what we’re reading — Banking.com

What We’re Reading: Branches, Apple, Security and Square

May 23, 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.

Capital One Turns to Responsive Design for Website Delivery

American Banker

With people no longer tied to their desks, customers are now checking their bank’s website from more than one type of device. So, in an effort to keep up, Capital One is enacting an online strategy to fit its website users’ screens using a technique called responsive design. Branchless bank startup Simple has been using adaptive web design and advanced mobile design since its inception, says spokeswoman Krista Berlincourt, in an email. The company was founded in 2010 and it launched in beta last summer.

The Evolving Branch Environment

Bank Systems & Technology

According to SNL Financial, 1,118 more financial institution branches were closed than opened in 2012 – representing the largest such discrepancy in eight years. Yet by all accounts, the branch remains one of the most strategic assets banks have in servicing customers, delivering new products and services and growing deposits. Driven by continued consolidation within the industry, lower operational budgets and decreasing foot traffic at the physical branch, banks are evaluating the traditional branch structure to increase profitability and efficiency at the branch level and new technologies are being leveraged to achieve this.

Android, iOS Dominate Smartphone Market; BlackBerry Falls

Bank Systems & Technology

Android and iOS, the number one and number two ranked smartphone operating systems worldwide, combined for 92.3% of all smartphone shipments during the first quarter of 2013, while Windows Phone jumped past BlackBerry for 3rd place, according to a recent report from IDC. According to IDC, Android smartphone vendors and Apple shipped a total of 199.5 million units worldwide during Q1 of 2013, up 59.1% from the 125.4 million units shipped during the same period in 2012. Samsung remained the leader among all Android smartphone vendors, the firm reported, wit 41.1% market share. Following Samsung was a long list of vendors with single-digit market share, and an even longer list of vendors with market share less than one percent, said IDC.

DDoS Attacks: What Banks Report

Bank Info Security

Leading U.S. banking institutions remain quiet about the ongoing distributed-denial-of-service attacks they’ve suffered since the fall of 2012. Last month, we pulled the year-end 10-K earnings reports filed by the nation’s top 10 banking institutions (see Top Banks Offer New DDoS Details). Those top 10 include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co., Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, U.S. Bancorp, Bank of NY Mellon, HSBC North America and Capital One. Among them, seven acknowledged they had suffered from some sort of DDoS activity in 2012 that impacted online- and/or mobile-banking services; Morgan Stanley, Bank of NY Mellon and Wells Fargo did not mention DDoS.

The Next Wave of Mobile Banking

Business 2 Community

In the U.S market today, retail banks offer a standardized mobile banking application. They enable their customers to monitor expenses, transfer funds and pay bills. This provides the convenience and ease of banking for the “on the go” customer. In general, mobile banking is an expanding market and has changed the way customers manage their funds. However, it is arguable that the user experience of each of the retail banks applications is similar. The application allows the end user to view their account balance, transfer funds and pay a multitude of bills.

Digital Usage Policies and the ‘New’ Desktop

Credit Union Times

The PC desktop is changing, so fast that what used to confidently be called the “desktop” is undergoing the sort of rapid evolution bound to throw up new and unfamiliar security challenges. Technological developments such as smartphones, tablets and mobile operating systems can be wheeled out to partly explain this change. However, it is to the humble user rather than computer architectures of network topologies that we must pay the closest attention if we are to understand how the business desktop will be reshaped from the ground up over the next decade.

Why Your Facebook Account Is More Secure Than Your Bank Account

Daily Finance

Earlier this month, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging several men with bank theft on massive scale. According to prosecutors, the thieves loaded stolen account data onto magnetic stripe cards, which they then used to steal $45 million from ATMs around the world. As financial institutions reconsider their security procedures in the wake of the breach, much of the attention will naturally fall on America’s reliance on magnetic-stripe cards, instead of the more secure chip-and-PIN (also called EMV) cards used in other parts of the world. While they’re at it, though, the banks should also consider another big security black eye: The fact that it’s easier to hack into your bank account than it is to crack your Facebook account.

Banks should follow Apple, Starbucks in branch redesigns

Fierce Finance

Banks have steadily moved away from the traditional branch with its long teller queues toward more of a retail store experience. The inspiration these days tends to be Starbucks and Apple retail outlets. Umpqua Bank in Oregon, for example, offers free internet service, an espresso bar, and meeting space at some branches; Capital One plans to offer coffee in its “café” concept branches. Bank of America plans to open at least a dozen “flagship” branches, which will include “power bars” to allow people to plug in gadgets.

Square’s next step: Sending cash to friends by e-mail with Square Cash

VentureBeat

Sending cash to people by e-mail may be the next big payment feature to spread across the Internet (even though it’s 2013, and it feels like we should have had this years ago). Payment service Square is currently testing an invite-only service called Square Cash, which you can use to send money to anyone’s debit card with a simple e-mail, TechCrunch reports. Google launched a similar feature last week when it announced Google Wallet integration with Gmail, but Square’s version looks even simpler.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With branches, security, smartphones, Square, what we're reading

What We’re Reading: Finovate, Consumer Spending and Security Technology

May 17, 2013 By Banking.com Staff 1 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.

The Buzz at Finovate: New Security Tech

American Banker

Security has taken on increased importance this year in light of recent data breaches that have put millions of dollars on the line and the ongoing threat of distributed denial of service attacks. Reflecting this industry-wide sense of alarm, at this week’s FinovateSpring there were several startups focused solely on providing authentication to bank customers. “Information security has always been a space with a ton of vendors, both small and large,” says Jacob Jegher, a Celent senior analyst. “[But] it’s great to see increased emphasis on security at Finovate.” He says it’s time for the banking industry to “up the ante with regards to authentication, identity management, and overall fraud prevention.”

Study Shows Widespread Ignorance on Credit Scores

American Banker

A large percentage of Americans know little about their scores, a new survey found. The survey shows widespread misunderstanding about how scores are calculated and how they can be improved. Between one-quarter and two-fifths of adults can’t answer basic questions about their scores, according to the survey released Monday by the Consumer Federation of America and VantageScore Solutions. Two-fifths of respondents did not know that credit card issuers and mortgage lenders use scores to make decisions about credit availability and pricing, the survey found.

The Next Wave of Mobile Banking

Business 2 Community

In the U.S market today, retail banks offer a standardized mobile banking application. This provides the convenience and ease of banking for the “on the go” customer. In general, mobile banking is an expanding market and has changed the way customers manage their funds. However, it is arguable that the user experience of each of the retail banks applications is similar.

Banking security and five essential layers

CIOL

There have been significant changes in the threat landscape for online banking. In order to protect customers using Internet-based products and services, such as applications, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FIEC) and other regulators have instituted significantly more stringent requirements for financial institutions. Ensuring a compliant security program requires the execution of a good, multi-faceted authentication solution.

5 Things You Don’t Know Because You Weren’t at Finovate

Credit Union Times

FIS Wants To Be Your Mobile Main Man. The Jacksonville, Fla., tech behemoth may not have a rep for cutting edge tech, but Doug Brown, a vice president, was at Finovate with authentic tech hipster Chris Gardner – presently CEO of Paydiant, a mobile payments platform, and a serial tech entrepreneur whose cloud-based technology is powering some of FIS’ mobile offerings. The message: FIS has the mobile tech a credit union or bank needs. For instance: Brown demoed FIS’ Cardless Cash Access which lets a consumer withdraw real money from an ATM using only a smartphone (no debit card required).

Banks should follow Apple, Starbucks in branch redesigns

Fierce Finance

It’s certainly true that banks are rationalizing the sheer number of branches they support, especially in regions where the costs outweigh the returns. But banks are also investing in the branch experience, which has led to lots of design and technology enhancements. By redesigning branches, banks are aiming to modernize the bank experience. This modernization has gone through many incarnations over the past decade.

FBI Briefs Bank Executives On DDoS Attack Campaign

InformationWeek

FBI expedited security clearances so it could share classified info on Operation Ababil, a distributed denial of service attack that continues to disrupt U.S. financial websites. The FBI recently granted one-day clearances to security officers and executives at numerous banks so it could share classified intelligence on the Operation Ababil campaign that’s been disrupting U.S. financial websites for almost a year.

5 Hot Opportunities for Start-ups

Inc.com

Fresh numbers from Intuit shine a light on where consumers are spending the most–and where you might want to look for new business ideas. One way to find a hot business idea is to follow the money: Where are consumers spending the most? If that’s your approach, consider Intuit’s recently released findings from its Consumer Spending Index. It’s based on anonymized and aggregated data from more than 2 million Mint.com (an Intuit-owned budgeting tool) users who have agreed to share their demographic information such as age, gender, income, and location. The index measures spending habits from January 2009 to April 2013 and shows consumer spending is up nine percent from four years ago, and significantly so in certain sectors.

The Next Generation of Cross-sell

Payments Journal

Too many financial institutions assume that cross-selling means offering products to every customer who walks through the door. According to Russell Lester, Director of Analytics at Intuit Financial Services, getting consumers to adopt lower cost services or channels can be a very profitable form of cross-sell. The cost of depositing a check using RDC on a mobile device is 10% of what it costs a bank to deposit a check in the branch. Using the previous example of an unprofitable DDA customer, it is easy to see how “cross-selling” them on RDC could result in a lower cost (and thus more profitable) relationship.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With Consumer Spending Index, Credit Score, cross-sell, cybersecurity, Finovate, RDC, what we're reading

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

May 13, 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.

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

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

May 6, 2013 By Banking.com Staff 5 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: Digital Wallet, Social Media and Data

April 11, 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.

Digital Wallet Race Is Far From Over

American Banker

Payments players with digital wallet aspirations — including Visa, MasterCard, Google, PayPal, Apple and Isis — are all vying for customers’ virtual pocket books in a race to truly electronic transactions. Yet none have had much luck, so far. There have been delays in launches (e.g. Isis’s delays on launching in its two pilot cities); changes in the way at least one major, digital wallet innovator processes its transactions (think: Google Wallet); and, most importantly, a lack of features appealing enough to spur widespread adoption. “Mobile wallets have been around for a while, and even for us, in the industry, we are only just starting to adopt these technologies,” says Philip Philliou, a payments consultant. “I don’t think anyone is far ahead in terms of disruption. We are still early on.”

3 Things Banks Must Do to Survive the Mobile Payments Jungle

American Banker

The mobile wallet market appears to be wide open to new entrants, with banks having a slight edge. While more than 20 percent of U.S. online consumers prefer to use their checking account for digital wallet services, 17 percent prefer PayPal, according to Gartner. That gap could quickly close in the next few years. To survive in the mobile payments landscape, banks need to do three things: Integrate mobile into existing offerings. Rebuild loyalty. Banks need to leverage emerging customer analytics techniques, coupled with geo-location services through mobile devices in order to make relevant offers at the right time. Redefine success. It’s no longer sufficient for banks to measure success by counting the number of mobile payments and online users.

All Those New Channels Affecting Accuracy of Data

Credit Union Journal

Credit unions face many challenges as channels diversify and members demand digital options. According to a recent Experian QAS survey, financial institutions are operating through an average of four different channels, the most popular being the organization’s website. While these new channels are exciting endeavors, many credit unions are experiencing problems with collecting accurate contact data. According to that same data, 91% of financial institutions suspect their customer/member and prospect data might be inaccurate in some way. On average, respondents think that as much as 18% of their data might be inaccurate. Even worse, another 27% of respondents are unsure how much of their data is inaccurate.

Introducing The Social Media Power 100 Rankings For Banks And Credit Unions

The Financial Brand

The Power 100 is an interactive list of retail banks and credit unions who have achieved the most social media traction. Components of the Power 100 score include Facebook ‘Likes,’ Facebook engagement rate, Twitter followers, tweets sent, YouTube views and YouTube subscribers. The top 15 institutions in the banking and credit union category are as follows: Chase, Capital One, ICICI Bank, E*TRADE Bank, Bank of American, Axis Bank, GT Bank, Wells Fargo, Citi, Commonwealth, FNB, Navy FCU, Bank of Nova Scotia, NAB and TD Canada.

DDoS: The Worst Case Scenario

Javelin Strategy & Research Blog

Since September of last year, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam has engaged in cyberwarfare against U.S. financial institutions, and it is a war with which they have had a great deal of apparent success if we believe that their goal was to inconvenience U.S. bank customers by rendering online banking portals inaccessible for a number of hours at a time. More than information sharing on best practices is needed – financial institutions should pool resources to ensure the availability of excess network capacity, and network operators must be involved in the effort to identify infected servers and to subsequently stop the malicious traffic its source. And while intelligence support is a good start, the Federal government must identify those responsible and cripple their ability to continue this campaign.

Facebook tries to get more in your face

Los Angeles Times

It’s hard not to detect a whiff of desperation in Facebook’s new please-don’t-go interface, which is determined to keep people within the social network as long as it can. Facebook Home is intended to dominate Android smartphones, making Facebook your first and last port of call as you traverse the wireless wonderland. It will keep Facebook features front and center, rather than require users to use an app.

Credit Union Takes an Early Lead with E-Signatures

SYS CON Media Blog

Aaron Pugh recently published a story on credit unions using e-signatures on CreditUnions.com. He writes that only eight and a half percent of credit unions larger than $20 million in assets currently offer e-signatures to their customers even though the market for e-signatures as a whole has shot up 48 percent from 2011 to 2012 according to Gartner Research. Among the early adopters in the industry is the Teachers Credit Union in Ontario, Canada. The member-owned financial organization serves employees of education and their families throughout the province. The 15,000 members conduct business through multiple branch locations, ATMs, online and via mobile banking.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With data, mobile payments, mobile wallet, rankings, social media, 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: Cyberattacks, Mobile Bill Pay and Social Media

March 21, 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.

More Banks Hit by Cyberattacks than Initially Thought

American Banker

Last week’s cyberattacks against U.S. banks were more widespread than reported, industry experts say. Though JPMorgan Chase and BB&T are the only big banks to confirm a denial of service attack on Tuesday, roughly a half dozen institutions endured digital assaults at around the same time, according to Radware, a security firm that has investigated cyber intrusions on behalf of financial firms. Tuesday’s attacks “were the largest attacks we’ve seen to date in scale,” Carl Herberger, a vice president of security solutions at Radware, told American Banker. “The one that was advertised to the world was Chase, but I can tell you that almost on an hourly basis banks were being attacked, which is a very substantial campaign.”

Funny Ads, Social Media Can Help Small Banks Stand Out

American Banker

Small banks would attract more young customers if they embraced social media and got more creative in their advertising, according to bankers who have turned to more daring marketing. About 87% of people between 18 and 29 use social networking sites and 61% bank online, according to materials from a session called “Developing & Marketing Products Aimed at the Younger Generation.” The research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that Among those ages 30 to 49, 68% use social networking sites and 68% bank online. In contrast, only 30% of community banks use social media such as Facebook or Twitter, while 60% provide customer account alerts by email, according to a 2012 ICBA technology survey.

Should Banks Charge Fees for Mobile RDC?

Celent Banking Blog

Last week, the Chicago Tribune broke a story that PNC was considering charging fees for its mobile remote deposit capture (RDC). Hundreds of US financial institutions now offer mRDC and that number will likely double in the next year. RDC is quickly becoming a staple mobile banking capability and all but two financial institutions offer it free of charge. The revenue opportunity is uninteresting. Most mRDC users deposit just a few checks per year.

1 in 4 Tablet Users to Pay Bills via Their Devices by 2017, Juniper Report Finds

Fierce Mobile IT

The new Juniper report, Mobile Banking: Handset & Tablet Market Strategies 2013-2017, found that as consumer tablet adoption continues to rise, there will be significant migration of purchasing and transaction activity from laptops and desktops to tablet devices. Indeed, the development of the ‘couch commerce’ trend within the payments industry will be increasingly replicated within the banking industry.

Bitcoins and Amazon: Bringing E-Commerce to a Country Near You

Javelin Strategy & Research Blog

It is a testament to the tenacity of bitcoins that the virtual currency has managed to survive the roller coaster it has been riding for the past two years. As Javelin has documented in multiple blogs, the currency has been linked to drug trafficking, been the target of a Trojan virus, had the value of the coins plummet after being hacked by a Hong Kong-based hacker group, had nearly $250,000 worth of bitcoins stolen from the virtual currency exchange Bitfloor, faced direct criticism from the Attorney General and DEA, and was the subject of the FBI’s Intelligence Assessment report. Any one of these catastrophes alone would normally mean the decimation of a fledgling currency, but bitcoins have managed to not only survive, but to increase functionality in the wake of disaster. Consumers today can now use their bitcoins to make online transactions and have the purchases shipped throughout the globe, using Amazon’s shipping service.

Should you switch to an online-only bank? The growing appeal of Web-based checking and savings accounts

MarketWatch

With financial institutions making a push into online-only checking and savings accounts, some industry insiders say this could be a defining year for Internet banking. But does it make sense for customers to adopt a purely web-based model? Overall, online-only banks saw their deposits rise to $364 billion in 2012, up 32% from 2010 and more than 400% from 2004, according to Novantas, a research firm. More players large and small have been wooing those migrants: New Jersey-based financial firm CIT, for example, recently announced that it has landed 50,000 customers and $5 billion in deposits in less than 18 months since the launch of its internet-only CIT Bank.

Report: Tablet boost to mobile banking

Mobile World Live

A quarter of tablet PC users will use their device to pay bills by 2017. That is one of the headline findings of a new report by Juniper Research. Because of a sharp rise in tablet adoption, Juniper calculates that users of transactional tablet banking services will number almost 200 million in 2017. The research firm says this will account for around 19 per cent of total mobile banking customers in 2017, up from 9 per cent this year.

Next in Mobile Banking: Photo Bill Payments

New York Times

U.S. Bank this week introduced a mobile “photo bill pay” service, which allows its online and mobile banking customers to snap a photo of a paper bill with their phone and have the information automatically loaded into their account; Then, they can pay the bill electronically. First Financial Bank in Abilene, Tex., began offering the service earlier this year, too. U.S. Bank is offering the service as part of its mobile banking app, which is available on Android phones as well as the iPhone and iPad. Niti Badarinath, the head of mobile banking at U.S. Bank, said that only about 20 to 30 percent of active online banking customers at the biggest banks use e-bills. And those who do prefer e-bills still have to deal with merchants that don’t offer them — and it’s not just mom and pop stores, but sometimes larger companies, too.
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Social media regulatory guidance for U.S. banks: a road map for the finance industry

Reuters

In January 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) addressed the risk of the use of social media without specific guidance by federally supervised banks, and certain nonbank entities (collectively, banks), called the Social Media: Consumer Risk Management Guidance (PDF). It completes the set of guidance available and confirms that all major regulators are adopting a similar risk-based approach to adaptation of traditional rules for social media. It makes two points: 1. The same traditional standards apply that have applied to pre-electronic forms of communication; 2. The financial firm must apply a risk-based approach in building a compliance program to manage the new, largely operational risks created by social media.

Filed Under Industry News Tagged With ads, advertising, bill pay, cyberattacks, feeds, Juniper Research, RDC, social media, tablet, 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

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