Mobile Banking

Kiwibank Uses iPhone Launch to Spark Interest in Mobile Banking

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Apple, iPhone, Mobile Banking

image Kiwibank has one of the most eye-catching homepage designs in the world.  Who can resist a lime green Smart Car with four monstrous speakers strapped to the roof?

As I was obsessing about iPhone apps this week (see note 1), I ran across Kiwibank’s landing page for iPhone banking (see second screenshot below). Now that the iPhone has gone global, we’ll see if more banks leverage the iPhone hype, something that didn’t really happen in the United States so much. According to CNet Australia, ANZ is building an iPhone-specific interface, but a search of the ANZ website found nothing.

Kiwibank’s homepage iPhone promo, one of three rotating in the lower right, leads to the not-so-exciting landing page. Still, when you are riding the hype, you don’t necessarily have to put that much effort into your own work (see note 2), just grab ahold of Apple’s coattails and hang on tight.

Kiwibank homepage featuring iPhone promo (11 July 2008)

Kiwi Bank hompage with iPhone banking ad (11 July 2008)

Kiwi Bank iPhone banking landing page (11 July 2008)

image

Notes:
1. Yesterday, I promised it was my last iPhone post for a while, but I couldn’t resist one more. Consider it a Saturday bonus post.

2. Case-in-point, the BofA non-app app being dissed by the vast majority of early-early-adopter reviewers at the Apple App Store (see yesterday’s post).

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USAA and Provident Bank Post iPhone Web Apps in Apple’s Directory

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Apple, iPhone, Mobile Banking, USAA

USAA iPhone mobile banking app (July 2008) It took almost six months, but Bank of America finally has company in Apple’s iPhone Web App Directory (see note 1).

USAA posted its iPhone-optimized Web app on July 2 (here). USAA’s browser-based app can be used by anyone with online access to their USAA accounts
(see note 2).

The resolution in the screenshot (right) is not great, but you can see the bank is using large iPhone-like icons to navigate to the main functions:

  • Balance/transaction inquiry
  • Funds transfer
  • Bill payment
  • Stock trading
  • Order auto insurance cards

Provident Bank added its mShift-powered solution to the Apple directory June 11. Users are able to perform all typical online banking functions: balance/transaction inquiry,image transfer funds, and pay bills. Its pedestrian format (see below) is clearly built to work across many different mobile devices. The small links would be harder to navigate on an iPhone compared to USAA’s icons.

See previous iPhone banking coverage here.

Notes:
1. BofA was first in the United States. Germany’s Postbank was the first bank in the world in the app directory, beating BofA by a few weeks last fall.

2. These are mobile browser-based solutions optimized for the iPhone. They are NOT native apps running on the iPhone OS, soon to be featured in Apple’s App Store (see previous post).

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Stealth Finsphere Corp Lands $10 mil for Mobile Transaction Verification Services

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Credit/Debit Cards, Finsphere, Mobile Banking, Mobile Payments, Security

imageLast week, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported on a Pacific Northwest stealth startup that’s receiving a lot of attention from Silicon Valley, at least measured in dollars. The $10 million round for Finsphere is an impressive endorsement, especially given the apparent involvement of prominent VC Mohr Davidow.

There’s not a lot we know about the company other than the founders are out of the wireless industry, and the company’s services are described as “location-based transaction verification services.” That sounds like using the GPS-based or triangulated location of mobile phone users to authenticate card transactions and/or online banking logins. Armed with the GPS reading, card companies would know that you (or at least your mobile phone) are where your credit card activity says you are, e.g., buying a tank of gas in Washington D.C.

With GPS capabilities coming to the iPhone next month, this could be a very large market indeed. If we are right about the product, we’ll try to convince the company to demo at one of our Finovate conferences. 

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Bank of America Hits Two Milestones: One Million Mobile and 25 Million Online Users

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Bank of America, Metrics & Market Research, Mobile Banking

image As expected, Bank of America reached the one-million-mobile-user milestone this week. Last month the bank disclosed it had 840,000 active mobile users as of March 31. With 160,000 new users in the past 9+ weeks, it appears that BofA has stayed on the 75,000/mo pace of first quarter.

Even more interesting to me was the news that the bank has "nearly 25 million" online banking users. That's 3 million more than the bank had last fall, an impressive 13% gain. Six years ago, there weren't even 20 million online banking households in the entire country (see note 1).

The bank also passed along a few other mobile metrics in today's press release:

  • 40% are using mobile for money movement (bill pay and/or funds transfer within BofA accounts)
  • 80% viewed transactions and balance data (leaving 20% who check balances only)
  • In May, the bank had 4 million mobile sessions, or 4.2 sessions per user/per month, assuming 950,000 active users
  • Two-thirds of mobile users are under 35, about 13% are age 35-44 and 20% are older than 45

Note:

1. Source: Online Banking Report: 2008 through 2017 Forecast

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Put Your Bank in Apple’s iPhone 3G App Store

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Apple, Intuit, iPhone, Mobile Banking

I’ve written about how the iPhone could change the way consumers use mobile phones to access data (see note 1). But this slide from the Steve Jobs keynote yesterday at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), says it much better:

Steve Jobs keynote slide showing iPhone advanced feature usage

In case you can’t read the slide, it says that 98% of iPhone users use the built-in Safari browser, 94% use email and 90% use text messaging. That’s an amazing level of usage for what used to be considered “advanced” smartphone features. So far, the impact on ecommerce companies has been relatively small, with just 6 million users worldwide. But with Apple dropping the price by 50% to $199, there will soon be 10, 20, or 30 million Americans connecting to the Web via iPhone. If 90%+ use the browser and messaging, it will have a major impact in online/mobile banking usage.

New App Store
imageAnd to help those millions of new users find useful things to do on their phone, Apple is building a new App Store, accessible directly from the main deck of the iPhone once users download the 2.0 software in July. The App Store will include thousands of applications optimized for the iPhone that can be downloaded over the air.

Quickbooks on iphoneSome will have a cost, with the developer keeping 70% of the revenue, but most are expected to be free. Since there is NO COST to list your app in Apple’s App Store (see update below), financial services companies should rush to get their app loaded as close to the July 11 launch date as possible.

So far, only two banks, Bank of America and Germany’s Postbank, have included their apps in the current online applications directory (here). A number of other financial apps are listed including Wesabe, Buxfer, and the latest, QuickBooks from Intuit (see inset right and screenshots below). Expect many more in the months and years to come.

Update 11 June: Important clarification from commenter “gerontius” (number 3 below). The current app directory includes webpages optimized for the iPhone. The new App Directory will include “native” apps that run directly on the iPhone operating system. That makes the bar quite a bit higher, depending on what you want to do. 

 

Bank of America Bank of America on iphone   Buxfer Buxfer on iphone 

myBudget myBudget on iphone       Postbank Postbank ibanking on iphone

 

Wesabe Wesabe on iphone          Yodlee  Yodlee on iphone

Note:

1. For more info, see our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking

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WaMu Launches Text-based Mobile Banking

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Mobile Banking, SMS, Washington Mutual

imageWaMu just launched its first foray into mobile banking, a text-message-based (SMS) service believed to be powered by New Zealand’s M-Com (previous post here). Thanks to Brandon McGee, blogging from his vacation via iPhone, for the tip (here).

The free service provides text-based access to balance and history of checking and savings accounts. To use the mobile services, WaMu customers must first register through online banking to activate their phone. Up to five phones can be registered through a single online banking account.  

Chase is the other U.S. top-10 bank using a primarily text-based approach for mobile delivery. See our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking for more information on the growing market, including a 10-year adoption forecast.

More info at the WaMu website:

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Mobile Banking Uptake: Bank of America Closing in on 1 million Mobile Users

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Bank of America, Chase Bank, Metrics & Market Research, Mobile Banking

Bank of America iphone mobile bankingIn its latest quarterly financial results (here), Bank of America said it signed up 224,000 new users during the quarter to bring its active mobile banking base to 840,000. Assuming the 75,000/mo pace continues through second quarter, the bank should be over 900,000 now and will surpass 1 million in the next few weeks.

Although it’s a nice milestone, it’s only 4% of the bank’s 23+million active online banking users (here). Given that mobile is pushed frequently in the bank’s online banking area, one could argue that 4% adoption is pretty anemic. But according to M:Metrics, less than 14% of U.S. mobile phone users accessed info via the mobile Web in February. So 4% of a 14% universe is much more impressive, indicating the bank has tapped almost 1/3 of the short-term potential for mobile Web-based services, a good start.

To really goose adoption, text-based solutions may need more emphasis (see Chase screenshot below). According to M:Metrics, U.S. text users outnumbered mobile Web users almost 4 to 1 in February, 110 million to 30 million.

Industry forecast update
These adoption rates are about what we expected. In the forecast published a year ago in our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking, we were relatively bearish short term, projecting 900,000 mobile users by year-end 2007 growing to 2.5 million by the end of 2008.

With BofA reporting 840,000 and assuming they have about half of all users, the U.S. market has likely already passed the 1.5 million mark and will end the year at more than 3 million.

The adoption rate depends on how hard banks push mobile options. Along with BofA, Chase has been one of the most aggressive, showing mobile use in its advertising for several years now (previous coverage here). I love its “Text your account. It texts you back.” Just seven words conveying more than most 3-minute demos.

 

Chase Bank Text Mobile banking

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Deposit Paper Checks via Mobile Phone?

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Mobile Banking, Remote Deposit Capture

imageimageJudging by the title and the date of this post,  you might think it a prank.

But no, Mitek Systems has actually developed software that lets you deposit paper checks by taking their picture with your mobile phone and transmitting the images to your bank. The company has a good demo of the service on the product page.

The company first demo'd it to bankers at BAI's Transpay in early February (press release here). I wasn't there but I heard it was a must-see on the trade show floor.

Here's how it works:

  • Call up the app on your phone (first-time users would need to download the app from the bank)
  • Log in
  • Enter the amount of the check
  • Take a photo of the front of the check
  • Wait for the software to optimize the photo
  • Take a photo of the back of the check
  • Wait for the software to optimize the photo
  • Transmit it to the bank
  • Receive a confirmation message from the bank

Analysis
I'll admit, I didn't see this one coming. And I still can't decide if it's a good idea. On the one hand, it's cool and innovative and allows you to do something on your mobile that you really can't do on your PC (although a digital camera hooked to your PC could do the same thing). I could imagine a smaller service business with just a couple checks per month using it. The photo documentation of the deposited check would be handy to have and a dedicated check scanner is too pricey (note 1).

But for consumers? Not many would go through this much trouble to deposit a check. It would be easier to drop it in an ATM, the mail, or walk it into their branch during lunch hour. And no major business can use it. Biz owners don't want their bookkeepers snapping photos of customer checks with their Razr. 

If you have a massive tech budget, it might be worth the cost to demonstrate that you are the leading innovator in your market. Or if your mobile banking vendor can deliver this capability within a larger mobile banking system for little or no extra cost, give it some thought.

But if your are already behind on your 2008 plan, your budget fits on the display of an eight-digit calculator, or you are still haven't gotten around to creating an iPhone button for your bank, this is not the project for you.

Let me know what you think.  

Note:

1. CheckFree or USAA's system using existing home scanners might work better for most small- or micro-businesses.

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iPhone Compatibility at the Largest U.S. Banks

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Bank of America, iPhone, Mobile Banking

As I was holding my family's place in a long line over the holidays (note 1), I took the opportunity to look at the 20 largest U.S. retail banks through my iPhone. They are all passable as long as you are willing to take the time to zoom in and navigate with your finger on the touchscreen. 

The best-looking sites are those with relatively simple hompage designs, notably ING Direct and HSBC and to a lesser extent Wells Fargo. But the hands-down winner is Bank of America, the only top-20 U.S. bank with an iPhone-optimized homepage.

This provides BofA with several short-term advantages:

  • Bragging rights as the first major bank to design for the iPhone
  • A spot on Apple's directory of Web apps for iPhone (here) (screenshot below)  
  • Several mentions in tech and personal finance blogs
  • An entree to the 1.4 million, decidedly upscale, iPhone users

Note:

1. Survey of 20 largest U.S retail banks, by deposit size, made at 4 PM on Dec. 24 from Seattle IP address through iPhone browser on AT&T Edge network.

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Why is Wachovia Advertising Mobile Banking on Seattle Radio?

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Cingular, Mobile Banking, Wachovia

Wachovia Bank is not exactly a household word in Seattle. According to the bank's website, the nearest retail branch is 627 miles away in Sacramento, California (see note 1). So I was surprised to hear an advertisement for Wachovia's mobile banking services in the middle of the afternoon on a relatively obscure alt-rock station in the heart of Seattle yesterday. 

Wondering whether I'd missed an acquisition or maybe the launch of a direct banking effort in the Seattle metro area, I Googled "wachovia seattle" and confirmed there were no retail branches (note 1, 2). I double checked through wachovia.com's office locator which informed me there were no offices within 30 miles.

As for direct banking, there were no bank ads displayed for "wachovia," "wachovia bank" or "wachovia direct" on either Google or Yahoo, so I'm pretty sure Wachovia is not targeting Seattle on the direct banking front.

But searching "wachovia mobile" did result in a targeted ad on Google which led to a mobile banking landing page at Wachovia (see below).

And surprisingly, AT&T Wireless was advertising under "wachovia seattle." Unfortunately, they dropped interested parties on its wireless homepage (see below), not the mobile banking page. Finding mobile banking on AT&T's site requires using the search box. It's buried under the not-so-obvious "Ringtones & More" category (note 3).

Summary
I still don't know why Wachovia is advertising in Seattle. I suspect it was an inadvertent placement within a larger radio buy. And/or the advertising was orchestrated by AT&T Wireless, which has a large Seattle metro presence, but no mobile banking partner in the area. Perhaps Wachovia was dropped into the regionalized ad by default. In any event, it's wasted air time. 

Note:
1. There are three Wachovia Securities brokerage offices, but those aren't even listed on the main Wachovia website. 

2. Search conducted at 2 PM Dec 20 from a Seattle IP address.

3. Note to AT&T: Time to update your FAQs and webpage, which still say that mobile banking is "coming soon" at Wachovia.

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Voice-to-Text Banking

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Mobile Banking, Voice-to-Text

In all the discussions about mobile banking — will it be text-based, go through a mobile website, or do 225 million U.S. mobile phones all have to download some sort of an app — there is little discussion on an obvious use case, voice to text.

The only person I've heard talking about this publicly is Richard Crone of Crone Consulting, a fixture on the conference circuit, and the keynoter at SourceMedia's Mobile eCommerce conference in June (see our previous coverage here).

Here's what I want my bank, card company, and credit union to offer (assumes my mobile phone is registered with my bank):

Call my bank's 800 number from my mobile phone, then without touching the keypad, simply say "text me" and hang up (or for multiple account holders, "text me checking," "text me credit card," and so on). Or if background noise is bad or the connection isn't clear, let me press a single number on the first VRU tree that triggers the same text message.

Then, the bank sends me an SMS message with my current and available balance and last ten transactions, or whatever else would fit in the 160 character message. Ideally, I could text back to get more transactions or even make a transfer. But I'll take just the simple one-way message for now.

Would I pay for it? No. But I'm not the core market, since I'm online 24/7. But if I'm a a twenty-something, on the go and managing my account to the last $25 every week, a reasonable fee ($0.25) per message would seem fair. Would it decrease overdraft income? Yep, some. But you'd have a happier customer and potentially some decreased call center expenses.

Zillow Example
While I don't know any banks using this approach, Jott, which is a voice-to-text Web 2.0 company, recently used Zillow's API to offer voice-to-text delivery of home values (see Zillow blog post here). After registering with the sites, users can call Jott, say an address, and receive a text message with the estimated home value of the property. While this is not exactly a mainstream app, it's surely valuable for real estate agents, home buyers, and nosy neighbors.

For more information on this topic read our Mobile Banking & Payments Report.

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Firethorn and Monitise Make Major Announcements

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: CheckFree, Finovate, Firethorn Mobile, Metavante, Mobile Banking, Monitise

September, October and November are traditionally great months for new product announcements. True to form, at least five major U.S. mobile banking announcements appeared last week. Brandon McGee posts a quick synopsis here.

Of special interest were the announcements by Firethorn/CheckFree and Monitise/Metavante, all of which will be presenting at our upcoming FINOVATE conference in New York City on Oct. 2 (see note 1).

Firethorn
Firethorn ended a relatively quiet stretch with an important announcement, the addition of Ogden, Utah-based America First Credit Union to its mobile banking consortium which includes Wachovia Bank among others (see previous coverage here). The top-10 credit union has more than 400,000 members and gives Firethorn a reference account in the credit union and non-mega-bank categories. The service is expected to go live in early 2008.

We've had the pleasure of hearing the Firethorn story several times, but going into the critical fall marketing period, it will be interesting to hear an update on the Firethorn rollout with AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Monitise/Metavante Joint Venture
Although disclosed in March of this year, the Monitise and Metavante joint venture was officially announced last week (here). Monitise crosses the Atlantic with mobile banking and payment solutions already widely deployed in its United Kingdom home market under the MONILINK brand. Its client list reads like a who's who of U.K. financial and telecom players: BT Global Services, T-Systems, HSBC, First Direct, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Hutchison 3G. The JV's Oct. 2 presentation at FINOVATE marks the first time the new entity, Monitise Americas, will be on stage to DEMO the new service expected be available by year-end.

Note:

1. Our FINOVATE 2007 DEMO conference is expected to sell out some time next week, so if you want to reserve a place you should register ASAP at www.finovate.com.

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