Below are interesting stories the Banking.com staff has been reading over the past week. What have you been reading? Let us know in the comments section below or Tweet @bankingdotcom.
- Why Cost-Conscious Bankers Should Cheer an Appless Future
Attention cost-conscious bankers: tiny University of Wisconsin Credit Union may have begun cutting a path to building mobile apps at a fraction of today’s typical cost. In what appear to the first such move of its kind, the $1.6 billion-asset outfit has done so by designing a mobile bill-pay function for an off-the-shelf web browser. The upside of this approach is that creating smartphone and tablet software is expensive, especially when it involves developing multiple versions for multiple types of devices. At most banks, that involves building apps for Android, Apple and even the fast-fading BlackBerry.
Read more
- Is Online Banking Dead?
Banks can’t afford to drop the online banking ball. There are several key reasons for this: The online channel is still the most popular with consumers of all ages. The results of our most recent consumer survey (September 2013) are quite clear. While mobile is certainly growing in importance and popularity, online still rules. Most tablet banking apps are pitiful. Kudos to the banks that have ventured down this road as it’s an interesting and exciting space. However, we recently reviewed the tablet apps of the top banks in the US, and most can’t compete with the features, functionality or experience of classic online banking. I recently spoke with a bank that had just finished doing some customer research to evaluate how customers were using their tablet app.
Read more
- A Tale Of Two Futuristic ATMs
As Fexco and First Data demonstrated their futuristic ATM concept, which allows consumers to use a mobile phone instead of a card for access, they emphasized that the CU or bank is at the heart of the offering – everything about the technology could be changed to the bank’s whim. And as Lamassu took the same stage to pitch a very similar device, which reads from a consumer’s mobile phone to access a Bitcoin wallet, a very different message came across: “Our machines are, in a sense, bankless ATMs,” said Lamassu co-founder Zach Harvey. Each company presented its product during the Payments Innovation Day session of PaymentsSource’s ATM, Debit and Prepaid Forum here.
Read more
- With IPO In Sight, Lending Club Looks To Upend Banking Industry
Laplanche is recounting the five-day Transpacific yacht race in July from Los Angeles to Hawaii on the company-sponsored yacht. His team won the multihull division race with the second-fastest time ever. The most harrowing part of the race was when the vessel was struck by what looked like a telephone pole, seriously damaging the center board of the boat. But Laplanche recalls the incident like it was a walk to the corner store. Laplanche is no stranger to sailing; he started sailing at age 10, began sailing competitively at 14, and later won two French sailing championships.
Read more
- PayPal Nudges out Visa in Javelin “TIP” Mobile Wallet Rankings
Javelin Strategy & Research Blog
Who is winning the mobile wallet race? The answer might surprise you. PayPal moved up strongly in Javelin’s TIP (Trust-Innovation-Privacy) consumer rankings to grab the lead from Visa this year. PayPal is the most trusted brand among consumers compared to Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook, and compared to the top banks, major payment networks and largest mobile network operators.
Read more
- Three Essential Priorities for the Retail Banking IT Roadmap of 2014
As we move into the Q4 2013, retail banking IT executives should consider three crucial priorities as they begin to assemble an IT investment roadmap for 2014. Optimize the IT Delivery Model: The pace of technology development and acquisition continues to accelerate, amplifying the difficulty of integrating new technology with outdated legacy systems. Target Channel Investments to Maximize Customer Engagement: Customers are rapidly migrating to digital channels, performing an increasing proportion of banking tasks through online and mobile channels rather than through the branch or call center. Identify the ROI of Investments in Mobility: Many banks are making significant investments in mobile technology despite a lack of clarity about mobility’s impact on loyalty or revenue.
Read more