mobile — Banking.com

What We’re Reading: Cybersecurity, Tablets in CUs and Consumer Spending

May 13, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

Cybersecurity Should Not Come at Expense of Privacy: White House

American Banker

The White House says the nation needs new laws to reinforce its cyber defenses but that the push should not come at the cost of privacy. The House of Representatives on April 18 passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, which would encourage owners of financial networks, utility grids and other critical infrastructure to share information about digital threats with the government and one another. The White House has threatened to veto the bill, saying it lacks sufficient privacy protections. Civil liberties groups and other critics of the measure charge that it would allow companies to share people’s emails and text messages with U.S. intelligence agencies.

Small Business Owners Big on Mobile Technology

American Banker

A survey of 1,305 small business owners conducted by Constant Contact in March found that 66% currently use a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet in their work. Of the non-mobile users, 65% have no plans to use a mobile device in the future, many citing a lack of demand for mobile access from their customers. This segment is partial to Apple devices, according to the survey — 66% use iPhones, while 39% use Android phones. About 49% use iPads; only 15% use Android tablets.

Keep Wal-Mart Out of Financial Services, Bankers Ask

BusinessWeek

A group of bankers advising the Federal Reserve urged U.S. regulators to consider preventing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. from offering some financial services. The Federal Advisory Council, a body of bankers that includes PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and BB&T Corp., said at a Dec. 19 meeting that Wal-Mart’s sales of prepaid cards warranted greater federal oversight. Minutes of the meeting were obtained yesterday under the Freedom of Information Act.

Consumers spending nearly 10% more than in 2009

CNN Money

American consumers are spending nearly 10% more than they did four years ago when the country was reeling from the effects of the financial crisis, according to an analysis of the spending behaviors of millions of Mint.com account holders. In the first quarter of 2013, the average household spent roughly $4,220 per month — up from about $3,870 in the same period of 2009, according to the inflation-adjusted consumer spending index released Wednesday by Intuit, which owns personal finance site Mint.com.

Why CUs Can’t Afford To Be Left Behind On Tablets

Credit Union Journal

It’s estimated that nearly half of the U.S. Internet population will be using tablets by 2014, which means increasing pressure on credit unions to adapt and conform to the trend. “The proliferation of tablet devices in the U.S alone is impacting everyone who manages their finances via a digital channel, including credit union members,” said Kenneth Hans, executive director of Blackstone Technology Group’s Financial Services Practice. “Much like banks, credit unions are looking for ways to cater to this latest form-factor that offers the power of a laptop in a much smaller and convenient size.” Among credit unions encouraging members to use tablets is the $5.3-billion Suncoast Schools FCU, which has 549,303 members that it has traditionally served via its 53 branches, but mobile devices such as tablets have changed that equation somewhat.

Credit Cards – Game ON!

Gonzo Banker

Credit cards in circulation hit a peak in 2007 at 710 million cards, according to a 2013 Nilson Report. Then the crash of 2008 hit, the Card Act went into play in 2009, and consumer spending changed. From the low point in 2010, the number of cards increased by roughly 50 million in 2011 and continues to climb today, when we have 520 million cards in circulation. Credit card interchange has not been Durbin-damaged as of yet, and interchange is still high. In the United States, 10 issuers own 85.4% of the cards on the market (Source: The Nilson Report, February 2013).

New Fed Report: U.S Mobile Payments Landscape – Two Years Later

Payments News

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has just published a new report titled “U.S. Mobile Payments Landscape – Two Years Later.” Based upon ongoing meetings of the Mobile Payments Industry Workgroup (MPIW) convened by the Federal Reserve, the report updates an earlier paper from 2011. It examines changes in the evolution of mobile POS retail payments over the past two years, characterized by an expanding fragmented market environment and frequent technology innovations.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With American Banker, behavior, credit cards, credit unions, mobile, mobile payments, payments, spending, tablet, Wal-Mart, what we're reading

Mobile Banking Revolution (Infographic)

May 7, 2013 By Banking.com Staff 2 Comments

It’s no secret that mobile banking has taken off in recent years and continues to grow by leaps and bounds. To help illustrate just how much mobile banking is growing FICO pulled together an infographic with some impressive mobile stats. For example, did you know that by 2017 an estimated 1 billion people will be using mobile banking? Read on to learn more about the mobile revolution.

Mobile Banking Revolution

Filed Under Data & Research Tagged With gen y, infographic, mobile, mobile apps, mobile banking, mobile banking revolution

What We’re Reading: Small Business Banking, Mobile Growth and Social Media

May 6, 2013 By Banking.com Staff 3 Comments

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

Small Business Owners to Banks: Meet My Needs

American Banker

Small businesses want banks to add more of a personal touch. Nearly a quarter of owners of companies with less than $10 million in annual revenue want their bank to make adjustments to meet their individual needs, according to a survey published Monday by U.S. Bank (USB). More than 20% of small businesses owners also want their banks to make more money available and to connect them with other small business owners. A fifth of those who participated in the study want their bank to serve as a financial mentor, according to the fourth edition of the Small Business Annual Survey.

Using Big Data to Fight Phishing

Bank Info Security

Using so-called big data to develop phishing intelligence systems that can connect e-mail attacks to specific criminal activities and groups over time is a good way to thwart targeted schemes, researcher Gary Warner of the University of Alabama at Birmingham says during an interview with Information Security Media Group. Rather than relying on e-mail signatures to filter out spam, Warner says organizations should rely on the e-mail data and statistics they collect. “We need to do more proper analysis of the log data,” he says.

Mobile Growing, But Still Not Preferred Channel

Bank Systems & Technology

Jason Malo, a research director in the CEB TowerGroup’s Retail Banking and Cards practice, reported that the majority of mobile bankers use the channel for alerts, with occasional transactional capability. According to a recent TowerGroup survey of mobile banking consumers, 54% said the most important mobile function to them was being able to receive notification from their bank about irregular account activity or changes to their account. That was followed by 51% who reported their most important mobile function was bill pay capabilities, while 46% listed notification of low account balance as the function they most wanted from mobile banking. 43% of respondents listed remote deposit capture capabilities as what they most desired from the mobile channel.

Banks plot major shrinking of branches

Crain’s New York Business

To cut costs bankers say hello to banking’s brave, new, cramped world. At about 1,000 square feet, [a new prototype branch is] 75% smaller than the traditional Wells Fargo outpost upstairs. Driven by changing consumer behavior and the urgent need to reduce costs, banks are devising ways to cut their branches down to size. Wells Fargo opened its first next-generation branch in April in Washington, D.C., and is looking to open seriously shrunken branches in New York and other major cities. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has started building branches that are 25% smaller than older models.

A New Social Media Platform For Advisors

Financial Advisor Magazine

The progress of social media is inexorable and inevitable. Yet many financial advisors are still trying to figure out how to play the game without getting into hot water with regulators. Finect, a New York City company, has recently rolled out an online platform aimed specifically at the financial services industry. The company believes it can help financial advisors meet their professional and compliance needs in the social media era. “Financial advisors are tiptoeing around social media and are looking for help to move forward,” says Jennifer Openshaw, Finect’s president.

In-Branch Tablet Banking Kiosks: Ideas, Opportunities and Costs

Financial Brand

The introduction of the iPad brought with it a whole new world of marketing opportunities for banks and credit unions. What are some examples of things bank and credit union marketers are currently doing with tablet kiosks? Jon VanderMeer, CEO/Kiosk & Display: The capabilities for kiosks and tablets is about 99% the same, only the form factor is different. Potential tablet uses include: In-branch demos, training and troubleshooting, onboarding new customers into online banking, and digital alternative to printed brochures where branch visitors can review and compare products.

Financial Pain Ensues When Custodians of Health Fail to be Good Stewards of Privacy

Javelin Strategy & Research Blog

The healthcare industry stores massive amounts of PII, and it is incumbent on them to protect that data from theft. According to Javelin research, approximately 1 in 9 data breach victims in 2010 were fraud victims – this correlation grew to 1 in 4 as of 2012! Social Security numbers are the keys to the castle when it comes to financial accounts. In our 2013 Banking Identity Safety Scorecard, 80% of the institutions examined still allowed consumers to authenticate themselves with SSNs.

Mobile Remote Deposit Capture and More Convenient Banking

Main Street

Mobile remote deposit capture (MRDC) has become banking technology’s must have for 2013. But MRDC is just the beginning of how the camera changes banking. Next up: picture bill pay. It works like this: You get a bill. You could input biller data – account numbers, addresses, all those details – into online banking. Or you could snap a picture of the bill and let the software – developed by the same folks who created MRDC – populate a payment form with all that information that has been harvested from the bill.

Banking by Voice Gets Test From U.S. Bank

The Street

Smartphone users are just getting used to issuing voice demands to make phone calls, get directions or ask for dining-out options. Now mobile phone users may be getting another audible option: using voice commands to conduct personal banking. U.S. Bank is testing a voice-banking service that enables customers to check account balances, review transactions and pay bills solely through voice activation. For now, U.S. Bank is limiting the app test campaign to its FlexPerks Travel Rewards program and to its employees; the voice-activated technology comes from Nuance Nina Mobile, and is now limited to iPhone and Android phones.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With big data, cybersecurity, mobile, mobile banking, small business, what we're reading

What We’re Reading: Malware, Fees and Tablets

April 18, 2013 By Banking.com Staff 3 Comments

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

Prepaid Cards Still Have Lots of Fees: Survey

American Banker

A survey by Bankrate.com compares 24 prepaid cards based on the fees they charge consumers. For example, the 2012 survey found that 14 of 18 prepaid cards charged customers a balance inquiry fee on at least some automatic teller machines. This year, 18 of 24 cards charged such a fee on at least some ATMs. In last year’s survey six out of 18 prepaid cards charged fees for at least some declined transactions. This year, nine out of 24 cards did.

FDIC on Social Media Risks

Bank Info Security

As the use of social media grows among banking institutions, federal banking regulators warn those institutions need to be mindful of phishing and spoofing schemes. Drafted guidance issued by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council now details how banks and credit unions can prepare to mitigate the new and emerging risks social media poses. The drafted guidance, issued in January, references applicable laws and regulations banking institutions should consider when planning and conducting their activities related to social media, says Elizabeth Khalil, of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which is part of the FFIEC.

Creating A Customized Banking Experience With Big Data

Bank Systems & Technology

Big data opens the door for banks to group their customers according to their banking preferences, which can make customers more satisfied and more profitable. Banks have been increasingly focused on customer experience in recent years, but they’ve been taking an approach that is too broad, says Dean Nicolackis, a partner at PwC’s banking and capital markets practice. While many banks are trying to configure a customer experience that is consistent for every customer across every channel, the key to a really great customer experience is providing a different personalized experience that fits different customer segments, Nicolackis contends. Different customers just want different things – and are willing to pay for different things – from their bank.

Are Tablets Their Own Channel And Does It Matter?

Business 2 Community

The latest research from Javelin Strategy and Research indicates that the tablet users are older; between the ages of 35 to 54, have an average household income of $75,000, and half of them consider themselves to be early adopters. When compared with mobile banking, statistics show that users spend more time on tablets. The question though is not whether it should be considered a separate channel. However, whether separate or not, the bottom line, from a customer experience point of view, the service has to be consistent, and that is the key – it has to be fully integrated into all the other channels and the interchange between the channels has to be seamless.

SaveUp Program, Other Tools Target Millenials

Credit Union Journal

Frankenmuth Credit Union CEO Vickie Schmitzer is continually focused on implementing industry innovations to attract members of all ages, but especially Millenials. That focus stems from the credit union’s work in the field. “We work as much as we possibly can with our local public and parochial schools at every grade level,” said Schmitzer. “We know they are our credit union’s future and that new technology is what attracts them to a financial institution or business of any kind, for that matter,” said Schmitzer.

First Tech Also First CU to Launch Windows App

Credit Union Journal

First Tech FCU, the credit union for Microsoft Corp., said it has introduced a new Windows Phone mobile banking application, the first credit union in the U.S. to introduce a native Windows Phone mobile banking app complete with integrated mobile deposit and bill pay functionality. First Tech launched its new Windows phone app on-site at the main Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., giving employees of Microsoft an in-depth look at this new platform. Microsoft employees and First Tech members will be able to view the app on a giant Microtile phone display, chat with First Tech App experts and personalize their Windows Phone at a laser engraving station.

Malware Attacks Growing, Getting Smarter, Targeting Android: Report

eWEEK

In 2012, 95 percent of malware threats targeted Android, says a new report. Malware attacks are increasing, getting smarter and targeting Google’s Android mobile operating system, according to a new report from NQ Mobile, a mobile security solutions provider that based the report on the findings of its Security Lab. Mobile malware threats increased by 163 percent in 2012, and 95 percent of all threats were targeted at Android, said the report. The firm estimates that 32.8 million Android devices were infected in 2012, an increase of 200 percent from the 10.8 million infected in 2011.

Banks Are Designing Branches to Look Like Apple Stores In a Struggle to Remain Relevant

Go Banking Rates

There are a few regional banks, like Umpaqua, that fully embraced “smart banking” years ago. For major, national banks, it was Citi that sparked the trend. In 2008, beginning with its Singapore location, the bank began constructing futuristic branch prototypes that swapped tellers for touchscreens, size with efficiency, and gave locations the overall look and feel of Apple stores.. Rather than reinventing the wheel when it came to modern design, Citi actually hired the services of Eight, Inc., the architectural and strategic design firm behind Apple, according to The Financial Brand.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With app, data, malware, mobile, security, social media, tablet, what we're reading

What We’re Reading: Banking Outages, Mobile Chat and Social Media

April 5, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

Intuit Finally Lets Banks White-Label Mint

American Banker

Intuit Inc. announced Wednesday it is incorporating features from Mint, its well-known consumer-facing PFM software, into its digital banking line. The initial Mint product line for banks will combine Intuit mobile banking apps and online banking software with aspects of Mint PFM featured front and center. “We want to blur the lines between PFM tools and digital banking,” says Greg Wright, vice president, product management at Intuit Financial Services, the company’s unit that sells to banks. “This is a sign of where Intuit needs to go and wants to go. …It’s all part of this essential movement to resurrect and redefine PFM,” says Mark Schwanhausser, director multichannel financial services at Javelin Strategy & Research.

JPMorgan Chase Rides Out Online Banking Outage

American Banker

JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) website has stumbled again roughly three weeks after a cyberattack. The nation’s biggest bank by assets took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to tell customers the website was “experiencing intermittent issues” and to recommend customers use its mobile service while the company worked “to get things up to full speed.” As of late Monday, the site had been affected for three hours.

SEC Lets Companies Provide Disclosures Over Social Media

American Banker

Companies may now handle disclosures over social media, the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled. Banks and other public companies can use outlets like Facebook and Twitter to make crucial announcements as long as they notify investors beforehand which social media platforms they’re going to use, the SEC said Tuesday. They must follow the same disclosure regulations that apply to company websites, the agency said.

Banking by Appointment…finally!

Celent Banking Blog

Banks have historically relied on a 100% walk-in model for in-branch sales and service. With branch traffic declining at most banks by more than 5% CAGR, sales leads aren’t just walking through the doors like they used to. And that traffic won’t return unless banks take proactive steps to generate those leads. Banking by appointment is one great way to do so.

Mobile Chat – Passing Fad or Key Capability?

Celent Banking Blog

Earlier this week, RBS launched a mobile chat feature, available to its business mobile banking users. RBS isn’t the only one jumping onto the mobile chat bandwagon – San Diego County Credit Union announced a similar offering. The concept is pretty straightforward, and is similar to the online chat tools that some banks have incorporated into their web sites and/or online banking. It’s a familiar experience to most mobile users and therefore could catch on.

Don’t Miss The Boat; It’s Time To Get Moving On Mobile

Credit Union Journal

If your credit union is still taking a wait-and-see approach to mobile banking, you are in danger of missing the boat if you don’t act quickly. “The boat is getting pretty dang close to leaving the dock,” said Brian Abele, SVP of product management at Q2ebanking. “It’s really critical for credit unions to make sure they start jumping into this. Not only are we seeing that mobile is becoming more of a standard across the board for every institution, but we’re starting to get to the next level of functionality and services-like mobile deposit capture-and once they’re rolled out to members they’re adapted very quickly and are some of the most engaging services for members.”

Credit Unions Ride Social Media

Credit Union Times

No longer is it a case of should a credit union be active on social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Now, it has shifted to just how active and on exactly which channels. One of the reasons is that social media has become integrated into the lives tens of millions in America and ignoring the channels may not make strategic sense, some experts have advised. “Facebook has become instrumental in how we reach out to our members,” said Lynne O’Leary, vice president of marketing at the $4.7 billion Teachers Federal Credit Union in Hauppauge, N.Y.

The Fed: Mobile Banking Usage Soars

Credit Union Times

The numbers have it and, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve, mobile banking usage is soaring as it keeps close pace with mobile phone adoption. According to the Fed: “As of November 2012, 28% of all mobile phone users and 48% of smartphone users had used mobile banking in the past 12 months. This is a significant increase from 21% in December 2011 for mobile phone users and 42% for smartphone users.

Inside Citi’s Mobile Strategy

Digiday

A study by Compete found that 57 percent of U.S. smartphone users rely on mobile banking. And a recent Juniper Research report predicts that there will be 1 billion mobile banking users by 2017, which is equivalent to more than 15 percent of global mobile subscribers. Tracey Weber, head of Internet and mobile at Citi, says that mobile is a must have, but it does present its own set of unique challenges. For one, not all consumers are comfortable having their financial information on their mobile phone.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With chat, customer service, mobile, social media, what we're reading

What We’re Reading: Mobile Deposit, Payments and Mobile

March 28, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

First Niagara Website Redesign Drives 30% Increase in Traffic

American Banker

Since the First Niagara’s website re-launch, traffic has gone up 30% and the time customers spend on the site has gone from 10-15 seconds to two minutes and thirty seconds. “They’re actively shopping and looking for information on the site,” Thomas Bontempo, senior vice president and digital marketing director says. “We’ve improved online account opening and are now getting 500 funded new accounts online a month. That’s still not where we need to be for a bank our size, but we’ve taken the right steps and it’s the right direction.” Customer satisfaction rose from 64% to 72% after the redesign, according to a survey the bank conducted.

Brand expansion through branchless banking

ATM Marketplace

While transactions at financial institution branches across the U.S. are dropping by approximately 5 percent per year, PC and Internet use are on the rise. The trend toward nationwide and even global connectivity is providing a unique opportunity for FIs to reach new markets and drive services from declining bank branches directly into the homes and hands of customers. Conventional banking channels are reaching inherent limits while increased access to Internet and mobile are making banking from home far more attractive for consumers. A 2010 survey by the American Banking Association found that 36 percent of bank customers preferred to do their banking online.

Best Practices for New Product Roll-Outs

BAI.org

Building out or improving remote delivery channels, such as online banking, mobile banking and electronic bill pay, with new products and systems represents one of the greatest opportunities a bank can face – and one of the greatest challenges, as well. Relying too heavily on vendor expertise has meant a missed opportunity for many institutions. While vendors have a lot of insight into best practices, they typically do not offer or bring that experience to their clients unless specifically asked. Leveraging internal resources and expertise, as opposed to simply implementing new software, will help banks bridge the gaps in a vendor’s statement of work (SOW) and successfully launch these important strategic products.

The New Ecosystem for Mobile: Technology Alliances for M-Payments and M-Banking

Bank Systems & Technology

Banks and financial institutions are most effective when they can utilize technology and outsourcing services to give customers full accessibility to their accounts – but reduce their direct interaction with customers. To this end, we are seeing banking technology vendors continuously generate innovative ideas and solutions. During the past decades, we’ve witnessed the evolution of Checks and their Clearing Systems, Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Point of Sale (POS) devices, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems and the list continues. The evolution of mobile technology has allowed banks to embed mobile in their front-end solutions offering flexibility, ease of use, and accessibility to their banked customers and account holders. Through Mobile Banking (m-Banking) services; users can review their balance, transfer money between accounts, and perform some sort of utility payments along with many other services that enables interaction between the account owner and the bank’s back office systems.

China, South Korea lead world mobile commerce

Inside Retail Asia

Mobile commerce is playing an increasingly significant role across Asia-Pacific according to a new report. The study found that 55 per cent of internet users in China made a purchase via a mobile phone in the fourth quarter 2012, making China the country with the world’s highest mobile shopping penetration rate. For an idea of just how dominant the mobile purchase channel is in Asia, consider the case of North America. There, just 19 per cent of US internet users and 13 per cent of internet users in Canada made a mobile purchase in the fourth quarter. In other words, China’s mobile purchase penetration rate is nearly triple that of the US. eMarketer estimates that 270.9 million internet users in China will make an online purchase this year – counting purchases made through mobile devices. By 2016, eMarketer projects that number to rise to 423.4 million, and mobile will clearly play a significant role in that transition.

Evolution to Revolution: Real-Time Payments Initiatives Unfold

Javelin Strategy & Research Blog

The Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) was the latest multi-stakeholder group to approve a real-time payments initiative in support of evolving consumer and business needs for accelerated transacting. As noted in Javelin’s recently released report, Real-Time Payments 2013: Struggling Toward Revolutionary Change, many of the payments mechanisms in use today — as well as the networks that support them — were developed before the era of “always on” connectivity, before Internet commerce, and prior to the ubiquity of mobile devices. These new market components, however, are driving a global paradigm shift that is beginning to snowball.

Mobile banking will break the 1 billion user mark in 4 years

Mobile Commerce News

By the year 2017, studies are showing that the use of these services will have skyrocketed. The latest mobile banking study data from Juniper Research has indicated that an increasing acceptance of this type of smartphone and tablet based service has caused users to bring the number of users up to nearly 200 million. It is expected that the growing use of tablets will play an important role of the industry’s adoption. In fact, while mobile banking over tablets represents 9 percent of the total number of customers at the moment, it is expected to represent 19 percent by the close of 2017, said the Juniper Research data. Consumers are taking on increasingly mobile lifestyles, which is allowing them to turn to this type of service more and more.

Mitek: 12 Million Americans Have Deposited Checks Via Mobile

Mobile Marketing Watch

The rate of adoption observed in mobile banking is surprising even the most bullish of industry advocates. According to the latest data available, Americans have now deposited more than $40 billion into their accounts by simply snapping a photo of a check. All told, some 12 million mobile users have now made a mobile deposit, a number that is poised to expand further in the wake of new partnerships and opportunities that make mobile banking options more readily accessible. Mobile Commerce Daily reported Tuesday, for example, that 708 banks and credit unions have signed agreements with Mitek – makers of the leading mobile document capture software – to provide mobile deposit options to customers.

The knives come out: Mastercard will charge PayPal and Google for their mobile wallets (updated)

The Verge

Visa’s CEO Charlie Scharf said that “it is totally appropriate” to charge companies like PayPal and Google a fee when their digital wallets get used. Both PayPal and Google offer something called a “staged wallet,” which means that those companies act as a kind of intermediary between you and your credit card. That theoretically helps make your wallet easier to use — since it can contain multiple cards — but Visa and Mastercard really hate this approach because it means they can’t collect as much data about your purchasing habits. Scharf’s statement comes on the heels of an already-announced Mastercard program called the “staged digital wallet operator annual network access fee,” which is a long way of saying that it wil begin charging companies like PayPal when they use a Mastercard plugged into a PayPal digital wallet.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With commerce, ebay, marketing, mastercard, mobile, PayPal, poayments, website, what we're reading

What We’re Reading: Facebook, Google Glass and iPads

March 14, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

Facebook Design Changes Could Benefit Banks, If They Adapt Quickly

American Banker

Facebook’s latest update to the way it presents shared information to users could help bank marketers. A battery of changes will include larger photos and four new feeds (to keep tabs on all friends, the photos friends are sharing, music the user has indicated he likes, and the latest news from pages and people the user follows). The new feeds could help bank customers keep up with what their financial services companies are sharing, assuming they “friend” their banks.

Google Glass Will Change Your Branches

American Banker

Google has teased us once more with an augmented reality future. The company has released images and video heralding what appears to be the imminent launch of their Glass augmented reality devices. Not surprisingly, commentators are predicting a seismic shift that will match the launch of the iPhone. That has created a wave of excitement, as banks and technology providers speculate how these innovations will turbo-charge mobile banking.

Who is Your Borrower in a Virtual World?

Bank Systems & Technology

The traditional, documentary method of verifying the identity of a customer is for an employee of a financial institution to look at a government-issued photo ID and manually check it against customer-provided information. The non-documentary procedures start with obtaining information from the applicant that can be compared to information in the public record from third party sources. The developing best practice is to cross check nonpublic personally identifiable information that is input by the applicant against the information on credit reports. Through API exchanges with the major credit reporting agencies the personal information input by the applicant can be verified against the information independently provided in the credit report.

iPads, Other Tablets to Drive Mobile Banking

Billing World

One in four tablet PC users will use their devices to pay bills by 2017, says a new report. Juniper Research found that a growing user acceptance of “push” mobile banking and a sharp rise in tablet adoption will drive users of transactional tablet banking services to almost 200 million in 2017. This will represent approximately one-fifth (19 percent) of total mobile banking customers in 2017, compared to just 9 percent this year. The report finds that, adoption of mobile bill presentment and payment (MBPP) transactional banking by tablet users will be higher than mobile handset users, especially in developed areas where there is a higher adoption of tablets. The report says as consumer tablet adoption continues to rise, there will be significant migration of purchasing and transaction activity from laptops and desktops to tablet devices.

Clay Christensen: Jeff Bezos, Scott Cook, and Steve Jobs Got Disruption Right

Business Insider

In an interview appearing at strategy+business, Clay Christensen argues that many executives are pushed to make decisions that are quick and profitable, and they frequently rely heavily on incomplete data. When asked which executives thought about disruption the right way, Christensen cited ex-Intel CEO and co-founder Andy Grove and his response to inexpensive laptops. As for more recent examples, Christensen said: “Of the managers I’ve known, I think Scott Cook, who is the founder of Intuit, is most prone to think this way…”

Going cashless

Celent Banking Blog

The Dutch looking to get rid of cash. They got rid of checks in 2001 as a payments instrument, and now they’re making moves to go that next step. Yes, it was a publicity stunt (there was also a big sell on contactless for example), but equally they were making payments fun, not something that you can often say! Few countries have managed to get cash to a point where it’s less than 50% of all transactions.

US Bank intros BillPay feature for iOS and Android, lets you set up bill payments with a pic

Engadget

Judging by recently announced projects like Go Mobile, it’s quite clear that US Bank is working hard at keeping up with the mobile banking curve. With today’s introduction of its new Mobile Photo BillPay feature, the company’s giving customers using an iOS or Android device yet another nifty tool to take advantage of while on the go — one that’s set to make it easy to set up bill payments by simply taking a shot of any invoice and uploading it to an account from within the app.

Dear Mobile Industry: Time To Step It Up On Security

Forbes.com

In less than 10 years, smartphones and tablets have taken over. This year, the mobile industry will ship 1 billion smartphones globally, doubling the number of installed smartphones to about 2 billion. While we may agree that the mobile revolution has greatly benefitted all of us, our mobile devices are far from infallible when it comes to fraud and cybercrime. Many security firms predict 2013 will bring a rise in cyber attacks on mobile devices in general, and smartphones in particular.

Area credit unions continue to gain popularity as the economy recovers

Washington Post

Membership, deposits and loan originations at area credit unions — particularly the largest ones — rose last year as the broader economy continued its climb, according to data released last week by the National Credit Union Administration. The figures mirror a national trend in which membership rose 2.2 percent in 2012, as 2 million new members signed up.
Read more

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With cyber attacks, Facebook, Google Glass, iPad, mobile, security, what we're reading

What We’re Reading: Retail Banking, Tech Disruptions and Vine

March 7, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.

‘Consumer Reports’ Offers Tips For Doing Taxes Online

All Things Considered

If you expect to have an adjusted gross income of $57,000 or less, the easiest thing to do is use the IRS website — it has a section called Free File. You can prepare and file your federal income taxes for free with one of 15 companies that have signed up with Free File. If you think you’re going to have an adjusted gross income that’s greater than that, you can use the search engine, type in “tax preparation,” and a number of names should come up. One that everybody might know is TurboTax.

Big Bank Breakups and Tech Disruptions: Predicting the Future of Reform

American Banker

Almost everyone in Washington finds some fault with Dodd-Frank. But rather than making smaller, incremental corrections in the short term, Congress could attempt a more comprehensive fix further down the road. To many, Dodd-Frank, which is meant to apply more regulatory pressure on the largest financial companies, tried correcting problems with Gramm-Leach-Bliley, which made it easier for multiline financial conglomerates to operate. Alternatively, the rush of technological change in financial services could serve as motivation to lawmakers to devise regulatory reforms that keep pace.

Social Media Newbie Regions Bank Aces Facebook, Considers Vine

Bank Investment Consultant

Looking further ahead, Liliana Grip, vice president of social media at Regions Bank has her eye on Vine, a Twitter-owned mobile service that lets users capture and share short looping videos. “We’re trying to figure out how to leverage Vine[…]One concern, and Twitter is addressing this, is there’s a lot of [content] that isn’t consistent with our brand. We need to get through some legal and compliance hurdles.”

Consumer Appetite for Comprehensive, Mobile PFM Grows

Bank Systems & Technology

Javelin estimates only 21 percent of U.S. consumers — or more than 49 million adults — mix and match current PFM features from software like Quicken, online banking, and various websites. However, many of those polled indicated that they wold like a way to view all their account balances in one place, with nearly half prioritizing this feature over all the other PFM services.

What Will Retail Banking Look Like in 2020?

Bank Systems & Technology

Opening a new bank branch used to be a matter of simply choosing a location and building out the structure according to a template design. But today, the definition of “bank branch” is being transformed by technology, competitive dynamics and economic pressures. As reported in Jones Lang LaSalle’s recently published Global Retail Banking 2020 study, up to 50 percent of branches in today’s U.S. bank networks may be declared obsolete — although not necessarily defunct — by 2020. Given that branches constitute 75 percent of a bank’s total retail distribution costs, according to research from Capgemini, implementing smart, technologically savvy retail strategies will be critical to driving shareholder value.

Threat of the Week: DDoS Becoming an Expensive Fact of Life

Credit Union Times

The ceasefire is over. Last week, on Feb. 25, the Cyber Fighters of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam renewed their Distributed Denial of Service attacks against U.S. financial institutions. That included again taking down the websites of two credit unions: the $1.5 billion University FCU in Austin, Texas, and Patelco, the $3.8 billion Pleasanton, Calif., institution. They issued the same demand – removal of an anti-Islam video from YouTube – and said their campaign against financial institutions would continue. What is new is that the conversation about how to respond to the industrial-grade DDoS unleashed by the Cyber Fighters is beginning to shift.

Consumers Want More Practical Online Tools, Portable Bank Account Numbers

Financial Brand

According to a study conducted by BT and YouGov, 61% of banking customers in the U.S. favor portable banking account numbers. When asked which three tools they would most like their bank to provide, customers indicated that they would like to see more sophisticated, more practical online tools — all hosted on the financial institution’s main website. The features most desired by consumers include peer review sections (32%), live chat functionality (23%) and compare-my-bank style services (29%). When asked about which three factors would be the most appealing when considering moving banks, the results were fairly consistent across all countries. Good online banking facilities (39%), the presence of a local branch (45%) and the ability to access banking services 24/7 (29%) were ranked highest.

Consumers remain resistant to digital banking aspirations

Finextra

A YouGov poll of consumer attitudes to the introduction of portable bank account numbers has unearthed an underlying distrust of social and mobile technologies and a clear preference for human-to-human interaction via the branch, the call centre and the Web. The BT-commissioned poll of 6500 adults from six countries worldwide, found that the majority of consumers in Spain (76%), Hong Kong (70%), France (64%), Germany (61%) and the UK (62%) all agree that a portable identity number – allowing them to switch banks without changing account details – would be useful.

Five High-Tech Trends Driving the Future of Banking

FOX Business

Here are some of the trends driving the future of banking. Customers will soon be gaining more mobile-banking payment and account options. “We’re going to see a lot more and different products, and a richer (banking) experience,” says Brett King, author of “Bank 3.0″ and “Branch Today, Gone Tomorrow. Banks already are rolling out banking software for iPads and tablets and thinking of new ways to structure bank accounts “that are more purpose-built,” with more options for tracking money and ways to make payments, King says.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With consolidation, DDoS, Digital, disruption, mobile, PFM, retail banking, social media, taxes, Vine, what we're reading

FI Spotlight: McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union – Part One

March 6, 2013 By Banking.com Staff Leave a Comment

For our latest FI spotlight, we had the opportunity to speak with Shawn Gilfedder, President and CEO of McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union, on the eve of one of their Financial Literacy Series seminars in January. Shawn shared insights on innovative uses of mobile solutions, “Financial Wellness” and its impact on consumers, and how social media plays into their communications strategy.

Check out the video below for part one of our video interview.

Stay tuned for another upcoming video with McGraw-Hill FCU or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Think your FI deserves special recognition? Submit your FI here.

Filed Under Financial Institution Spotlights Tagged With credit union, disaster recovery, FI Spotlight, financial literacy, financial wellness, McGraw-Hill FCU, mobile

The Mobile Revolution: Remote Deposit Capture

February 6, 2013 By Jason Weinick 3 Comments

The tablet revolution. The post-PC era. The smartphone explosion. No matter what label resonates the most with you personally, the idea is the same: personal computing is changing. People are spending more time with smaller devices, such as tablets and smartphones, and less time on desktops and laptops.

Recent data from Forrester Research, Intuit and Bain & Company point to this mobile revolution:

Approximately 90 percent of adults own a mobile device, of which smartphones are rapidly approaching half of all mobile devices in the marketplace.
Approximately 96 percent of U.S. households have at least one wireless subscription.
Roughly over 1/3 of online bankers are actively using their mobile device to engage with their financial institution, and mobile bankers are accessing their financial information 59 percent more often than non-mobile online bankers.
Roughly three-quarters of branch interactions are routine (deposits, withdrawals and account balance inquiries), driving up costs and diverting resources from more important interactions.

The new online and mobile lifestyle requires digital banking as a new way of delivering a connected lifestyle. Customers would like to bank anytime, anywhere and on any device. Giving your customers the ability to deposit checks anytime and anywhere using a mobile banking app is the next revolution in that connected state.

I recently had the opportunity to analyze the behavior of customers who utilized mobile remote deposit, which was offered by a financial institution who uses Intuit Financial Services for their online and mobile banking platforms. The analysis solely focused on customers who had an open checking account and made at least one deposit into the financial institution in each month of the analyzed time period.

Although the financial institution was less than six months into the product lifecycle, the results were extremely encouraging:

Does mobile remote deposit cause customers to frequent the branch/ATM less for their deposit needs?

Intuit research indicates the answer is YES. Mobile remote deposit is changing consumer behavior and transferring more of those routine, costly “human” touch points to a less costly channel. Customers which ultimately used mobile remote deposit were using the branch for 29 percent of their deposits prior to using mobile remote deposit. Once the consumer starting using the service, their deposit behavior at the branch decreased to 19 percent – mobile remote deposit diverted 10 percent of all deposits away from the branch. Customers who never used mobile remote deposit did not experience a shift in their branch behavior. Usage of the ATM for deposits also declined for mobile remote deposit customers – 9.2 percent in the “before” period vs. 6.5 percent in the “after” period.

With the cost of gasoline over $3.50/gallon in most places, from the consumer perspective, think how much it costs (including time inefficiency) to drive to your local branch and make a deposit. Mobile remote deposit saves consumers money and is a more efficient alternative that savvy customers will demand.

What will this shift in behavior – from in-branch to mobile remote deposit – mean for the brick and mortar business model? In the short-term, it doesn’t appear financial institutions are in a hurry to reduce customer service headcount or slow the pace of new branch openings. The digital banking channel has created a more efficient operation; however, should not be viewed as an alternative channel. Rather, digital banking is moving towards more of an extension of the branch and with the reduction of “routine” transactions, in-branch representatives can invest more of their time cross-selling products rather than depositing a check.

Does mobile remote deposit cause customers to increase their deposit activity?

Study results from Intuit indicate the answer is YES. Customers who used mobile remote deposit increased their monthly number of deposits by two percent, while those customers who didn’t use the service actually experienced a decline in their number of monthly deposits by three percent. Did the customer using mobile remote deposit magically begin receiving more checks once they started using the service? Likely not, but rather, instead of depositing a check into another financial institution, (perhaps for a savings or retirement account) they now deposited these funds into the financial institution which offered mobile remote deposit, which means the financial institution has further positioned themselves as the customers’ preferred financial institution.

Does mobile remote deposit lead to higher consumer acquisition and/or lower consumer attrition?

To be determined. When I measured the results of mobile remote deposit, the financial institution was less than six months into the product offering with its customers The hypothesis is that mobile remote deposit will strengthen the consumer relationship and thus extend the consumer lifecycle. Additionally, now that the financial institution is offering this value-added service, the belief is that this product will attract new customers to the financial institution and win business from the competition. This could be especially true for the Gen Y and Gen X segments. The comment “attracting a younger demographic” is posed as a strategic initiative in my conversations with financial institutions. Over 75 percent of mobile bankers are Gen X and Gen Y, so these demographics will be the most likely to utilize mobile remote deposit.

The customers most likely to adopt the mobile remote deposit feature are cost‐effective bankers. They monitor their finances through the Web or their mobile phone at a higher propensity than all other customers, which lowers operational costs for the financial institution. In short, customers who desire mobile remote deposit utilize technology that is beneficial for the financial institution and the consumer.

About Jason Weinick: Jason is a Senior Analyst with Intuit Financial Services and leads the initiative on client profitability analyses, providing banks and credit unions a valuable in-depth look into the value of the online channel. Jason’s background includes 15 years experience within the financial services sector, focusing on consumer behavior, risk modeling, reporting, and financial analysis. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Clemson University.

Sources: Forrester Research, May 2011; Intuit Financial Services Profitability Study, April 2012; Bain & Company Customer Loyalty in Retail Banking Americas, 2011

Filed Under Data & Research Tagged With data, financial data, Intuit, mobile, mobile banking, remote deposit capture

What We’re Reading: Cybersecurity, Tablets in CUs and Consumer Spending

Mobile Banking Revolution (Infographic)

What We’re Reading: Small Business Banking, Mobile Growth and Social Media

What We’re Reading: Mobile Deposit, Payments and Mobile

What We’re Reading: Facebook, Google Glass and iPads

FI Spotlight: McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union – Part One

The Mobile Revolution: Remote Deposit Capture

Subscribe

News Feed

Blogroll