Javelin Strategy & Research today released a report indicating that mobile banking is quickly moving from a "techie" to mainstream capability that is changing how consumers manage their finances today, which in turn will change how consumers pay for goods in the future.
The report, 2009 Mobile-Banking and Smartphone Forecast, examines services offered by carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile.
The report also features five-year forecasts for mobile-banking usage that documents the growing availability of mobile banking at everyday financial institutions.
"Mobile banking is quickly moving from infancy to commonplace, which will help separate the winners from losers in banks' ability to attract and keep technology-loving consumers," said Mary Monahan, Research Director and Managing Partner. "Consumers are hungry for the 'always-on' and 'real time' ability to monitor and manage their money, and mobile banking serves that need better than any other."
The Javelin report also covers general smartphone adoption, which is a secondary factor driving mobile banking, and the race to develop the basic thin-client capabilities that Javelin calls "wrapper applications" to integrate financial services into mobile online sites.
Key Findings of the Javelin 2009 Mobile-Banking and Smartphone Forecast
• Nearly half of mobile-phone owners currently have access to mobile banking today.
• By 2014, 45% of mobile-phone users will actually use mobile banking.
• 99 million U.S. adults will conduct mobile banking transactions at least once per year by 2014 - with 52% of mobile-phone users relying on smartphones.
• Mobile banking will rival online banking, with the former used as a "remote control" and the latter as a detailed form of control panel for more complex transactions.
• AT&T has the highest number of mobile bankers due to the iPhone's influence, while Verizon Wireless has the lowest penetration for mobile bankers among the top tier U.S. wireless carriers.
"Mobile banking is quickly becoming an essential consumer capability," said Mark Schwanhausser, Financial Services Channels Analyst. "Just as the iPod changed the music industry and their business models, our data shows that iPhone users are changing the banking industry by leading the way in monitoring and managing finances through mobile devices."