Michael Emilio

I’ve been noticing recently amongst friends and associates the rising popularity of mobile banking.

When I say mobile banking, I’m talking about accessing their bank accounts through their cellphones and PDAs – its really starting to enter the consciousness of most technologically savvy executives and business owners. I recently went out with some buddies of mine and I noticed a good friend of mine (who’s an internet entrepreneur and marketer) whip out his Blackberry and check his account balance plus some other recent transactions. Now, I know that most people are a little skittish about logging into a website through their Apple iPhone, for example, and checking out ultra-confidential information, such as their bank statements. Some might think, “What if someone intercepts the signal and hacks into my account and steals all my money?” In fact 89% of consumers do not feel comfortable in using their cellphones to do their mobile-banking transactions.

Well, turns out younger people around the world are really coming to grips with the fact that mobile connectivity is the way of the future, and increasingly, the way of today.

The Flexibility of Mobility

For me personally, almost everything I do is based around mobility and information flexibility. For scheduling and calendar purposes, I use Mozilla Sunbird which is an excellent replacement for Microsoft Outlook and is completely free. Mozilla is the same company that handles the equally excellent Mozilla Firefox browser, which completely blows away every other browser out there (Microsoft Internet Explorer and Apple Safari). So what I do, is I use the Provider for Google Calendar extension. This allows Sunbird to automatically update Google Calendar – which if you dont’ have, go right now and get yourself a Google account so you can use Google Calendar. G-Calendar is essential for me because it allows me to visit clients, friends, and family and at a moment’s notice, no matter where I am in the world, check my schedule for the day and the month, and the year. I can make changes to my G-Calendar and then it’ll make changes in my Sunbird. Remember my post on 8coupons and their mobile phone coupon service? Another example of mobile phones sneaking their way into the mainstream.

Another way I use mobile connectivity is Google Documents. I have a G-Documents account with certain key text files that I need at a moments notice – such as client information, todo list, and random other things, like assembling a gift list for friends and family and a list of movies to rent. It’s not only great to have this flexibility for business, but also for a vibrant social life as well.

So as people become more and more accustomed to putting personal information solely on the web (such as with Google Documents) they slowly begin to feel comfortable trusting the internet with critical information like bank statements. The mobile phone demographic group leading this charge? Generation Y (those born between 1978 and 1994) are really taking advantage of these services. Yes, the Facebook App + iPhone crowd is getting on the mobile banking bankwagon. 21% of Generation Y consumers use their cellphones for mobile-banking transactions, as compared to 10% of the general population. These numbers, especially for the Gen Y group, are expected to grow exponentially – expected to be in the upwards of 35 million mobile-banking Americans by 2010.

Which are the top mobile-banking banks?

9 out of the top 10 banks offer mobile banking – with Bank of America having the biggest amount of mobile-banking customers – a cool half a million. But just because BoA is ahead of the game now doesn’t mean they’re going to stay ahead. Technology changes extremely rapidly, mobile phone banking trends change just as fast, and these banks have to be constantly improving their services in order to stay on top of the game in terms of overall bank reputation and development of technological advances.

Speaking of reputation, 65% of people cited feeling worried that the personal information they might input online may not be secure – that was their biggest worry.

“(Banks are) pretty much keeping up with the Joneses,” says Wendy Feller, who’s the head of the financial services practice for the IBM Institute of Business Value. “My bigger fear is that they’re not pushing the envelope”.

Is it really worth marketing to Generation Y?

I’ll give you a few reasons to prove that Gen Y is a market to really notice and market to – I’ll give you 1.89 trillion reasons actually. Yes that’s right, Generation Y’s collective annual income is $1.89 trillion, with more than 75 million members. These numbers are expected to jump 85% over the next 10 years to $3.5 trillion, which would surpass earnings from Baby Boomer’s by over $500 billion. Now we can definitely see why this group can be very profitable for businesses willing be on the cutting edge of technology. The market is there – the question, though – is the technology there?

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