by Ned Tobey
Financial services is often considered a mature, slow-moving industry, so it’s not surprising that in 2007, very few in the financial services industry embraced a mobile banking solution. Fast forward to the past few years where small glowing squares with the words “Netflix,” “Facebook” (F for short), and Flipboard stamped on them sitting on a smartphone screen drive the mobile expectations of banking customers. I think this is great.
Initial industry-wide skepticism about mobile banking functionality has quickly been replaced with institutional scrambling to find a solution for the growing customer demand for mobile banking. The mobile solution has quickly ceded to a mobile revolution, one that has completely changed the interaction between customers and where they put their money. It’s no longer simply about checking your account balance online; it’s about using an app on your tablet or smartphone to open your account in the first place without, if you choose, ever setting foot into your FI. Wearable computing will undoubtedly be the next big thing to impact customer expectations, and the financial services industry must grow beyond any lingering skepticism about mobile banking. Instead of the traditional ebanking structure that is siloed between voice, online, and smartphone – which is extremely difficult to both administer and maintain – it would be wise to team with a technology partner that can grow with your FI as new technologies emerge, one with an architecture that is flexible and secure.
For more information on the shift to mobile banking, see this article posted in Bank Innovation.
Western Independent Bankers 