Mobile Devices: New Payments Tool

By Mark Brousseau

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that the number of users of mobile banking services in the United States could reach 21.27 million in 2010.

“Mobile devices are becoming important tools in the payments and banking space and can definitely be expected to play an important role in the U.S.,” said Frost & Sullivan Strategic Industry Analyst Vikrant Gandhi. “There is a flurry of recent activity around both payments and banking, with investments, operator adoption and development of innovative solutions driving these markets.”

Various mobile payment solutions allow peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer between individuals through the mobile phone, while increasing penetration of mobile data services such as messaging, mobile Internet and others offer multiple avenues for providing mobile banking services.

However, gaining subscribers’ confidence and educating them about the capabilities of mobile financial services offerings poses a major challenge, Gandhi said. There are bound to be concerns about storing subscriber information on the handset or losing connectivity in the middle of an important financial transaction.

“A strong push by FIs and mobile operators is required to help in the adoption of mobile financial services,” said Gandhi. “Specialized industry participants from the mobile payments and mobile banking segments need to work closely to offer solutions capable of satisfying a wide range of financial needs of mobile subscribers.”

The key success factor will lie in giving customers the option of performing various financial transactions on the move, Gandhi predicted. While mobile payments and banking may never fully replace online interactions, they could prove to be an ideal fit for particular types of transactions such as micro-transactions. These services can also be tailored to the needs of a particular niche or category of customers by adjusting various parameters.

Integrated mobile banking and payments services are likely to be a key future trend, according to Frost & Sullivan's research. Where is your financial institution in the rollout of its mobile payments and banking offerings? E-mail me at m_brousseau@msn.com.