I’ve been thinking about mobile delivery a lot in the last few years. Two years ago, I opened presentations with “mobile is the new online.” But lately I’ve changed that line to: 

Mobile is the new a better online

Equating mobile banking to online is selling it short. Really, it’s much better than online. I believe that in the not-too-distant future (i.e., 10 years out), we’ll come to look at online as an extension of mobile, not the other way around.

Here’s why mobile is not only better than online, but also changes everything about remote delivery: 

• Mobile knows where you are
• Mobile is with you all the time
• Mobile has a voice option (duh)
• Mobile can be more secure
• Mobile can interrupt you (text message, on-screen alerts)
• Mobile can use the accelerometer (shake to log in)
• Mobile has a camera and an input device
• Mobile will be able to communicate directly with other devices (NFC)
• Mobile will allow you to pay at the POS and be your primary wallet and ID too

No doubt, your product folks have their work cut out for them integrating mobile into all that you do. Yet, despite all the hype, mobile changes nothing about your underlying banking business:

• Everyone will offer it, so you won’t gain market share
• Everyone will price it the same, so you won’t gain incremental profits
• Customers will expect it, so you won’t improve customer satisfaction

Bottom line: Ultimately, banks will win or lose based on how well they execute on gathering deposits, making loans, facilitating transactions/payments, servicing customers effectively, and pricing it all correctly (note 1). 

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Notes:
1. Graphic image from Chase (click on it to go to the site)
2. And I thought of adding, “keeping regulators happy.” But that probably goes without saying these days.