April 22, 2010

The State Of Mobile Banking In

Europe: 2010
by Alexander Hesse
for eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Making Leaders Successful Every Day

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

April 22, 2010

The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010
Mobile Banking’s Time Has Finally Come
by Alexander Hesse
with Benjamin Ensor, Emmett Higdon, Thomas Husson, and Brendan McGowan

Exec uti v e S u mma ry

About one in eight European Net users with a mobile phone use mobile banking today — with SMS
account alerts being the most common type. Today’s users are early adopters who use mobile banking as
a complement to other channels like (PC-based) online banking — mainly to check balances and view
recent transactions. Holdouts say that they don’t see the value, can wait to use other channels, and have
security concerns. More Europeans will access their accounts from their mobiles in the coming years
thanks to a range of factors like: smartphones becoming the norm; more widely available, all-you-can-
eat data plans; and more compelling content. Today’s iPhone and BlackBerry users are already nearly
three times as likely to use mobile banking as other mobile phone users. We believe the time is right for
eBusiness and channel strategy executives to update their mobile banking strategies.

tab l e of Co n te nts N OT E S & R E S O URCE S

2 SMS Text Alerts Are Still The Most Commonly Forrester used data from its European
Used Type Of Mobile Banking Technographics® Financial Services Online
Mobile Banking Users Are Early Adopters Who Survey, Q4 2009 for this report.
Mostly Use The Service To Check Balances
6 Many Mobile Banking Holdouts Still Don’t See
Related Research Documents
The Point Of Mobile Banking “Western European Mobile Forecast, 2009 To 2014”
August 28, 2009
7 Mobile Banking’s Time Has Finally Come
“How The iPhone Has Changed Mobile Banking”
recommendations
August 4, 2009
8 Financial Services Firms Need To Update Their
Mobile Banking Strategies “The POST Method: A Systematic Approach To
9 Supplemental Material Mobile Strategy”
April 9, 2009

© 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available
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2 The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010
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SMS Text Alerts are still the most commonly used type of mobile banking
Although most large European banks have offered mobile banking services for about a decade, only
about one in eight European Net users with a mobile phone receives SMS banking alerts, accesses
mobile Internet banking sites, or uses downloadable mobile banking applications. Data from
Forrester’s Consumer Technographics surveys shows that among European Net users with a mobile
phone (see Figure 1):

· Ten percent use one-way SMS alerts. SMS text messaging is the most widespread mobile
technology after voice calls — with about two-thirds of European mobile phone users sending
SMS text messages at least monthly.1 Many European banks like ABN AMRO, Bankinter, and
Lloyds TSB let customers set up time- and event-triggered text alerts.2 Although every mobile
handset supports SMS messages and many banks have offered SMS account alerts for about a
decade, only 10% of European online mobile phone users use them. Alerts are more popular in
Spain and Italy, where some of the large banks have promoted them heavily.

· Only 4% access mobile banking Web sites. Despite the fact that catalysts like better handsets,
the launch of 3G networks, and the greater availability of all-you-can-eat mobile Internet tariffs
mean that mobile Internet adoption is taking off, it hasn’t reached mass-market adoption yet.
One in five European Net users accesses the mobile Internet at least once a week.3 But only 4%
of European Net users with a mobile phone access mobile banking Web sites today, which is
16% of weekly mobile Internet users.

· About 1% use downloadable mobile applications to access their accounts. The success of
the Apple App Store since its launch in 2008 has demonstrated the potential of mobile apps.4
Following Apple’s success, firms like Google, Microsoft, Nokia, and Research In Motion (RIM)
have launched their own application stores. This platform fragmentation adds complexity for
banks that want to support their customers across different platforms.5 Despite mobile apps
offering some advantages, such as faster access and a richer user experience, compared with
mobile banking Web sites, only a handful of European banks — like Deutsche Postbank, la
Caixa, Rabobank, and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) — currently offer mobile
banking apps. As a result, no more than 1% of European Net users with a mobile phone use
them today.

April 22, 2010 © 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

 The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010 3
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Figure 1 Mobile Banking Hasn’t Taken Off Across Europe

“Do you use any kind of mobile banking (e.g., to check your account balance, transfer money,
or pay bills using text messaging [SMS] or the mobile Internet)?”
Western
Europe ES IT SE DE FR NL UK
Yes, I receive text (SMS) alerts
on my mobile phone (e.g., 10% 18% 17% 6% 6% 9% 8% 6%
account balance information)
Yes, I access a mobile
Internet site 4% 4% 4% 6% 6% 3% 2% 3%

Yes, I downloaded a mobile

application to access my 1% 2% 1% 2% 1% 0% 1% 1%
accounts on my mobile
I used to use mobile banking,
but I have given up 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 3% 2%

No, I have never used mobile

banking 85% 78% 79% 87% 88% 87% 87% 90%

Base: 13,777 European online consumers who own a mobile phone

(multiple responses accepted)
Source: European Technographics® Financial Services Online Survey, Q4 2009
56748 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

Mobile Banking Users Are Early Adopters Who Mostly Use The Service To Check Balances
Today’s mobile banking users are early adopters who use mobile banking as a complement to other
channels like (PC-based) online banking, ATMs, and branches. They use their mobile mainly
to access information that is timely and relevant while on the go — like checking their account
balances. Today’s mobile banking users:

· Fit the typical early-adopter profile. Mobile banking adoption is highest among 25- to 39-year-
olds (see Figure 2). The average mobile banking user is considerably younger than the average
Net user (see Figure 3). Mobile banking users — especially the ones who use transactional
mobile banking services like mobile Internet banking sites and downloadable apps — tend to be
men with high incomes. Most of them are technology optimists who are confident about online
security. They are also more experienced and active Net users than the average online European.

· Already use online banking. For most European mobile banking users, mobile banking isn’t
a substitute for online banking. Some 72% of online Europeans who receive SMS alerts also
use online banking. Among European Net users who access a mobile Internet banking site or a
mobile banking application, more than 80% also bank online via their PCs.

© 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited April 22, 2010

4 The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010
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Figure 2 Mobile Banking Adoption Is Highest Among 25- To 39-Year-Olds

“Do you use any kind of mobile banking (e.g., to check your account balance, transfer money,
or pay bills using text messaging [SMS] or the mobile Internet)?”

15% Receive text

(SMS) alerts
Access a mobile
banking site
10% Downloaded a mobile
application to access
accounts

5%

0%
16-18 19-20 21-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+
Age
Base: 13,777 European online consumers who own a mobile phone
(multiple responses accepted)
Source: European Technographics® Financial Services Online Survey, Q4 2009
56748 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

Figure 3 Mobile Banking Users Fit The Typical Early-Adopter Profile

“Do you use any kind of mobile banking (e.g., to check your account balance, transfer money,
or pay bills using text messaging [SMS] or the mobile Internet)?”
Downloaded a
mobile
application
All Western Receive text Access a mobile to access
Europe (SMS) alerts Internet site accounts
Male 51% 52% 60% 63%
Average age 41 39 36 40
High income 30% 36% 40% 41%
Technology optimist 48% 60% 65% 66%
Confident in online security 23% 28% 32% 34%
Online for 10 years or more 30% 35% 40% 47%
Online at least daily 75% 83% 85% 85%
Use online banking 54% 72% 81% 82%
Base: 13,777 European online consumers who own a mobile phone
Source: European Technographics® Financial Services Online Survey, Q4 2009
56748 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

April 22, 2010 © 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

 The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010 5
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· Use mobile banking mainly to check balances and recent transactions. Popular mobile
content and services have common characteristics: They are timely, location-relevant, require
little input, and produce clear output.6 It therefore isn’t a surprise that checking account
balances and recent transactions are the most commonly used functionalities among users of all
three different types of mobile banking (see Figure 4). Net users who have downloaded a mobile
application to access their accounts are more likely to perform transactions like money transfers
and bill payments.

Figure 4 Most Mobile Banking Users Check Account Balances And Recent Transactions

“What have you used mobile banking for in the past three months?”

Checking my account balance

Checking my recent transactions

Transferring money between my own accounts

Paying bills

Transferring money to others (e.g., family/friends)

Receiving account alerts (e.g., low balance)

Topping up my mobile phone credit

Receiving transaction alerts (e.g., large payment)

Looking up location of nearest ATM and/or bank branch

Looking up stock prices

Blocking (lost/stolen) cards Receive text (SMS) alerts

Access a mobile Internet site
Checking my stock or investment portfolio Downloaded a mobile application
to access accounts
Buying or selling shares, bonds, or funds

None of these
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Base: European online consumers who own a mobile phone and who used mobile banking in the past
three months (multiple responses accepted)
Source: European Technographics® Financial Services Online Survey, Q4 2009
56748 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

© 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited April 22, 2010

6 The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010
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Many Mobile Banking Holdouts Still Don’t See The Point Of Mobile Banking
While cost and usability limitations have hampered the uptake of mobile Internet services more
widely, many banking eBusiness and channel strategy executives are still struggling to develop
and communicate a clear value proposition for mobile banking.7 When we asked European online
mobile users who don’t use mobile banking why they don’t use it, they said that they (see Figure 5):

· Don’t see the value. Forty percent of mobile banking holdouts say that they do not see the value
of using mobile banking. That is by far the most important holdout reason and also the hardest
to solve. As other self-service channels — like ATMs, online banking, and interactive voice
response (IVR) — already let consumers do most of their banking tasks by themselves, it is not
clear to many customers what additional benefits mobile banking offers.

Figure 5 Most Holdouts Do Not See The Value Of Mobile Banking

“Why don’t you use mobile banking, or why have you stopped using mobile banking?”

I see no value in using it 40%

I can wait to access my accounts through the telephone, ATM, or the Web 24%

I don’t believe it is safe/secure 22%

I don’t know whether my bank offers it 16%

I don’t know enough about it 13%

It is too expensive 12%

I don’t have the right technology on my mobile 11%

I don’t know how much it would cost 10%

My mobile’s screen is too small for anything other than calls or texts 9%

It is complicated to use 7%

My bank doesn’t offer mobile banking 2%

I can’t find enough information about it 2%

Other 13%

Base: 13,163 European online consumers who own a mobile phone and don’t use mobile banking
(multiple responses accepted)
Source: European Technographics® Financial Services Online Survey, Q4 2009
56748 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

April 22, 2010 © 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

 The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010 7
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· Can wait to use other channels. Not everyone needs to access their accounts “anytime,
anywhere.” About one in four European Net users with a mobile phone simply don’t see their
banking needs as urgent enough to warrant banking via their mobile phone.

· Don’t think it’s safe. Twenty-two percent of mobile banking holdouts say they don’t think
mobile banking is safe. With interest in mobile banking relatively low, we think this may even
underestimate the problem, as most customers aren’t really thinking about questions like
security yet.

· Don’t know about it. Sixteen percent of mobile banking holdouts say that they do not know
whether their bank even offers mobile banking services, and 13% say that they don’t know
enough about it. That’s a big improvement on three years ago, when 29% of mobile banking
holdouts didn’t know whether their bank offered mobile banking and 22% said they didn’t know
enough about it.8

· Don’t know how much it would cost. Some 12% of mobile banking holdouts say that they
think mobile banking is too expensive, and 10% are unsure about how much it would cost. With
some banks charging for SMS account alerts and not everyone having all-you-can-eat data plans
for accessing mobile services, cost remains a barrier to wider mobile banking adoption.

mobile banking’s time HAS finally come

We expect that 39% of European mobile phone users will use the mobile Internet by 2014.9 As more
people become familiar with accessing content on their mobile, we expect more people to start
accessing their bank accounts and performing transactions on their mobile phones.

· Smartphones are becoming the norm. With a decently sized touchscreen display that was
easy to read and allowed simple navigation, the launch of the iPhone in 2007 set a new
standard for mobile Internet browsing.10 Other handset manufacturers have followed suit, and
as smartphones become smaller and cheaper, they are becoming the norm for new mobile
handsets.11 That matters to banking eBusiness and channel strategy executives because iPhone
and BlackBerry users are nearly three times as likely to use mobile banking (see Figure 6). With
more handsets providing a satisfying mobile Internet experience, more consumers will try out
accessing their accounts via their mobile phone.

· More widely available all-you-can-eat data plans lower the cost barrier. Almost all operators
that offer smartphones like the BlackBerry and the iPhone have adopted flat-rate Internet access
models like T-Mobile’s ‘Web‘n’walk. With mobile operators increasingly bundling smartphones
with unlimited data plans, the cost of using mobile banking has fallen and is starting to
disappear as a barrier for customers.

© 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited April 22, 2010

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Figure 6 iPhone And BlackBerry Users Are Nearly Three Times As Likely To Use Mobile Banking

“Do you use any kind of mobile banking (e.g., to check your account balance, transfer money
or pay bills using text messaging (SMS) or the mobile Internet)?”
Receive text (SMS) alerts Access a mobile Internet site Downloaded a mobile
application to access
accounts
23%
21%21%
17%

10% 9%
4%
1% 1%
All mobile Apple iPhone BlackBerry
phone users owners owners
Base: 13,777 European online consumers who own a mobile phone
Source: European Technographics® Financial Services Online Survey, Q4 2009
56748 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

· More compelling content and commerce will drive general mobile Internet usage. Large
Internet brands like Amazon.com, eBay, Facebook, and Google are embracing mobile with
optimized-for-mobile offerings.12 This dramatically raises the quality and quantity of mobile
content and makes the mobile Internet much more compelling to consumers. With more
consumers accessing this type of content from their mobile, it becomes more likely that they
will also try using their mobile phone to perform banking tasks.

Recomme n d atio n s

financial services firms need to update their mobile banking strategies

Thanks to wider adoption of mobile services in general, mobile banking adoption will finally start
to take off. Although we don’t expect huge increases in the number of users overnight, we think
that the time is right for eBusiness and channel strategy executives at retail financial services firms
to update their mobile banking strategies. In fact, they should:

· Make their secure and public sites ”smartphone-friendly.” With today’s iPhone and
BlackBerry users nearly three times as likely to use mobile banking services as the average
mobile owner, a growing volume of traffic on banks’ secure and public Web sites will come
from smartphone devices. eBusiness managers should test and optimize both their secure
and public Web sites to make sure that they work smoothly on mobile devices, such as
smartphones and tablet computers with browsers that can render full Web sites.

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 The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010 9
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· Decide whether they want to be a mobile banking leader or a follower. With only 4%
of European Net users accessing mobile Internet sites and just 1% using downloadable
mobile apps to access their accounts today, there isn’t a clear business case for making large
investments in the channel in the short term. As a result, many large banks are taking a “wait-
and-see” approach. Nevertheless, banks like la Caixa and Rabobank have deliberately decided
to invest in state-of-the-art mobile banking services. Although this requires them to make
substantial investments, it generates a lot of marketing attention and helps these banks
position themselves as innovation leaders — two broader business objectives. eBusiness
and channel strategy professionals should thus align their mobile banking strategy with
their overall business strategy and decide whether it makes sense for them to be a mobile
banking leader.
· Think out of the box to develop a new value proposition. Forty percent of mobile banking
holdouts say that they don’t see the value of using mobile banking — mainly because
today’s mobile banking services mostly replicate functionality that is already available via
other channels. Mobile applications — like iPhone apps — give banks the opportunity
to offer entirely new mobile services that make use of the channel’s unique capabilities.
For example, banks could offer mobile banking apps that provide not only account
balances, recent transactions, and transfers but also money management functionalities —
comparable to third-party apps like iXpenseIt.13 An app might: present its user’s spending
in categories like food and rent; let them track a monthly budget visually; and send them
notifications when they have to take action — such as when a bill is due or when they need
to renew an insurance policy.
· Apply Forrester’s POST methodology before rolling out a mobile strategy. Before
deciding whether to make substantial investments in a new mobile banking service,
eBusiness and channel strategy professionals should apply Forrester’s POST methodology —
a systematic approach for developing a mobile strategy that starts with understanding the
target audience and defining the business objectives before deciding on a clear mobile
strategy and selecting a technology with which to execute it.14

Supplemental MATERIAL
Methodology
The European Technographics Financial Services Online Survey, Q4 2009, surveyed 14,148
respondents in the seven markets of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and
the UK. This survey is based on online adults ages 16 and older who are members of the Ipsos-
MORI online panel. Ipsos weighted the data by age, sex, online frequency, and hours spent online
and online banking to demographically represent the online adult European population per country.

© 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited April 22, 2010

10 The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010
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Ipsos fielded the survey in November and December 2009 and motivated respondents with various
incentives. For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size (N = 14,148), there is 95%
confidence that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 1.1% of what they would be
if the entire online adult population of Western Europe had been polled. This confidence interval
can widen to 3.1% when the data is analyzed at a country level. The sample used by Ipsos is not
a random sample; while individuals have been randomly sampled from the Ipsos panel for this
survey, they have previously chosen to take part in the Ipsos online panel. (Note: Weighted sample
sizes can be different from the actual number of respondents to account for individuals generally
underrepresented in online panels.)

Please note that this was an online survey. Respondents who participate in online surveys typically
have more experience with the Internet and feel more comfortable transacting online. The data is
weighted to be representative for the total online population on the weighting targets mentioned,
but this sample bias may produce results that differ from Forrester’s benchmark survey.

You can find more information about the data on the Survey & Data page online at http://
www.forrester.com/Survey/Archive. From this page, you will be able to download the survey
questionnaire.

Endnotes
1
Source: Forrester’s European Technographics Benchmark Survey, Q2 2009.
2
Time-triggered alerts might mean, for example, that a user receives an account balance once a week. A
subscriber to an event-triggered alert service might, for instance, receive a text message every time
her account hit a certain limit. Most European banks offer one-way SMS services that are prearranged
outbound requests, unlike the US.
3
Source: European Technographics Financial Services Online Survey, Q4 2009.
4
Mobile application stores are the missing link in the emerging mobile Internet ecosystem. Without stores,
few consumers will discover, download, or buy mobile applications or widgets. This is ironic: Mobile
applications aspire to improve the mobile Internet experience and so increase adoption of new data services,
but without a good application store, they fail on basic convenience and customer experience. The Apple
App Store demonstrates that a mix of innovation and excellent execution will transform mobile apps into a
mainstream success. The raft of new mobile app stores from mobile operators, handset makers, technology
suppliers, and others must focus on implementation and cooperation if they are to succeed. In particular,
app stores need wide distribution to encourage the wide catalog that makes their offering attractive to
consumers. Without it, developers will have a smaller addressable market and make fewer sales — and so be
less inclined to support that store or develop for that handset. Stores that attempt to succeed on their own
risk failing to achieve that critical mass of distribution. See the April 3, 2009, “App Stores Plug A Critical
Gap In Existing Mobile Internet Strategies” report.

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 The State Of Mobile Banking In Europe: 2010 11
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5
Apple has sold more than 37 million iPhones and iPod touches. These connected products have a 320-by-
240 pixel screen and a Safari browser unable to support Flash or MP3. While interactive marketers can
build mobile sites for small screens, a more dynamic way to connect with consumers is through apps —
iPhone owners can now choose among 100,000 of them. But iPhone apps don’t run on Android, Palm
WebOS, or Windows Mobile; each has its own unique interactive format. See the January 26, 2010, “The
Splinternet” report.
6
Mobile Internet adoption in North America is still slow because while users find the content and services
useful, they are not easy or enjoyable to use. This is due in large part to high cost of service and sites that
are hard to find, see, and navigate — leaving them far inferior to their desktop counterparts. Content
and services that do see traffic on the mobile Internet share a few key attributes: They are often timely,
context- or location-aware, require little input, and produce clear output. That’s why companies thinking of
developing mobile content or services should ask themselves three key questions before they begin. Can our
users wait until they get back to their computers? Is there evidence that users will use mobile content? And
is our site easy to use? See the July 9, 2008, “Usability And Cost Slow Mobile Internet Adoption” report.
7
The slow uptake of mobile services like the mobile Net is due, in large part, to the high real and perceived
cost of the service as well as weak usability. Few consumers have flat-rate-based mobile data plans today,
and sites often load slowly and are hard to find, see, and navigate — leaving them far inferior to their
desktop counterparts.
8
Three years ago, we found that 40% of European mobile banking holdouts said either that they did not
know whether their bank offered mobile banking services or that they didn’t know enough about it. See the
October 25, 2007, “European Mobile Banking: An Inconvenient Truth” report.
9
As mobile phones are now ubiquitous across Western Europe, the industry’s attention has turned to the
mobile Internet arena. Despite the recession, mobile Internet adoption will continue to grow significantly,
with audiences tripling from 13% of Western European mobile users in 2008 to 39% in 2014. The current
economic climate will lengthen handset renewal cycles, foster the development of low-cost offerings, and
boost the uptake of SIM-only contracts. However, it will only slightly reduce the pace of growth for those
elements that stimulate mobile Internet usage: 3.5G and Internet-centric mobile phones as well as all-
you-can-eat data plans will be widely available in the next five years. See the August 28, 2009, “Western
European Mobile Forecast, 2009 To 2014” report.
10
The iPhone is a powerful catalyst for mobile banking adoption and innovation. It improves the mobile
Internet browsing experience, removes uncertainty about mobile browsing costs, makes it easier to
download mobile applications, and unleashes a wave of creativity in the form of new applications in
the Apple App Store. Firms that were quick to react — like Bank of America, Grupo Banco Popular, and
USAA — have announced that iPhone users already account for around 40% of their mobile banking users.
eBusiness and channel strategy executives at other financial firms should optimize their online banking
pages to work smoothly on mobile browsers and assess their customer base and business objectives to
decide whether developing a dedicated mobile banking service for the iPhone or another mobile platform is
the right strategy for them. If it is, they should use the channel’s full potential and develop relevant mobile
banking services with entirely new functionalities. See the August 4, 2009, “How The iPhone Has Changed
Mobile Banking” report.

© 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited April 22, 2010

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11
This year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) was truly global yet was much more than purely a mobile
event. Three of the key smartphone players making waves this year — Google, Intel, and Microsoft —
come from the North American Internet and PC world. Smartphones are no longer mere mobile plays
but a core part of wider Internet and consumer electronics product strategies. Now that smartphones are
becoming small and cheaper, two of the key barriers to their adoption are vanishing. Long live the “smart
phone”: Smartphones will in time become synonymous with the phone. And, as the pace of smartphone
innovation continues — with solar-powered handsets, multitouch interfaces, and smartphone-software-
powered tablets — innovation from smartphones will increasingly flow back onto the PC. As smartphones
become smarter, they are increasingly delivering the whole Internet, not just a part of it. If anything, due to
their location and 24x7 Social Computing capabilities, they will offer a superset of the PC Internet — not
a subset. See the February 25, 2010, “Mobile World Congress 2010: Smartphones Are The New Phones”
report.
12
While the US lagged Asia and Europe in mobile, many of the leading Internet brands necessary to make
mobile data and the mobile Internet attractive to consumers saw mobile as a side story. Now, everything has
changed: The US mobile market is no longer such a laggard, and most of the major recent mobile handset
innovations have actually originated in North American companies like Apple, Google, and RIM. The
Internet big-hitters like Amazon.com, AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! are embracing
mobile with multiple optimized-for-mobile offerings. This dramatically raises the quality and quantity of
mobile services and content and makes the mobile Internet much more compelling to consumers. See the
July 21, 2009, “Why Mobile’s Time Has Come” report.
13
The Apple App Store now offers more than 1,000 personal finance applications from banks and third-party
developers for download. While today’s iPhone apps from the largest banks add little value beyond what
is already delivered through online banking and mobile Web sites, simple iPhone apps like bill reminders
and checkbook registers have rushed in to fill mobile bankers’ unmet needs. By monitoring user feedback
and tracking new finance app development trends on iTunes, retail banking eBusiness and channel strategy
professionals can gain a fuller understanding of how their customers are using mobile banking today and
what functionality they may be looking for next. See the September 15, 2009, “iPhone Apps Fill Mobile
Banking Gaps” report.
14
Mobile is hot, but too many executives take a backwards approach to developing a mobile initiative and
begin with technology decisions such as “We need an iPhone application” or “Let’s do something with SMS.”
Success in mobile demands a systematic approach, beginning with understanding your customers or target
audience via their Mobile Technographics® Profile. Next, determine your objectives — to grow revenues
or cut costs — and then build a strategy based on your desired offering, willingness to engage distribution
partners, and level of corporate commitment to mobile in order to achieve those objectives. Once you have
completed these three steps, then — and only then — should you choose technologies to implement these
strategies and achieve your objectives. See the April 9, 2009, “The POST Method: A Systematic Approach
To Mobile Strategy” report.

April 22, 2010 © 2010, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

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56748