After two years of flat growth, consumer mobile banking jumped from 19% to 30% in 2011, corresponding to a rise in financial institutions offering mobile banking and an increase in consumer smartphone ownership, according to recent research by Javelin Strategy & Research.

The triple play—mobile banking via SMS text, mobile browser, and downloadable apps—is emerging as the new norm, with four out of five vendors now offering it. However, security remains a top concern, as almost half of consumers cite fear of security as the main reason they do not use mobile banking.

“Mobile banking, once considered a ‘nice-to-have,’ is now a ‘must-have’ for FIs who want to stay competitive and meet growing consumer demand for this channel,” says Mary Monahan, executive vice-president and research director, Mobile, at Javelin.

Vendors seeking market leadership will also need a thorough understanding of how to incorporate these trends into the development of their solutions. For example, the mobile banking industry is consolidating, with players bringing mobile technologies in-house. Tablet adoption by consumers is growing at a tremendous rate, and FIs and vendors will need to provide access to mobile banking specifically designed for tablet users. Javelin also identified those operating systems that vendors will need to support, as well as the mobile banking features that consumers want.

Javelin’s latest research report, “2011 – 2012 Mobile Banking Vendor Scorecard: Mobile Banking Has Moved from a “Nice-to-Have” to a “Must-Have” Channel,” analyzes best practices and top trends in this rapidly shifting industry and reveals the best mobile banking solutions available today.

Javelin scored the offerings of 15 major vendors, using data from surveys conducted with more than 10,000 consumers and executive interviews with six financial institutions. The report provides strategic guidance to FIs for development of their mobile banking strategies and selection of vendors and key insights on critical features and functionality for vendors when designing the next versions of their solutions.

“The results are in,” says James Van Dyke, president, Javelin. “Fiserv, FIS, and Sybase received the highest scores. Fiserv won “Best in Class”, while mFoundry won “Path to Mobility.” With all these industry changes, it will be interesting to see how vendors fare in next year’s report.”

 

 

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