NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Corporate Insight today released its comprehensive report, “Money on the Move: Mobile Finance Review 2011,” which details the industry leaders and best practices in the mobile finance space. The leader in competitive intelligence in the financial services industry examined over 70 brokerages, banks, credit card companies, and asset management firms to provide an in-depth view of the history and future of the mobile finance landscape. The study summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of each firm’s mobile platforms and provides industry best practices and recommendations to help financial institutions build better mobile offerings.
“The benefits offered by a strong mobile platform are clear. By embracing mobile, companies can reduce servicing costs, improve client satisfaction and position themselves as industry innovators,” says Dan Wiegand, senior analyst at Corporate Insight and author of the report. “While the logistics of mobile finance pose an array of development, support and security challenges to financial services firms, there’s no denying that we have entered the mobile era. Financial service firms do not want to be left behind.”
As a supplement to “Money on the Move: Mobile Finance Review 2011,” Corporate Insight conducted an informal survey of financial executives to gather insight regarding their future plans in the mobile space. Among the respondents, 68% said mobile has already had a positive impact on their business, and 80% agreed that a mobile offering is a very important to the firm’s customer service strategy.
Banks and credit card issuers have demonstrated the strongest commitment to mobile to date as firms provide customers with the ability to perform numerous transactions, such as transfer funds, pay bills/credit cards and even remotely deposit checks by smartphone. Bill or card payments are available at 86% of the banks and 100% of credit card firms tracked by Corporate Insight. The research firm also found that 80% of the banks it tracks offer a mobile optimized website and 80% also offer at least one mobile application. Brokerages seem to view mobile offerings as a natural extension of their online access. Mobile trading is one of the most important features of a mobile brokerage site or app, and 64% of the brokerages tracked by Corporate Insight offered stock/ETF order entry. Corporate Insight also noted a fair number of asset management firms provide investment commentary and analysis in multimedia format, as podcasts or videos, although currently Vanguard is the only company to offer clients the ability to conduct research or make fund trades through a mobile device.
- Chase, USAA and Bank of America lead the banking/credit card space with their wide array of mobile features.
- E*TRADE, Fidelity and TD Ameritrade are among the top performing brokerage firms in the mobile finance space with all three firms offering strong mobile platforms and apps for a wide variety of devices.
- Vanguard and TIAA-CREF are currently leading the asset management space in mobile offerings.
Corporate Insight recommends that firms expand the reach of their mobile offerings by making them available across all devices. This includes apps that function on different operating systems, as well as an optimized mobile site, to ensure accessibility for the broadest array of users.
Today’s mobile devices are capable of supporting advanced market data, such as streaming real-time quotes and interactive charts, as well as multimedia research and commentary in the form of podcasts and video. These can all be easily incorporated into a smartphone’s touch screen viewing area, and can be further expanded on a full-sized tablet such as the iPad. Corporate Insight advocates putting the facilities available on mobile smartphones and tablets its fullest advantage.
Firms generally offer mobile access to any clients already enrolled in online, allowing customers to use the same login information on-the-go. Simplifying the mobile login process while still maintaining security standards is both important and difficult on a smartphone keyboard, although it is important to note that many mobile security measures are maintained out of view of the customer interface.
“Mobile services are still gaining momentum. In fact, May 2011 was one of the most active months we’ve seen in the mobile space yet. As consumers become increasingly mobile-focused in their daily lives, it’s reasonable to expect financial firms will continue to invest in the mobile channel, improving existing platforms and launching apps to support additional devices in the months to come,” explains Wiegand. “Corporate Insight will continue to track the space closely.”
For questions regarding the way financial institutions are serving clients through the mobile finance landscape or to arrange an interview with a Corporate Insight analyst and learn more about findings from “Money on the Move: Mobile Finance Review 2011,” please contact:
Ashley Bowles, 212-909-4782, abowles@intermarket.com
Stephanie DiIorio, 212-754-5181, sdiiorio@intermarket.com
Corporate Insight currently provides a comprehensive selection of syndicated research to 90% of the top financial services companies within the Fortune 500, representing 70% of the brokerage industry and 60% of US banking assets. Its expert analysts compile highly detailed research audits that deliver a unique, firsthand understanding of financial product offerings and websites. All research is compiled through personal interaction with each website. Further information from Corporate Insight is available at http://www.corporateinsight.com.