AUSTIN, Texas-With mobile remote deposit capture, bill pay, P2P transfers and more gaining widespread acceptance, is mobile banking mature? Or does the mobile channel still have a few tricks up its sleeve?
Despite how quickly mobile banking has become almost ubiquitous, the channel is far from tapped out on new things to come and new opportunities, several analysts told Credit Union Journal. The next wave, said Brian Abele, SVP of product management at Q2ebanking, is being driven by tablets, which have had an even faster adoption curve than smartphones, according to some experts.
"Mobile has expanded its footprint to include these tablet devices that came in as novelties and have become more and more used within a member's household," said Abele. "With that, you see not only a need to have the right strategy and approach to meet smartphone needs, but to meet tablet needs and to make sure the member can do things they need to do from any access point."
Abele explained that consumers tend to spend more time on their tablets than on a smartphone, with each device serving a specific purpose. "A smartphone is typically for a very quick access, immediate need, quick transfer or something along those lines," he said. "A tablet is more of an engaging device, which presents credit unions with a great opportunity. People tend to sit down, spend more time with it, and want to transact more within that particular device. You can see things like personal financial management, and richer, deeper types of functions that can take place."
Steve Shaw, VP of strategic marketing for digital channels and electronic payments at Fiserv, pointed out that much of the innovation to come will be driven by functionalities that already exist, but are better used via tablet devices that offer larger screen sizes. He pointed out that video content such as tutorials or financial education are better realized with a tablet than a smartphone, and the larger screen size also gives CUs better opportunities to make loans over mobile devices because of more user-friendly keypads and touchscreens. He offered the example that members may soon apply for a loan via a tablet device, visit a branch to sign any necessary documentation, and get a notification on his or her smartphone that the loan has been funded.
CUNA Mutual Group has led the way on that front with its LoanLiner.com feature, which allows members to apply for loans via smartphones and tablets. It also recently launched new smartphone technology aimed at helping CU members with car buying while on the dealer's lot (Credit Union Journal, March 4).
"We're going to see a lot of innovations to the tablet being a distinct channel and providing a tailored experience there to being a unique differentiation through the tablet channel," said Shaw.
Mobile remote deposit capture continues to be the killer app for FIs to drive adoption of mobile banking offerings, and Daniel Simon, regional sales manager, mobile deposit, at Mitek Systems, noted that innovation in mobile will partly be driven by what consumers can do with the cameras on their mobile devices. Mitek has recently rolled out a mobile photo bill pay feature that allows consumers to take a picture of a bill to add payees to their online bill pay, set up recurring payments and more.
But what role will mobile RDC play as check volumes decline? Shaw pointed out that while consumers write fewer checks today, many businesses still heavily rely on paper checks.
"Those tend to be the checks that we have," said Simon. "I got three checks in the mail just last week. I didn't want them, but when they come in, I lay them down on the table and use my credit union banking app to deposit them. Whether I like it or not, those checks are there."
Fiserv's Steve Shaw noted that mobile banking has played a role in declining check volumes, but said that the real driver in the continuing decline of consumer check volumes will be the rise of P2P payments. "If historically I had to write you a check or go to the ATM, with P2P networks I can credit or debit my own account," he said. "As more consumers become aware of that technology and are using that technology through their mobile app, that's going to complement mobile remote deposit capture and be the next wave where we'll see widespread adoption."
