Financial services is a prime candidate for the mobile Internet, according to a recent IntelliQuest survey of technology-savvy consumers in the US.
After e-mail, financial transaction-based activities show the most promise for spurring the adoption of m-commerce, provided that users have a completely secure network through which the transaction is processed, and are given a choice of suppliers and personalised services. The study was commissioned by mobile technology firm Tantau Software.
"The survey results indicate there is a high interest in the wireless Internet - 70 percent among wireless device users - with 63 percent of respondents interested in banking or financial transactions-based activities," says Lee Dilday, vice president of custom research for Millward Brown IntelliQuest.
Survey participants were drawn from IntelliQuest's Technology Panel which includes thousands of US consumers who have been identified as technology-product users and purchasers and purchase influencers.
Information security was identified as a key concern by survey participants. Information is considered secure if it is inaccessible by an outside party from the time it leaves the wireless device to its final destination.
Personalisation was also rated as a very important feature, with more than three-quarter of those expressing a preference indicating they would be less likely to use a wireless device for banking in the absence of customisation.