A growing number of Connecticut banks are adopting mobile banking applications as they compete for younger depositors and customers — especially small business owners — who demand more ease of service on their hand-held devices.
Citizens Bank, for example, just launched one of the first mobile banking applications in the Northeast targeted specifically at small business owners. It allows users to manage their cash and payments, approve pending transactions, view account history and transaction details, and receive alerts and bank mail.
The iPhone application, called accessMOBILE, is available free to Citizens’ commercial and business banking customers and will be made available in the future for Blackberrys and Droids.
Prabhat Vira, head of Citizens’ global transaction services team in the Americas, said the bank’s business customers have been rapidly adopting the use of smart phone technology and are seeking ways to use it to run their businesses more efficiently. As a result, Citizens’ responded by making a “significant” investment in accessMOBILE, which compliments another application the bank already has available for retail customers.
“It’s an anytime, anywhere capability that allows customers more time to focus on other aspects of their business,” Vira said.
Webster Bank also recently rolled out its mobile banking service to customers with iPhones, Androids, Blackberry’s and other users of cellphones and Web-linked handheld devices.
The new app allows customers to pay bills, check balances, and transfer funds in their Webster Bank accounts.
Greg Jacobi, Webster’s senior vice president of eBanking, said the bank adopted the technology because of customer demand. He said Webster tracked that many of its customers were accessing the company’s online site through a mobile device.
But that wasn’t providing a great experience for users, Jacobi said, because the site is bulky and meant to be displayed on a computer monitor, not a hand-held device.
So, Webster designed a mobile app that simplifies the online banking experience. For example, instead of Webster’s homepage popping up, the mobile app takes the user straight to a log-in option.
“It gives people a really great experience as opposed to something that is hard to see, or requires you to zoom in,” Jacobi said.
Webster also made its platform accessible on different types of mobile devices. IPhone users, for example, have a touch screen interface, while devices with a keypad have directional arrow capabilities.
In addition to ease of access, competition is also a major factor in banks adopting the technology. Mobile banking is becoming increasingly popular as banks compete for younger and more tech savvy customers.
Over half of the top 100 financial institutions offer mobile banking services, according to a recently released report from Maryland-based First Annapolis, an industry consulting group.
Surprisingly, the activity is not concentrated among the top 25 or even top 50 banks, with many smaller banks actively utilizing vendor capabilities to offer mobile options.
Rockville Bank in Vernon, with $1.6 billion in assets, was one of the first community banks in Connecticut to adopt the technology in 2009.
Banks that are slow to adopt it are likely to fall behind their competitors in attracting younger customers, experts say.
Marketing the technology is also important. Webster Bank has accompanied the roll out its new mobile capabilities with an aggressive ad campaign, including the use of billboards along I-84.
Jacobi said the audience Webster is targeting is younger, tech-savvy individuals, but, as the technology evolves and becomes more mainstream, he envisions a much broader pool of potential customers.
In terms of where the technology for mobile and online banking goes next, it is anyone’s guess. Remote deposit, which allows someone to deposit a check from their home or office by snapping a digital photo of the check and sending it to the bank, could gain traction. So could more advanced integrated payment systems.
But Jacobi said banks must be vigilant in determining which technology to invest in because there will undoubtedly be winners and losers.
“The question is which formant is going to win out,” Jacobi said. “Not all of these technologies are going to make it.”n
Greg Bordonaro writes the Financial Sense column every other week. Reach him at gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com.
