So far Barclays, Cumberland Building Society, Danske Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Metro Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander have become involved but the Payments Council has reported that they are in talks to encourage more financial institutions to take part.
The Payments Council has stated this will be a step in helping the UK banks catch up with the innovations that have already taken place overseas. Adrian Kamellard, Chief Executive of the Payments Council, said: “This new service will offer a simple, secure way to split a bill for dinner, receive money from a friend or pay a tradesman without needing to remember or share account details.”
A number of UK banks have begun offering mobile banking services such as Barclays Pingit service which allows customers to make minor payments using their mobiles, whilst RBS & NatWest enable customers to withdraw up to £100 from an ATM using just a pin code sent to their mobile phone. However, compared to other countries such as the US and Asia these developments are relatively small and cautious.
According to an article in Telecoms.com expectation in the industry is that mobile banking will grow to 1 billion by 2017 with Nitin Bhas, senior analyst at Juniper Research, stating it is increasingly being viewed as a vital revenue source. Banks cannot afford to lose out on the massive opportunities that mobile banking can offer, particularly as consumers want more innovative services from their banks.
Some banks are beginning to look beyond the traditional mobile banking offering already by offering housing and mortgage apps. Halifax, as reported in The Financial Brand, estimated that buyers will use their smartphones three times more than they are at the moment to purchase their next property over the next 5 years. Estate agents are therefore quickly realising the benefits of mobile technology and are building apps to catch new customers, improve their brand image and increase loyalty.
What else can mobile banking do to help banks? In an article in the Telegraph it was reported that more than half of people residing in the UK state online banking services as pinnacle to bank loyalty particularly in light of the new reforms surrounding account switching. They also reported that although 81% of people use online banking and 20% use mobile banking once a month or more, only 45% will visit their nearest branch once a month or more.
Another survey by Bain & Company found mobile banking was more likely to increase a customer's likelihood to recommend his or her bank to other people than any other channel interaction.
The ath Power 2012 Mobile Banking study also conclude that mobile customers are more loyal and that the quality of a mobile service plays a key role in who they bank with for affluent customers and small business owners. They also state that the mobile channel will be important in fraud prevention as more people begin to use mobile services and become familiar with security alerts.
This year and beyond we expect to see further innovations in mobile banking across the UK as banks recognise the benefits of mobile banking for both their customers and the bank. We are already working with our clients to get ahead of the game but to find out a little more about how your customers can start their mobile banking journey, please read our case studies
