Spending forecasts suggest mobile is a top priority for banks in 2013.
North American retail banks will increase their overall spending on information technology to $45.7 billion, up 3.3 percent from last year, according to the research and consulting firm Ovum. Investment in initiatives specific to mobile banking, such as apps, will grow by 6.7 percent this year and will rise at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2 percent between 2013 and 2017.
Ovum attributes this in part to retail banks wanting to capitalize on features unique to mobile, such as location-based services. It also predicts some banks will shift traditional bricks-and-mortar marketing online.
A separate American Banker survey shows an emphasis on mobile as well.
Our survey of decision makers at U.S. banks indicates that 33 percent plan to increase capital spending this year.
Of those, 80 percent plan higher IT spending specifically.
Asked to identify which areas of IT the increase would go to, most cited mobile (57 percent), followed by security (52 percent) and online (46 percent).
Various initiatives are on the agenda for those investing more in the mobile and online channels. Remote deposit capture is the most popular, and mobile payments are not far behind. Other projects spurring the bigger budgets include mobile photo bill capture and smartphone and tablet apps for consumers and small businesses.
American Banker fielded its survey of U.S. banking executives online in December. Most of the 298 respondents are at the C-level, generally from commercial and retail banks across the size spectrum. But some other types of financial institutions, including thrifts and credit unions, are represented.
The Ovum forecast is based on interviews in October and November with 75 North American IT executives, the majority of them from U.S. banks with more than $10 billion in assets.
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