Mobile Banking Archives - Page 8 of 20

Can Banks and Credit Card Issuers Outflank Groupon with Merchant-Funded Rewards?

By Jim Bruene Posted on March 24, 2011
Categories: Mobile Banking, Mobile Commerce, Mobile Payments, Rewards Programs

Groupon may be the biggest company in history that everyone thinks they could have built. Facebook, I guess, is up there too.

It seems everyone is wondering how they could do the “Groupon of ____” (fill in the blank). In my world, the blank is “banking.” I already wrote about the potential for selling financial products through Groupon and other flash marketing sites last July, so I won’t repeat that part. Anyway, that’s Groupon 1.0.

It’s Groupon 2.0 that I think is even more interesting for financial institutions. The new model, coming in a few weeks, is all about mobile deals. The company is said to be planning on adding two buttons to your smartphone:

I’m hungry…which will alert you to nearby Groupons you can use for food deals.

I’m bored…which will alert you to just about anything else Groupon sells.

It’s brilliant. And so simple. Again, everyone will wish they’d built it.

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Banking Opportunities
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So how could you do the same thing in personal finance? What would those buttons be?

I’m broke….leads to ATM finder, cash-back location, credit card site, loan app, friends & family loans, P2P lender, etc.
I’ve just been paid…leads to ATM finder, branch locations, deposit accounts, billpay, investments, automated savings plans, etc.
I’m out of town…leads to ATM finder, FX locations, travel services,
resource locator, card-issuer notifications, security preferences, etc.

But those are all pretty much standard functions of online/mobile banking today. The bigger opportunity may be to beat Groupon at the local level, with merchant-funded rewards tied to debit/credit cards (see note 1). Banks could potentially use the same “hungry/bored buttons” and direct customers to cash-back deals at restaurants and other merchants making offers to your cardholders.

Bottom line: Location-based rewards is another example of why mobile banking will be more important than online banking. To put it simply:

Banks enable commerce.

Mobile enables location-based commerce.

So financial institutions are right in the middle of a multi-billion dollar shift in retail spending. Enjoy all the opportunities!

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Notes:
1. For more on merchant-funded rewards, see the latest Online Banking Report.
2. Picture credit: All Things Digital

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U.S. Bank Launches Both PC and Mobile Remote Deposit

By Jim Bruene Posted on March 15, 2011
Categories: Mobile Banking, Remote Deposit Capture, US Bank

I was surprised to see the news release that U.S. Bank had upgraded its Firethorn-powered mobile banking app to include mobile remote deposit. I’ve been following the development of the bank’s PC-scanner-based remote deposit option which also launched yesterday, and I’d never seen the mobile option mentioned (previous post).

True to form, when I logged in to my account online and clicked on the “Make a Deposit (New)” link, there was still no mention of the mobile option. However, I was greeted with the news that I was now eligible to use the bank’s new PC scanner-based program at a cost of $0.50 per deposit.

I went through the simple online enrollment process (see below), but didn’t test an actual deposit because I don’t have a scanner attached to my laptop.

Bottom line: Congratulations to US Bank for being the second major bank to support both mobile and PC-based consumer remote deposit, trailing just USAA which launched PC-remote deposit in Dec. 2006 and the mobile version in Aug. 2009. Chase also offers mobile consumer remote deposit (launched in July 2010) but does not offer a consumer PC-based service.

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How it works
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1. Select “Make a Deposit” link on left

2. Enrollment
Users must enter their email address, agree to the terms, and answer the following three usage questions:

3. Select “Get Started” on main deposit page

4. Choose account to deposit to

5. Enter check details

6. Error message requesting Java be downloaded

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Chase Bank Uses QR Code in Homepage Banner

By Jim Bruene Posted on January 20, 2011
Categories: Advertising & Promotion, Chase Bank, Mobile Banking

Here’s the first time I’ve seen a QR code used on a bank’s homepage. After an animation sequence (below) announcing Chase Bank’s new Android mobile banking app, the final graphic displays a code that Android smartphone users can scan to download the new app. Very clever.

Chase Bank homepage (20 Jan. 2011)

Landing page (link)

Animation graphic 1:

Animation graphic 2:

Animation graphic 3:

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Another Promising Mobile App that Does Away with Paper: Intuit’s SnapTax

By Jim Bruene Posted on January 10, 2011
Categories: Intuit, iPhone, Mobile Banking, Tax Prep

I meandered into Intuit’s lab site today and ran across a nifty app released last year called TurboTax SnapTax. It allowed California residents to file simple tax returns by photographing their W-2 form, answering a few questions, then e-filing directly from the iPhone app (inset).

As you can see in the following video, the whole process could be completed in a few minutes. The app launched last year on Jan. 15, just in time for the 2010 tax season. The cost was $9.99 which included Federal and state e-filing.

There’s no word yet on whether the company will be releasing a 2011 version (update: it launches Jan. 13, 2011 and is good in all 50 states). There is no entry in the iTunes store for SnapTax as of today. However, Intuit does have two tax tools available: TaxCaster to estimate your refund and MyTaxRefund to track it.

Analysis: The Intuit app is part of a trend we expect to continue, using smartphone cameras to capture, store, and eliminate the need to store paper receipts and statements. And like Mitek’s Mobile Photo Bill Pay, Intuit’s Snaptax is much more than a dumb scanner. It takes the scan, reads the info, and assists in completing the transaction.

Opportunity for NetBankers: It’s probably too late for 2011 tax season, but if you can be the first one in your market to offer mobile-photo tax-prep next year, it should provide a healthy PR boost come April 2012. You might also consider offering a tax estimator and/or refund tracker to your mobile offering.

Intuit’s SnapTax allowed California taxpayers to file directly from their iPhones in 2010.

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Wells Fargo Remodels its Mobile Website, WF.com

By Jim Bruene Posted on January 5, 2011
Categories: Mobile Banking, Wells Fargo

I just realized that I haven’t posted anything about non-app-based mobile websites (aka WAP) since the pre-iPhone days of early 2007, when I tried unsuccessfully to log in to ING Direct’s mobile site through my trusty Samsung Blackjack.

Mobile banking has come a long way since then, primarily through native apps, now supported by more than 1,000 financial institutions in the U.S. alone. But a mobile-optimized website is still an important part of your overall mobile mix. Not everyone has a smartphone and not every smartphone user will download your app.

And some observers believe that the mobile Web, enhanced with HTML 5 and whatever comes next, will eventually run all the apps out of business. With 300,000 apps for the iPhone already created, I think that’s unlikely, but possible.

But whatever the future holds, today you need a good mobile-optimized website. And Wells Fargo, for one, hasn’t forgotten about it. Today they sent an email to customers announcing a remodeled mobile site at WF.com, its mobile URL (see screenshot below).

After logging in at the WF.com site, users are greeted with a menu button that opens up a new window of choices (note arrow in screenshot). It’s a nice way to navigate and makes the mobile website feel more like an app. The email also says there is more info on the page to minimize clicking, an important change. I still prefer the native app (note 1), but this is a nice improvement.

Wells Fargo email to customers announcing its redesigned mobile banking site, WF.com (5 Jan. 2011; landing page)
Note: The “Menu” button, when pressed, opens or closes the navigation choices (shown in open mode below)

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Note:
1. Ironically, the native app doesn’t seem to be working on my iPhone 4 at the moment (update 6 Jan., it’s working now). Another reason you want to have a good mobile website alternative.

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The 12 Days of Mobile Banking

By Jim Bruene Posted on December 21, 2010
Categories: iPhone, Mobile Banking, Mobile Payments

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>

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2010 Saw 40-Fold Growth in the Number of Financial Institution iPhone Apps

By Jim Bruene Posted on December 14, 2010
Categories: Bank of America, Capital One, Charles Schwab, iPad, iPhone, Mobile Banking, SmartyPig

As hard as it is to believe, last year at this time only 30 financial institutions had apps in the U.S. iTunes App Store (note 1). And that was a full 18 months after Apple’s phone had opened its OS to third-party programs. A few in the industry still questioned whether smaller banks and credit unions would ever need a native iPhone app.

I think that question has been answered: In the past 12 months, the total financial institution app-count has rocketed upwards to more than 1,200, a 40-fold increase. That’s 100 new apps per month for the past 12 months.

In raw numbers, the past seven days have been relatively unremarkable with just 17 new FI apps. But it’s been one of the biggest weeks in terms of major launches:

BofA Merrill Lynch research library for iPad only (note 4; iTunes)
Capital One, whose app was released on Sunday, went to #5 Monday and is up to #4 when I checked a few minutes ago (see inset; note 2; iTunes)
NetSpend (iTunes)
Schwab, both v1 of its iPhone app (iTunes) and an iPad version of its On Investing magazine (iTunes)
SmartyPig (pending Apple approval)
Stanford Federal Credit Union, which used a striking background for its app home page (see below; iTunes)

And while it’s not nearly as crucial as the iPhone, we are waiting for a slew of iPad apps. Apparently, BBVA Compass demo’ed a cool unreleased iPad app at a mobile conference (note 4). And just today, Schwab released its monthly magazine in iPad format, an industry first.

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Notes:
1. See Online Banking Report #176, Table 18 (link subscription required)
2. Rank is of free apps in the Finance category in the U.S. store. The apps above it are #1 Bank of America, #2 Chase, #3 PayPal
3. HT David Eads in Mobile Manifesto
4. At the same conference as note 3, Bank of America revealed it hit the 6-million mark in active mobile banking users.

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Cardlytics Partners with ClairMail to Take Merchant-Funded Rewards Mobile

By Jim Bruene Posted on December 7, 2010
Categories: Cardlytics, ClairMail, Credit/Debit Cards, Electronic Statements, Mobile Banking, Mobile Commerce, Mobile Payments, Rewards Programs

One of the best innovations to come out of this recession is in-statement, merchant-funded rewards. First-mover Cardlytics launched at last year’s BAI Retail Delivery (see post).

A year later, it was already reaching 30 million consumers through relationships with more than 100 card-issuing banks and 100 merchants (see notes 1, 2). That’s unheard of growth in financial services. If just one-third of the 30 million customers look at their statements each month, Cardlytics would have more unique visitors than Groupon (note 3), which has been called the “fastest growing company ever.”

We’re not saying Cardlytics has anywhere near the $60-70 million in monthly revenues attributed to Groupon, nor the $6 billion valuation. But enough similarities can be seen in their business models that I’d be very, very happy if I were an early Cardlytics investor (note 3). For example:

Both earn revenue directly from merchants who pay only when sales are made
Both leverage online channels to deliver significant discounts to targeted users
Both are first movers with aggressive growth tactics

And Cardlytics is different too:

Cardlytics focus (for now) is national merchants, whereas Groupon is closely associated with local merchants (but is adding national merchants)
Cardlytics can target much more precisely and keep offers out of the hands of the merchant’s existing customers, a huge and unique benefit
Cardlytics does not need to market its own site to consumers; it rides on the coattails, and leverages the trust, of its banking partners

Mobile opportunity
Cardlytics operates at the intersection of payments and advertising. And while the online card statement is the place to be in 2010 (see screenshot below), clearly the future for any shopping-related service is mobile.

Although no specific products or partners were revealed, the startup signaled its intention to go mobile with its ClairMail partnership announced today (press release).

Cardlytics example: in-statement McDonald’s offer made to Burger King customers

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Notes:
1. Cardlytics will be demoing the latest innovations in its service at our Finovate Europe conference on Feb. 1, 2011.
2. BillShrink won a Best of Show award at Finovate Fall for its take on the concept (video).
3. On the strength of its early growth, Cardlytics landed a huge $18 million C-round in August.
4. According to Compete, Groupon had more than 8 million unique U.S. visitors in October.

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Why Mitek’s New Photo Bill Pay Could be a Way Bigger Deal than Mobile Deposit

By Jim Bruene Posted on October 25, 2010
Categories: Bill payment, Mitek, Mobile Banking, Mobile Payments

For the second time in three years, Mitek completely wowed me on the floor at BAI Retail Delivery. In 2008, I was amazed to see them deposit a check with their mobile phone; this year, the trick was similar, but with a bill.

Mitek CEO James DeBello demonstrated the new systam to me at their booth (press release). He grabbed a bill from a pile, took its picture via the Mitek iPhone app, and sent it off via 3G connection to servers which read the characters through OCR and queued it up for payment. The billing and payment-due info was presented in an easy-to-read table for the user to verify before hitting the “pay” button (see screenshots below). I coveted it for my checking account … now.

Analysis
While the deposit of a paper check has a little more of a “wow” factor (as in wow, I don’t have to go to the branch anymore), the mobile scan-and-pay of a bill is actually far more useful. The potential market for mobile deposit-capture is limited by the shrinking number of personal checks in use, especially by iPhone-wielding early adopters. I’d guess the total U.S. market for mobile deposit is no more than 10 to 15 million households and shrinking.

And even though paper bills will eventually be eliminated by Doxo or someone, they are still a fact of life for just about everyone with a checking account. And even if consumers start accepting ebills from their major payees, most will still have a few paper bills every month for at least another decade or two.

So not only is the market for photo bill-pay about 10x that of mobile deposit, but the service also solves a peskier problem for most end-users: getting bills paid on time, something that has far more financial consequences than processing the occasional paper check gathering dust in the drawer.

And for financial institutions, photo bill pay provides several important benefits:

Helps get customers started with online bill pay by eliminating the data-entry task of setting up new billers
Helps convert customers from other bill pay providers by eliminating much of the conversion hassle of re-establishing payees at a new bill pay service
Provides a tangible, value-added mobile service to differentiate from the competition
Provides a fee-revenue opportunity from either monthly subscriber fees and/or expedited payment fees

The downsides:

Cost
Tech support/customer service
Potentially harder to wean customers off the paper bill, if it’s so convenient to just point-and-shoot to get it paid

Bottom line: Without knowing costs, what type of back-office integration hurdles the app faces, or even personally testing the user experience, I can’t say for sure how popular it becomes. If the scanning is finicky, it could be a non-starter. But, if it works like it did in the demo, Mitek may have figured out how to finally eliminate the data entry from the electronic bill payment process, a HUGE win.

1. Main screen 2. Scan with mobile camera

3. Verify data (3 screens)

Note: For more info on mobile banking, see our mobile banking series in Online Banking Report.

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Is Barcode Scanning the Next Must-Have Feature for Mobile Banking/Payments?

By Jim Bruene Posted on October 13, 2010
Categories: Amazon.com, Mobile Banking, Mobile Payments

Barcode scanning via mobile phone has been around for a a while. But until Amazon.com added it to its mobile app this week, I hadn’t experienced it firsthand. Target’s iPhone app also supports barcode scanning, powered by RedLaser.

And it’s impressive. Unlike mobile remote check deposit, where the trial-and-error method of getting a good picture can be tedious, barcode scanning provides real-time feedback so you know exactly when the camera is positioned for a successful scan (see screenshots of the process below).

Yes, it took a minute or so to get my first scan to work, but the built-in feedback mechanism makes it feel more like a game that I eventually won, not a frustrating task. But don’t take my word, it’s something you should try yourself via the Amazon Mobile or RedLaser app (see inset).

Relevance: Robust payment capabilities are the reason we believe mobile banking eventually eclipses online banking in importance. Whether it’s location-based fraud monitoring, mobile wallets, or contactless payments, mobile phones have so many advantages that users will naturally gravitate to them to manage their spending/banking.

Barcode scanning, or the even cooler picture-recognition (also supported by Amazon, see screenshot #5), are important shopping value-adds that many mobile users will use. However, it seems to be more of a feature than a standalone app. And where’s the most logical place to locate that feature? Integrated directly into bank debit and/or credit card apps.

Amazon.com Mobile App barcode scanning screenshots (13 Oct. 2010)

1. Barcode-scan option within search 2. Position UPC within orange bars

3. Orange bars turn green when 4. Actual results from my scan of
the barcode is properly aligned a DVD lying around our house

5. Even faster, at least for media titles, is the photo-recognition feature offered by Amazon. Within seconds after snapping the photograph, Amazon had it identified and stored for future reference.

Note: For more info on mobile banking, see our mobile banking series in Online Banking Report.

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Arvest Bank Adds Suite of Calculators and Other Non-Transactional Services to iPhone App

By Jim Bruene Posted on September 25, 2010
Categories: Apps, iPhone, Mobile Banking, Service

Like American Express, Arvest Bank is one of the dozen or so U.S. financial institutions with multiple apps in the Apple iTunes App Store (note 1). The bank has one app for account access and another which can be used only to find its branches and ATMs (app link).

However, the non-transactional app, which debuted last November, is undergoing a major facelift, with version 2.0 due in the store shortly. The bank offered a sneak peek on its blog this week (see inset).

The update contains four new functions:

Calculators: The app now includes access to a suite of 40 financial calculators (e.g., loan payment calculator) saving customers the time and hassle of searching for similar tools within the App Store.
Customer Connect will use the user’s GPS location to provide location-sensitive customer service contacts, a great way for a financial institution to demonstrate their commitment to local service.
Current Rates are easily accessible from a single button on the main page.
Arvest News houses its blog feed.

Bottom line: While these functions have been common on websites for a decade, as far as I know, this is the first app from a bank or credit union that includes all these features. Nice work.

Note:
1. In a search at AppFinder.com, there are currently 583 iPhone apps in the finance category with “bank” in their name or description. Another 483 contain “credit union” for a total of 1,066 banking apps. Not all of these are from financial institutions, but an estimated 70% to 80% FI apps.

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