Ask any banker if they offer online banking and you’ll get a look similar to if you just asked them if they’ve ever heard of “this Facebook thing-y”.  “Of course we offer online banking” they’ll respond.  Ask them if they offer mobile banking and you are more likely to get either “Yes” or “We are working on it”.  Ask them if they have a strategic plan for their mobile banking product and you’ll probably get a lot of averted eyes and shuffling of feet.

Mobile banking is the next step in offering customers a true 24/7 banking environment.  While it’s often viewed as a component of online banking, it should actually be considered its own banking channel, on par with online banking and the branch network.  Where it diverges from these channels, however is that online banking is relatively mature and branch traffic is dropping off a cliff in most locations. Mobile banking numbers are showing consistent growth – adoption grew from 2% in 2007 to 11% in 2009.  As more and more people switch to smart phones like the iPhone  and Droid, usage is sure to continue to increase. (more…)