25% of US online banking users have told comScore they are interested in mobile banking in their "April 2008 Online Banking Report". And according to TowerGroup, this number will only increase in the following years:
Although security concerns in the use of mobile banking have been an issue just as they are in online banking, people seem to be shifting some of their basic banking tasks from online to mobile. In great measure, I think this is due to the boom in online identity theft and fraud that has been going on lately. For instance, making balance requests through your mobile somehow seems more secure than doing it online. Each time, you need to dial a special number, you have to enter your bank account and a code that will access your account and you get an automated voice tell you your balance. I think that is pretty cool. You don't need a computer to do it. You can access your information from anywhere and your information seems less 'trackable' than if you consult your balance online. If you pair this with the fact that we're using debit cards more and more even for small purchases, it is great to be able to have access to your balance anywhere. It sounds quite logical that the shift from online to mobile banking is taking place.
For other types of transactions, the key to mobile banking might be for banks to come up with ways of keeping it simple and secure. Whether the on-site and online banking experience can be replaced by mobile banking... that's a whole other story. As technology and browsers integrated in mobile devices become better, faster and more sophisticated, this might happen. However, call me old fashioned, I still believe some of the most complicated transactions will still require of a human to human interaction.
The eMarketer Banking Online report will be published next month and it would be rather interesting to see what findings and trends they show.
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