The march of mobile banking has moved more slowly in the U.K. than in other countries, but NatWest and RBS have moved more quickly than others. They were among the first to offer native smartphone apps, and this week became the first two U.K. banks to offer native iPad tablet apps.
The services, in both cases provided by Monitise, include transfers, balance inquiries, transaction tracking and loan calculators.
Consumers will also be able to locate cash machines, top up prepaid mobile accounts, and calculate repayment options for loans.
Both banks had already offered iPhone apps, with RBS doing so for the past three years. That makes them unusual in the U.K. market, where less than half of the major banks offer native mobile apps.
But pressure is increasing on U.K. banks to expand mobile capabilities. Analysis from the research group the Future Foundation, commissioned by Monitise, says the number of Britons who manage their money on a mobile phone has doubled to 10% in the past two years and is expected to surpass 50% over the next three years.
"U.K. consumers want to be increasingly in control of their money," said the report's author, Barry Clark. "This demand seems sure to continue as new services are made available and people become more familiar with the concept of managing the full range of their finances through their handset."
