It has been two years since mobile banking was introduced in the United States, and analysts at ABI Research believe it is time to assess its progress, with a focus on the user-friendliness (or otherwise) of the services on offer. The firm has published a mobile banking �report card� which assesses 29 banks on the discoverability and accessibility of their mobile banking services.
Senior analyst Mark Beccue says, �People are asking �Is mobile banking taking off in the US?� For that to happen, two things are required: the services must be easy to find, and accessible to a broad range of consumers . So the �grades� in this report card are not about subscriber numbers or any other measure of success, but about how consumer-friendly the banks� offerings are.�
The results are as follows:
A � Exceptional: BB&T, Eastern Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Northeast Bank, USAA, Wells Fargo
B+ � Very Good: Bank of America, Chase
B � Good: Capital One, US Bank, Huntington Bank
C � Average: America First, Bancorp South, Citibank, PNC, Wachovia
D � Below Average: Carolina First, 1st Bank, IBC Bank, Mercantile Bank, Regions, SunTrust, Synovus
F � Failing: M&T, Provident Bank
No mobile banking offering: Citizens Bank, Comerica, HSBC, KeyBank
Of 29 banks examined, 17 are the nation�s largest retail banks. The remaining dozen banks are a sampling of other community and regional banks.
Summarizing the results, Beccue says, �We have two observations/recommendations. First, mobile banking�s reach in the US isn�t as good as it could be. If banks want mobile banking to be ubiquitous and available to as many consumers as possible, they�ll have to promote text messaging in particular as the method of choice. Secondly, if you�re in the retail banking business and you don�t have a link � or at least a list of your mobile banking services � on your website�s homepage, then you�re undermining your whole effort. Discoverability is critically important.�
�Mobile Banking: US Banks Report Card� evaluates and grades 29 US banks on the reach, breadth of services offered, security, and discoverability of their mobile banking operations, resulting in a report card which shows the leaders and laggards of mobile banking in the US.
It forms part of the firm�s Mobile Money Research Service.
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