InfoBytes Blog
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's Payment Strategies Team Provides Snapshot of Mobile Banking Landscape
On August 17, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston published a report that outlines the results of a 2014 survey intended to capture “a point-in-time snapshot of mobile banking and payments at [financial institutions]” across five Federal Reserve bank districts. One of the largest U.S. surveys completed on mobile banking and payment services at financial institutions, the collected data mostly came from banks and credit unions – a combined total of more than 600 – with less than $500 million in assets. The survey showed that with the rise of smartphones, consumers are more easily able to use mobile devices for payments, and they demonstrate “growing comfort with mobile and digital wallets as well as willingness to pay with mobile-based solutions.” As competing mobile technologies emerge, such as non-bank technology service providers, the report found the need for financial institutions to “create mobile banking and payment strategies to respond to [the] changing environment” becomes more relevant. The report highlighted that roughly 75 percent of the financial institutions surveyed offer the following mobile services, with a majority of the remaining 25 percent planning to offer them by 2016: (i) checking balances; (ii) transferring funds between a single owner’s account; (iii) viewing statements and transaction history; (iv) ATM / branch locator; and (v) bill payment. The report further suggested that financial institutions should “keep pace” with the growing mobile banking market and “be proactive and help make the best solutions succeed.”