, Chase Premier Platinum Checking. After completing the first page of the online app (see screenshot 3 below), I was greeted with a cryptic message telling me to visit a branch for help (see note 1). And this is from a bank introducing its name in a new market.
Lessons for financial institutions:
Unable to Continue: We are unable to open a Premier Checking account
online. Please visit your local Chase Branch for assistance.
1. Chase Bank’s Washington-state transition site main page (1 June 2009)
2. Chase checking account options
3. First page of Chase’s online loan application
4. Fail screen displayed after hitting next on previous screen
Notes:
1. I had selected “not a Chase customer” so I thought perhaps I was having trouble because the bank’s cookie’s showed me to be a Chase card holder. So I tried it on another machine, with the cookies erased, and the same thing happened.
2. The problem seems to be with Premier Platinum Checking. I was able to start the app process just fine with Chase Checking.
3. Chase isn’t the only one with online account-opening problems. I am researching account opening for an upcoming Online Banking Report, and just today I reached a complete dead-end in the online application at a large credit union, and was forced to abandon the app late in the process, after I’d been through credit-bureau validation.
Usually, it’s the big ideas that get all the press. Last week alone, Microsoft launched a new search engine (Bing), Google announced a new way to communicate (Google Wave), and Facebook began rolling out an alt-payment service to its 200 million users.
Those have intriguing long-term ramifications, but can they save you money today?
Here’s something a little more pragmatic: A tool that promises to make it easy to challenge your tax assessment, potentially saving hundreds or thousands of dollars annually. Enter LowerMyAssessment.com (LMA).
I saw a few screenshots of the service during the company’s application to debut at FinovateStartup 2009 last month (demo video here). But I couldn’t use the service until a few weeks ago.
How it works
Consumers visiting LMA can use the website’s free tool to check their home’s value against current market estimates. LMA taps public databases to determine tax-assessed values and calculates market value from various third-party sources such as Zillow.
The company then makes the simple math calculation and informs users if the value of their home is under the tax-assessed value. If it is, LMA provides forms and instructions to challenge tax assessments with the local assessor’s office.
In our test case, using an address in Seattle, one of 10 states currently served by LMA, we were told that its assessed value was $300,000 more than the market value (note 2). LMA encouraged me to register and let them help me challenge that assessment.
Registered users complete an online form with info needed to challenge their assessment (see screenshot 3 below). After completing that form, users must pay $125 to complete the challenge process and receive their FairValue Report (shown above).
Analysis
While the cost-saving potential is significant, the challenge for LMA is getting consumers to shell out $125 for something they can conceivably do themselves (note 3). It took us just a few minutes using Google to uncover the challenge forms and procedures at the King County website. And market value estimates can be pulled from Zillow and its competitors.
To reduce sticker shock, the company recently removed the big $125 price tag from its homepage (see screenshot 1) and is now emphasizing the free lookup feature (screenshot 2). I can understand downplaying a three-figure fee, especially online. But now they’ve gone too far the other way. I cannot find the price of the service anywhere on the website. It wasn’t disclosed until I completed my registration and filled out the challenge form (see screenshot 4 below).
There’s also the small matter of getting the word out. The major market opportunity will largely be gone once home prices get back to their pre-recession levels, even though there will always be cases where consumers feel their assessment is unfair. But LMA needs to team with major financial or real estate firms as soon as possible to reach large groups of potential customers.
Bank and credit union opportunities
As discussed in previous posts, direct fee income is scarce in online banking, at least in the United States. Aside from credit bureau monitoring, there are few up-front fees that consumers are willing to pay. Certainly, banks earn billions from the underlying checking, debit, and credit card accounts, but nothing from the value added online.
It’s possible the service could be replicated by a bank or mortgage provider using available APIs from Zillow or others. But for most banks, it would be far simpler to outsource the service to LMA or other specialists.
If the service were sold for $100+, with revenue shared 50/50, a bank or credit union could earn a respectable profit while providing a unique and free service to customers; however, the folks at City Hall may not be so appreciative. If city government is a big customer, you might tread carefully here.
1. New LowerMyAssessment homepage emphasizes free (2 June 2009)
2. Previous homepage disclosed the substantial fee up-front (12 May 2009)
3. Online appeal form for King County Washington (2 June 2009)
![clip_image002[8]](http://www.netbanker.com/WindowsLiveWriter/LowerMyAssessment.comLauncheswith125Fee_E0C1/clip_image002%5B8%5D.jpg)
4. $125 (+tax) fee is not disclosed until checkout (2 June 2009)
Notes:
1. States currently covered: Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Washington
2. That was on May 11. Now, three weeks later, LMA shows the house having declined another 20%. Home prices are certainly fluctuating, but n
ot that much. It appears that LMA has switched to using Zillow’s low estimate instead of the mid-range one. That may help sell more services, but it’s a bit misleading. It would be much better to show the range of potential market values pulling data from all three third-party valuation sites, in much the way RedFin does.
3. They also have some work to do in clarifying the buying process. It’s not really clear exactly what you are buying at checkout. Are you submitting a property-tax challenge at that point? What about the FairValue Report? When do you see that? But we’ll cut them slack on that since they just launched a few weeks ago.
It’s not often I see an unfamiliar name amongst the top bidders for “online banking” at Google. But today, the sixth advertiser on the right-hand column (number nine overall), was an ad supposedly from CenturyCU.org (see ad right and search results page below).
The ad had a seemingly clear call to action, Visit Our Credit Union Today For Online Banking! However, when I clicked on the link, it lead to a .info page full of ads unrelated to the legitimate Century Credit Union (see second screenshot below).
While this doesn’t appear to be a phishing attempt since it’s not displayed on searches for “Century Credit Union” or “Centurycu.org,” it is a bit disconcerting. It’s clearly a violation of Google’s terms of service and shouldn’t have made it past Google’s filters, but they are not perfect.
But my bigger question is: How does a spammy .info site make it to the top-10 advertisers on this popular banking term? Are there really so few serious bank or credit union bidders in the area? Or is it that the Google AdWords ROI just isn’t there right now?
Other than a regional Chase ad on the top <chase.com/washington>, it wasn’t until the fifth page of results that another Northwest financial institution made an appearance, Coastal Community Bank advertising its BancVue/FirstROI-powered high-yield checking account (landing page here).
Search results page for online banking (1 June 2009, 3:20 PM from Seattle/Comcast IP address)
Landing page for the fake CenturyCU.org Google ad (1 June 2009)
We just uploaded our latest Online Banking Report.
It will be mailed to subscribers next week. It’s also available online here. There’s no charge for current subscribers; others may access it immediately
for US$595.
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Connecting to Customers with Twitter
The comprehensive guide to Twitter for financial institutions
84 pages (published 25 May 2009)
Twitter is everywhere these days (note 1). Those who use it think it’s the best thing since the invention of email. Those who don’t, think it’s just another Internet fad, enjoying its 15 minutes of fame before flaming out with only a Wikipedia entry to remember it by.
The reality: No one knows exactly how it will play out, but it’s something likely in between those two extremes.
We are not surprised Twitter has taken off as a social connector. It’s a lot like other extremely popular communication methods: email, texting, and instant messaging. The rise of MySpace, Facebook and other social networks has paved the way.
However, what’s surprising is that Twitter is actually a surprisingly effective, and extremely cost-effective, way for companies to engage online with customers and prospects (see Wachovia example in the inset).
Numbering more than 200 in the United States alone, there are already more financial institutions using Twitter than any other so-called social network. Most have started in the last month or two (see previous coverage).
In this report (abstract), guest author Jeffry Pilcher (note 2), a branding and marketing guru who recently launched his own brand consultancy, ICONiQ, tells you exactly what you should and shouldn’t do with Twitter. He was an early adopter of the tool, and an expert on harnessing its power.
The report includes:
Notes:
1. USA Today even had a story on the front of the Money section two weeks ago, entitled, “Banks try social networking, jump on Twitter wagon“
2. Jeffry Pilcher blogs at The Financial Brand and frequently tweets here. He maintains a comprehensive listing of banks and credit unions on Twitter here.
Feedback is important for improvement and reaching one’s maximum potential. That fact is why businesses have regular reviews for top employees, the best athletes have coaches and elite schools have grades. In order to be their best, people and businesses need to regularly receive criticism, suggestions, advice and ideas from others. We at NetBanker are no different.
So we’d love for you to take 5 (or less) short minutes to fill out our annual reader survey (it’s completely anonymous). This is your chance to tell us a little about yourself, what matters to you, how we can do better and more. Please help us serve you better by clicking the link below and filling it out right now:
http://www.netbanker.com/2009readersurvey.htm
If you’d rather give your feedback in a more personal way than this survey, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. Thanks!
Eric Mattson is CEO of Online Financial Innovations, the parent company of NetBanker, Online Banking Report and the Finovate Conference Series. He can be reached at [email protected] or 206-331-1178.
Rumors abound that Apple will super-size its iPod Touch next year with a 7- to 10-inch-screen version. VentureBeat has a compelling picture (inset), although it’s not likely to be authentic.
The thinking is that this device fits nicely between the $299 iPod Touch and the $999+ MacBook with a price in the
$600- to $700-range.
The device is expected to run the iPhone OS and use the same touchscreen interface as its much-smaller siblings. That makes it the perfect in-home device for running any of the 40,000+ apps available in App Store.
Why it’s important
Because there are apps for everything, this device could become the de facto controller for key in-home systems running the television, DVR, telephone (especially if it has a built-in web cam), heating and air conditioning, plus the audio system, of course. It will also be perfect for checking the weather in the morning, the traffic on the way out the door, reading feeds, twittering, and sharing YouTube videos and photos with visitors at the kitchen table.
And while those are the interesting uses, the Apple device will also be a convenient way to access all types of information, from Google, to ESPN, to your bank balance, all with the touch of button.
Significance for banks and credit unions
If Apple works its magic yet again, this device could end up in the living room of half the upscale households in the world.
While this device can run a browser to access any website, the user experience is much better with a native app (see note 1). And when push notifications become available in the next OS release, it will be even better.
Note:
1. For more information on why you must build a native iPhone app for your financial institution, see our recent Online Banking Report on iPhone Mobile Banking.
We are always on the lookout for examples of U.S. financial institutions charging fees for value-added services online (see note 1). In the past seven or eight years, the sightings have been rare.
But today, we have a great one. And like most brilliant ideas, it seems pretty obvious in retrospect. The new service from Mercantile Bank of Michigan is called Funds Manager (PDF FAQs here) and it’s not only a great service innovation, but also promises to bring fees back to online banking.
How it works
Funds Manager is basically a consumer version of positive pay, a standard offering in commercial banking. In the commercial version, clients look at checks and electronic items being presented for payment, and can nix any that are fraudulent.
Mercantile launched similar capabilities for its retail customers, allowing them to peek at their pending checks and ACH items a half-day before they are withdrawn from their account (see note 1).
Between 11 AM and noon, the bank posts the checks that will be processed that evening, giving customers a few hours lead time to make a transfer to avoid an upcoming overdraft. Customers have until 5 PM to make a branch deposit or 7 PM to make an online transfer to cover a shortfall.
Mercantile’s online and mobile banking are powered by S1.
Business case
Sure, the service would impact OD/NSF income. But the bank makes up for that by charging a small fee, $4/mo, for the service. Given the type of customer who’d be drawn to this service, $48/yr should more than cover any lost OD income. And it provides a service that improves customer satisfaction and differentiates the bank from others. Business customers pay $30/mo, a potentially lucrative small-business service.
According to an article in Friday’s American Banker, the bank has signed up a quarter of its retail online banking customers for the service (558 of 2,361). While the $27,000 in annual revenues to Mercantile barely covers costs, if Bank of America experienced similar penetration, it would be worth more than $250 million per year, a nice boost to the online banking P&L.
Opportunities
Not only is consumer positive pay a nice standalone service, it could be the cornerstone of a premium online banking option that could be priced at $5/mo or more.
It would be even better if users received email or text-message alerts whenever they had items to review. And it would be a great addition to an iPhone/mobile app where the items could be reviewed, and transfers initiated, right on the phone.
Notes:
1. Please email other examples to me or add them to the comments.
2. The advanced look does not include branch deposits, ATM transactions, wire transfers, or telephone transfers.
More than 10 months after the iPhone App Store launched, two U.S. credit unions have joined the application marketplace, which numbers more than 40,000 in the U.S. store alone.
The first was Texas Dow Employees Credit Union (TDECU), whose ATM and shared-branch locator, Culoc8, launched on April 29, according to the company’s Twitter page (below, link). 
The TDECU app (see inset) is unbranded and can be offered by other CUs to their members.
Eaton Family Credit Union is offering CuLoc8 to members on its website (see below).
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Yesterday, Tech CU, became the first credit union with a full-featured branded native iPhone app (App Store link, see note 1). The app (see below) includes full online banking functionality and an ATM/shared branch finder (second screenshot). The credit union also added something we haven’t seen yet, an iPhone optimized feed of its blog, Money Savvy (third screenshot). Nice touch.
Tech CU has offered a mobile website since Sept. 2007.
Note:
1. America First Credit Union was the first CU with native iPhone support via its participation in Firethorn’s shared mobile banking app which launched in Nov. 2008.
