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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Mobile Customers. Can You Keep Up?


By Michael Scheibach, Executive Editor

Jack Henry recently announced its 350th mobile banking customer. It introduced its mobile banking solution, goDough, in 2007. Fiserv just acquired M-Com to enhance its mobile banking and payments capabilities. Mitek has introduced a mobile ACH enrollment solution. Fifth Third Processing Solutions and 3i Infotech have joined together to introduce a mobile check deposit solution.

Get the picture? Vendors are moving rapidly to meet the growing demand by banks for mobile banking and mobile payments solutions. The race is on to keep up with increasingly mobile bank customers and, even more important, those potential customers looking for a bank that can meet their mobile needs (and demands).

You can't drive somewhere without talking to someone on a cell phone. A growing number of people can't drive to the store without checking their bank account balance. And, coming soon, people won't go shopping without the ability for make a mobile payment.

Citing studies is getting old. But most predict 80-100 million mobile users in the next two or three years. Americans using mobile payments will only be a small percentage of this number, but a rapidly increasing one.

Another, and perhaps more lucrative development, is the rise in corporate mobile banking, which will allow businesses to review and approve payments, as well as to perform basic functions such as checking balances and transferring funds.

Banks are, indeed, going mobile -- every day. Banks are introducing mobile banking apps -- every day.

If you want to keep up on mobile banking, click on Mobile Banking News under the News/Events tab at BankNews.com.

And if your bank is not in the news, send your press release to me.