ClairMail has pioneered the mobile banking triple play by offering messaging, mobile Web and client applications on an integrated platform. Using the latest Smartphone technologies, the Novato, CA-based company fuses all three modes into a single, intuitive 'smart client' interface which provides mobile banking customers with an integrated user experience. The key benefit for end users is that they don't have to jump between modes, unlike with other bank payment and notification systems. Banks gain from using ClairMail's triple play convergence technologies since it simplifies installations and minimizes update requirements, thus lowering support costs for financial institutions.
The ability for retail banking customers to receive mobile alerts about overdrafts, transaction approvals and bill payments through a range of notification platforms such as e-mail, SMS or Push API helps customers "to feel more secure, more engaged," says Joe Salesky, ClairMail's founder, chairman and chief strategy officer.
ClairMail's thin-client approach is making a major impact. The company has recently landed more than 45 banking customers, including PNC Bank and BB&T Corp. "They've got some products and services that are quite compelling," says Mark Schwanhausser, an analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research. Schwanhausser believes that a partnership between ClairMail and Visa that's slated to produce mobile banking services between the two organizations beginning in early 2010 could help set ClairMail apart from its competitors.
ClairMail specializes in two-way actionable alerts, and Salesky is also avidly preaching the impending arrival of an age where banks can send consumers merchant-specific offers and discounts precisely when consumers are inclined to make a purchase. ClairMail's increasing customer success comes at a time when former competitors have faltered, or at least seem to be standing still. Rival mShift recently lost its deal to provide mobile banking services to Digital Insight clients and Firethorn has struggled with its carrier-inclusive business model.
