UK banks STILL trailing when it comes to mobile banking?

As the rest of the world got involved with the mobile banking race early on and continues to focus on developing innovative solutions for customers, the UK were slow to adopt and have been criticised for not taking advantage of the opportunities mobile banking can deliver. 

As a result, they are having to race to catch up with offerings already in the market place.

Are UK banks still trailing behind?

Yes. Forrester carried out research just last month comparing 15 large retail banks from different countries and found the UK are still trailing behind when it comes to mobile banking. Those highlighted included Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and NatWest, with NatWest scoring a little above the average. Overall though, mobile services offered by UK banks were found to be noticeably less advanced than those offered by their counterparts in North America and Europe.

As mobile banking users are expected to reach a whopping 1 billion by 2017, banks cannot afford to continue at the current lackluster pace and must step it up a gear if they are to compete globally. As customers become more tech savvy, they are demanding more advanced functionality from mobile banking and banks are simply failing to meet customer expectations.

Most big UK banks have now, at least, introduced basic mobile banking services and you will find that you can access online banking from your phone. RBS have developed an app for withdrawing funds from a cash machine simply by using your mobile phone. However, mobile banking on the whole is pretty simplistic and the innovations happening elsewhere, such as mobile cheque deposit, are nowhere to be found in the UK. Even worse, the UK banking market is largely led by a small number of 'big banks' leaving a much larger number of smaller banks and building societies who seem to be saying a flat out "no" to mobile banking.

Good news. The Payments Council announced in January 2013 that they are signing up UK banks to enable banking customers to send and receive money by sharing just their phone number by 2014. This is a huge step forward in helping UK banks catch up with latest innovations in the market place. At the moment you have big banks such as Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Santander taking part but we are also seeing new start-up, Metro Bank, taking part as well as Danske Bank and Cumberland Building Society. Hopefully this will inject some healthy competition amongst the smaller banks and building societies and encourage them to shorten the gap between mobile banking offerings and customer expectations.

Mobile banking services help banks build enduring relationships with their customers and attract desirable new customers as well as reducing those all important overheads. So why not develop a mobile solution that will set you apart?

Mobile banking is here to stay. Learn more about how HSL Mobile can help you develop a winning mobile banking service and beat off the competition. Try out our Solution Planner or get in touch. 

For further information regarding HSL, visit us at:

http://www.hslmobile.com

follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @hslmobile, Facebook or Google+

or call us on +44 (0)1506 605 260

or email us at sales@hslmobile.com

Everything you wanted to know about a Mobile Banking Strategy but were afraid to ask

Mobile banking is no longer a new concept as it fast becomes common place in many markets. This is transforming the way in which banks reach and sell to customers and is creating substantial potential for banks to increase customer loyalty and revenue as well as attract new customers and strengthen existing client relationships. But only if it's done correctly and more often than not - it's not.

 

It is no longer enough to simply develop mobile banking features. Banks must take into account the differences between their mobile banking customers and tailor mobile strategies to specific segments of mobile customers. This will greatly increase the likelihood that goals will be achieved such as increased loyalty and revenue. Mobile banking in the UK: Sizing the Market Opportunity recommend a series of different strategies for various segments which they have identified. For example, they classified one segment of customers as ‘Innovators’. These customers use mobile banking on a daily basis and are happy to pay for services which makes them a profitable segment. However, loyalty amongst this segment is low and demands are high. As a result, this report recommends that banks advocate the “time-saving qualities of mobile, allowing loan and overdraft arrangement via this channel, and allow full customization of mobile services.” They believe this strategy will help banks reach full potential for this segment. B minus - less talking more action please!

They also classified another segment of customers as ‘Mainstreamers’. These individuals aren’t yet using mobile banking services but are set to use them soon. This segment is focused very much on simple and easy to use features. However, they are likely to use multiple providers for all their product requirements. This report recommends banks advocate ‘integrated management of all holdings’ to help ensure they are the only provider for customers banking needs.

Bain and Company recommend that banks segment customers by wealth. They found that mobile banking in the US was used more as customer incomes increased but at the same time, they were also found to be one of the least loyal segments as they expect more and are not easily impressed with functions. This means that banks cannot expect mobile banking to simply increase loyalty for all customers, they must go beyond this. C minus - could do more!

Bain and Company also state banks should focus on the more affluent customers as they are the most profitable segment. The reason for this is that once they are happy with services offered by the bank, they are more likely to promote the bank to their affluent friends and family and take on further products. In order to keep this segment happy, Bain and Company recommend services are tailored to the individual, expert advice is given and personal banking relationships are developed in order to turn wealthy mobile banking customers into promoters of the bank.

There are multiple ways to dice customer data, but as long as banks develop clear segments and tailor their services accordingly, they are more likely to enhance customer loyalty, increase revenues substantially and attract new customers in an extremely competitive market. Read our UK Banks catching up with Mobile Banking blog for some ideas on future mobile banking innovations.

For further information regarding HSL, visit us at:

http://www.hslmobile.com 

follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @hslmobile or Google+  

or call us on +44 (0)1506 605260

or email us at sales@haysystems.com