A recent report by Juniper Research has revealed that the number of mobile banking users globally will reach 530 million by 2013.
This is a significant rise from the 300 million recorded users in 2011.
The report also suggests that mobile services are now a considered aspect of banks’ business strategies, in response to the current economic climate.
More and more banks are moving away from the ‘bricks and mortar’ branch based revenue streams and are instead turning towards mobile banking or ‘mBanking’ as it is known.
Described as a ‘cost-effective communication channel’, mBanking offers the opportunity to improve upon operational efficiencies alongside customer retention and acquisition.
Many high street banks are now meeting consumer demands by creating smartphone and tablet applications, particularly as the consumer smartphone becomes more prevalent.
However, Juniper’s report also warns that banks and financial institutions would be wise to introduce SMS and browser-based channels alongside apps to keep ahead of their competitors.
Similar blog post – Mobile banking is set to generate almost 90 billion text messages per year by 2015.
