Big data to drive banks' mobile wallet strategies - Finextra research

Research from Finextra finds that banks around the world are looking to discounted offers and big data analytics to beat off the competition from telcos and tech start-ups as they battle for control of the consumer mobile wallet.

For the research - conducted on behalf of Clear2Pay and NGData - Finextra surveyed more than 183 bankers on the key issues around the monetisation of mobile payments. Respondents were primarily (76 percent) employed by large banks with more than 2500 employees and ranged from C-level executives to business development, IT and marketing strategy management - with a nearly even split between national and international banks.

The study found growing awareness among banking executives as it pertains to mobile wallet strategies, with more than half of respondents saying that they understood the mobile wallet's role in the overall mobile banking ecosystem.

In terms of the biggest mobile wallet drivers and strategies, the survey found that:

81 percent of banks would like to add value beyond the transaction by making relevant commercial offers at the Point of Sale (POS);
67 percent of banks said they would like to capture and be the full custodian of their customers' value (money, coupons, air miles, etc.);
43 percent said they have plans to deploy a mobile wallet offering within the next six to 12 months;
60 percent believe that the natural home for mobile wallet is within the trusted banking environment, rather than a third party application; and
49 percent said they would co-operate if there was an open industry wallet initiative to drive the future of a customer-centric mobile wallet offering.

The bankers surveyed by Finextra appreciate the value of Big Data analytics in understanding customer needs, but remain unsure of how to effectively assess and use their data to improve customer loyalty and lower attrition.

Approximately 44% of banks claim they do not have the right resources in place to take advantage of Big Data. However, mobile monetisation is expected to be a key driver of Big Data take-up for 68% of the surveyed executives, who see it as a business imperative for providing consumers with one-to-one targeting and personalised product offers.

Mark Hartley, chief innovation officer at Clear2Pay, comments: "We truly believe that banks are best positioned to deliver the ultimate customer experience to their clients and move beyond the payment into the heart of the transaction, thereby adding value and meaning to clients and merchants alike. This way people can use the bank's infrastructure from any device for any value: real or virtual or loyalty points with the same security and ease of use they are already accustomed to. This way, the wallet becomes a 'brand wrapper' for the bank instead of a disintermediator."

The full survey report will be made available at the MobeyDay 'monetising the mobile' conference in Barcelona this week.

It can also be downloaded directly from finextra.com/monetisingpayments.

Related Companies

Clear2Pay

Channels

Retail banking Payments

Keywords

Cards Innovation Mobile & online banking Eftpos Management information/decision support

Comments: (2)

A Finextra member 10 June, 2013, 11:25

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"It's not what I want, it's what I can give you". -- Harry Ellis (Die Hard)

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A Finextra member 25 July, 2013, 10:55

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There are some interesting points raised above:

The market presents both opportunities and threats. It’s great to see the Finextra research validate the ever-present threat of competitors. Not just the obvious horizontal organisations but also the stealth risk posed from other industries moving into the financial services space. Quite rightly, the bankers interviewed acknowledge the need to add value to their customer services and relationships
Meeting (and exceeding) customer expectations. An important strategy in adding value to customer relationships is to always ensure you’re meeting their expectations, and exceed them where you can. No surprises there. But, in the world of mobile connectivity there’s an importance balance to strike between the clever uses of big data analytics for personalized services and relevant promotions, and turning people off with spam. Banks are well advised to learn from the other forms of customer communication that have gone before; direct mail, email and landline telephone/call centres.
Earn your Customers’ Loyalty. Earning customer loyalty and controlling attrition in the mobile market place is all about service and expectations. Understanding what that really means is the secret sauce. Seeing it from a customer’s perspective is all-important. No doubt, many banks will rush to leverage their terribly clever big data with terribly dazzling displays of sophisticated marketing, without stopping to consider what really makes their customers happy.

Our experience working with mobile data in the financial services sector is that one of the fundamentals is being able to receive the very latest real-time information (up-to-date by the millisecond), on any device, regardless of location or connectivity. It might sound obvious, but not all of the banks are quite there yet. Customers find slow download speeds and page ‘refreshing’ unacceptable. That will impact loyalty and attrition in an instant.