Mobile banking

Mobile banking (also known as M-Banking, mbanking, SMS Banking etc.) is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions, payments etc. via a mobile device such as a mobile banking. Mobile banking today (2007) is most often performed via SMS or the Mobile Internet but can also use special programs called clients downloaded to the mobile device

A mobile banking conceptual model

In one academic model, mobile banking is defined as:


"Mobile Banking refers to provision and availment of banking- and financial services with the help of mobile telecommunication devices.The scope of offered services may include facilities to conduct bank and stock market transactions, to administer accounts and to access customised information."
According to this model Mobile Banking can be said to consist of three inter-related concepts:

Mobile Accounting
Mobile Brokerage
Mobile Financial Information Services

Most services in the categories designated Accounting and Brokerage are transaction-based. The non-transaction-based services of an informational nature are however essential for conducting transactions - for instance, balance inquiries might be needed before committing a money remittance. The accounting and brokerage services are therefore offered invariably in combination with information services. Information services, on the other hand, may be offered as an independent module.

Trends in mobile banking


The advent of the Internet has revolutionized the way the financial services industry conducts business, empowering organizations with new business models and new ways to offer 24x7 accessibility to their customers.
The ability to offer financial transactions online has also created new players in the financial services industry, such as online banks, online brokers and wealth managers who offer personalized services, although such players still account for a tiny percentage of the industry.
Over the last few years, the mobile and wireless market has been one of the fastest growing markets in the world and it is still growing at a rapid pace. According to the GSM Association and Ovum, the number of mobile subscribers exceeded 2 billion in September 2005, and now exceeds 2.5 billion (of which more than 2 billion are GSM).
According to a study by financial consultancy Celent, 35% of online banking households will be using mobile banking by 2010, up from less than 1% today. Upwards of 70% of bank center call volume is projected to come from mobile phones. Mobile banking will eventually allow users to make payments at the physical point of sale. "Mobile Contactless payment” will make up 10% of the contactless market by 2010.
Many believe that mobile users have just started to fully utilize the data capabilities in their mobile phone. In Asian countries like India, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Philippines, where mobile infrastructure is comparatively better than the fixed-line infrastructure, and in European countries, where mobile phone penetration is very high (at least 80% of consumers use a mobile phone), mobile banking is likely to appeal even more.
This opens up huge markets for financial institutions interested in offering value added services. With mobile technology, banks can offer a wide range of services to their customers such as doing funds transfer while travelling, receiving online updates of stock price or even performing stock trading while being stuck in traffic. According to the German mobile operator Mobilcom, mobile banking will be the "killer application" for the next generation of mobile technology.
Mobile devices, especially smartphones, are the most promising way to reach the masses and to create “stickiness” among current customers, due to their ability to provide services anytime, anywhere, high rate of penetration and potential to grow. According to Gartner, shipment of smartphones is growing fast, and should top 20 million units (of over 800 million sold) in 2006 alone.
In the last 4 years, banks across the globe have invested billions of dollars to build sophisticated internet banking capabilities. As the trend is shifting to mobile banking, there is a challenge for CIOs and CTOs of these banks to decide on how to leverage their investment in internet banking and offer mobile banking, in the shortest possible time.[Citation needed]
The proliferation of the 3G (third generation of wireless) and widespread implementation expected for 2003–2007 will generate the development of more sophisticated services such as multimedia and links to m-commerce services.