The success of Peiffer's software offers an important lesson for financial companies that have not yet developed apps for phones using Google Inc.'s operating system: Android users are among the most active mobile banking users.
Many banks are not meeting that demand, however, and observers say that by neglecting that market banks are training people to be more accepting of third-party software, an approach that could cost them users in the long run and, in the wrong hands, might also open the door to fraud.
"There's a massive potential that's completely unfulfilled at the moment" by banks, Peiffer said.
Peiffer introduced the Android Banking app in February. It initially let customers of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (where Peiffer banks) view balances, transfer funds and pay bills. He has since updated the app to support customers of PNC Financial Services Group Inc., BB&T Corp. and, as of this week, Huntington Bancshares Inc. Peiffer said that he adds new banks based on demand — next up is Fifth Third Bancorp.
"I actually built the app mostly just because I wanted it for my own accounts," said Peiffer, who writes software for a health insurance company and says he worked at JPMorgan Chase until 2008.
At midday Wednesday, Android Banking was No. 4 in the Android Market's list of top financial apps for sale; Peiffer said it has bounced around the top 10 recently, but is often in the top five. More than 5,000 people have downloaded the $2.50 app.
James Van Dyke, the principal and founder of Javelin Strategy and Research, said Peiffer's success is a sign that the market for mobile banking is moving faster than banks have been responding.
"Banks have been a little slow to understand the pace by which mobile is unfolding," he said. "It's kind of like the early days of online banking."
But banks ignore Android at their own peril, he said.
"The users that have the highest usage are those on Android right now," Van Dyke said. "If the consumer is going to one of these" apps developed by third-party providers, the banks "have lost control of the experience."
Banks that do cater to Android users have seen strong demand, with adoption rates by customers exceeding those for apps designed for Apple Inc.'s iPhone or Research in Motion Ltd.'s Blackberrys. A March survey from Javelin Strategy and Research further determined that mobile banking users on Android handsets log in more frequently than iPhone users.
Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and USAA Federal Savings Bank offer Android apps, as does Intuit Inc.'s personal financial management service Mint.com, but many other banking heavyweights have yet to make their presence known on the Android Market.
Peiffer once offered a version of his app for Wachovia Corp. customers, but shut it down at the bank's request. Peiffer said he does not mind pushback from banks that plan to roll out their own Android apps. However, he was disappointed at Wachovia's response; because Wells Fargo purchased the company, he does not expect Wachovia to support its customers with its own Android app. Wachovia customers whose accounts have not yet been converted to Wells Fargo's systems can use the San Francisco banking company's mobile website but not its Android app.
