technology

Mobile Banking Provides Account Check For Many

mobile/money Mobile banking is on the rise, thanks to the proliferation of 3G networks and smartphone handsets, and they're quickly becoming a go-to source for a quick check of one's accounts.

"Obviously, there's more and more investment going on in mobile banking," Kevin Levitt, a vice president at comScore, tells Marketing Daily, of the company's inaugural "Mobile Financial Services" report. "Part of what we focused on was not just the growth in mobile banking, but who these [consumers] are."

For the most part, they're widely connected. Nearly two-thirds of mobile bankers send text messages, compared with 45% of non-users. Mobile bankers are also more inclined to belong to and use social networks than non-users, Levitt says. "They're much more engaged in the medium than non-users," he says.

Mobile bankers are using their devices, it seems, as a way to quickly check or monitor their accounts, rather than for making large transactions. According to the report, 31% of mobile bankers are accessing their accounts from home, even when they have an Internet connection and a laptop available. "It's easier than firing up your laptop and logging in," says Levitt. "Understanding that context helps financial institutions from a positioning standpoint."

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(Meanwhile, 25% are checking their accounts while running errands. Fifteen percent are checking their accounts while commuting to or from work. )

But rather than supplanting the Internet as a go-to choice for banking, mobile banking is developing into a complementary channel for financial institutions, Levitt says. According to comScore, only 3% of users cited mobile as the primary source for their banking needs, compared with 36% who cited the Internet. "The Internet is still king," Levitt says.

Despite the proliferation of smartphone applications, the mobile web is still consumers' preferred point of access, with 44% of smartphone users and 53% of 3G handset users checking their accounts via a mobile web browser. Mobile applications -- i.e. programs created specifically by a financial institution to do business and check accounts -- were used by 48% of 3G users and 41% of smartphone users.

Texting for account information, however, is far less popular among smartphone users (25%) than 3G users (41%), probably because apps are more user-friendly. "It's more exciting to use a graphical interface to see what you're accomplishing," Levitt says.

Still, there are some barriers to mobile adoption, Levitt says. According to comScore, 41% of consumers have concerns about security. Another 34%, however, don't have Internet capabilities on their phone. As more consumers adopt smart phones or log on to 3G networks, that number will decrease, Levitt says.

"That's where they proliferation of 3G and smart phones is helping with adoption," he says. "One of the things they were waiting for was a faster connection."

1 comment about "Mobile Banking Provides Account Check For Many ".
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