Mobile Banking refers to provision of banking and financial services with the help of mobile telecommunication devices. The scope of offered services may include facilities to conduct bank and stock market transactions, to administer accounts and to access customized information. Also known as M-Banking in Nigeria or in some instances SMS Banking etc. It is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions, payments and others transaction services via a mobile devices. Some mobile Banking applications in Nigeria use pre programmed configurations settings.
Mobile Banking in Nigeria started from the transaction based activities whereby Bank customers are Notified via sms when transactions are conducted on their account or via Atm. This is a one way event and only for informational purposes only. GT Bank was on of the earliest Banks to provision this service to customers.
That was the early days on Mobile Banking in Nigeria. Nigerian Banks are now deploying full fledge banking via the Mobile Phones with array of services which were only possible in the Banking Halls before. Zenith Bank, UBA , GTBank, Diamond and Intercontinental Banks are the fore runners of this innovation.
Despite the watch and see attitude that some very leading Banks are taking about Mobile Banking in Nigeria, The mobile remains the Only and most available feasible means to provide mass market alternative to Branch Banking in Nigeria. The internet has only a penetration rate of 6 percent in a population of 140 million but mobile technology is close to 50 percent penetration with prospects for growth.
Mobile devices are the most promising way to reach the masses and to create a tie-in among current customers, due to their ability to provide services anytime, anywhere, high rate of penetration and potential to grow. Deployment of 3G in coming months will also enable Banks to offer more robust Mobile Banking technologies.
Key challenges in developing a sophisticated mobile banking application are Interoperability. The single reason for is the manner in which mobile phone applications evolved over time, device manufacturers focused on particular standard and and this led to a proliferation of applications. The Financial Regulator CBN should look in this issue at this early stage so that Mobile Banking ecosystem can be robust with National standard that cuts across all Banks. Bank specific Mobile Banking platforms is akin to having each bank deploying its own ATM Technology which other bank customers cannot access.
Interoperability can also help to evolve a standard that will enable low end phones which are currently excluded, to do Mobile Banking. Some countries like India and South Africa are already using some standards like R-World and USSD.
Application distribution for Mobile Banking is another area where some Banks are facing Challenges. While some forward looking Banks are overhauling their gateways and reducing their reliance on Mobile Operators settings to enable customer's phones, Some Banks are actually asking that Customers come with regular Operator settings which in many instances might not be correct configurations settings..
Operator settings are not really meant for critical operations since most of the settings are used for entertainment based activities. Nigerian Banks that are looking at competing at this sector must look beyond operators settings which might not be correct, delayed in arrival,may not come at all and not regularly updated. Some Mobile operators do update like every three months while some do not at all. For wap and Gprs based Mobile Banking applications, mobile network coverage will also be an issue.
As part of their marketing strategies, I will expect that by now, customers do not need to visit local Branches to download Banking applications. Over-the-Air (OTA) Settings should be readily available online and some innovations can even come to play by Banks deploying Bluetooth application machines in Shopping malls and some strategic places where customers can visit and download Mobile Banking applications for free or for a fee..This will increase the addressable market of the Banks offering Mobile Banking exponentially in Nigeria.
Emmanuel Okoegwale
emmanuel@gomobileng.com
Emmanuel Okoegwale works for Gomobile Nigeria. He is an experienced Mobile marketing specialist.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Friday, February 1, 2019
Mobile Ecommerce As a Mobile Banking Technology
Like the other businesses, banks too have tasted the increased revenue income with mobile technologies and from then onwards mobile ecommerce solutions are constantly reviving the banking industries. With the availability of the bank related financial services via Smartphones, banking technology has arrived at a new milestone called mobile banking.
Mobile banking or mbanking is getting popular among banks around the world as it has proved additional revenue generation by reducing costs and simultaneously catering to the needs of the tech savvy customers. The customers are served the best by mobile banking solutions as this technology enables secure financial transactions even via unsecured networks.
With the advancements in mobile technologies customers plan and strategize their banking transactions while on the move with a sense of security. Within an empirical research poll, it was found that banking industries profit heavily from three kinds of people.
The three target audiences of mobile banking technology are:
Youngsters: The teenagers on an overall analysis might not have relevancy in contributing to the revenue or financial inputs but these are the folk that will determine the banks' future economy with respect to technological upgrades. The 'school group' will be the future entrepreneurs and business professionals who are used to ubiquitous computing and will definitely expect their banking transactions to be done with a simple click or touch. So banking industries should keep track of their future customers' habits and behaviors to frame a successful long term mobile banking solution.
Young Professionals: Admittingly this lot is unstable with their financial conditions but then, this scenario is just a passe with this group and banking professionals ought to consider their behaviors or activities to turn them into their loyal customers in the future that would contribute heavily in the incoming revenue for banks. This young generation set of people are innovative in their ventures and as tech savvy as the previous group but also sensitive when it comes to making monetary assets in trusted financial institutions. Thus, banks should frame policies that would enable investments in future from this core group of audience.
Business Clientele: Undoubtedly, the business owners of all niches are a muse to the banking industry. They are knowledgeable, economically sound and are time conscious. This set of the people look up to the banks for quick guidelines and financial transactions with respect to their investments and funds. Mobile device as medium of fund transfer between individual accounts is something this group will be interested in and by serving to this demand the bankers earn the trust and commitment from the business class people.
For all these unlimited demands from the various groups, mobile banking solutions help the banking industries to overcome the limitations posed by geographical barriers, demographic intensity and this step towards mcommerce in banking will ease out the pressure on the banking staff in remitting heavy amounts of currency. Mobile banking is also a safe option when it comes to foreign exchange transaction as this technology seamlessly encourages financial transactions over cross borders. Android, iPhone, Blackberry and Window Phone 7 are some of the best mobile phone operating systems on which bank related mobile apps are built.
Endeavour - The Mobility Company specializes in developing mobile ecommerce [http://www.techendeavour.com/Mobility_in_Retail] solutions for retail owners, insurance companies and banking sectors. Some of the major clients who trust Endeavour for mobility services with respect to the above mentioned business platforms are TESCO, Digi-Data, RMB Capital Partners along with many more fortune 500 companies.
By: Anand Raju
Mobile banking or mbanking is getting popular among banks around the world as it has proved additional revenue generation by reducing costs and simultaneously catering to the needs of the tech savvy customers. The customers are served the best by mobile banking solutions as this technology enables secure financial transactions even via unsecured networks.
With the advancements in mobile technologies customers plan and strategize their banking transactions while on the move with a sense of security. Within an empirical research poll, it was found that banking industries profit heavily from three kinds of people.
The three target audiences of mobile banking technology are:
Youngsters: The teenagers on an overall analysis might not have relevancy in contributing to the revenue or financial inputs but these are the folk that will determine the banks' future economy with respect to technological upgrades. The 'school group' will be the future entrepreneurs and business professionals who are used to ubiquitous computing and will definitely expect their banking transactions to be done with a simple click or touch. So banking industries should keep track of their future customers' habits and behaviors to frame a successful long term mobile banking solution.
Young Professionals: Admittingly this lot is unstable with their financial conditions but then, this scenario is just a passe with this group and banking professionals ought to consider their behaviors or activities to turn them into their loyal customers in the future that would contribute heavily in the incoming revenue for banks. This young generation set of people are innovative in their ventures and as tech savvy as the previous group but also sensitive when it comes to making monetary assets in trusted financial institutions. Thus, banks should frame policies that would enable investments in future from this core group of audience.
Business Clientele: Undoubtedly, the business owners of all niches are a muse to the banking industry. They are knowledgeable, economically sound and are time conscious. This set of the people look up to the banks for quick guidelines and financial transactions with respect to their investments and funds. Mobile device as medium of fund transfer between individual accounts is something this group will be interested in and by serving to this demand the bankers earn the trust and commitment from the business class people.
For all these unlimited demands from the various groups, mobile banking solutions help the banking industries to overcome the limitations posed by geographical barriers, demographic intensity and this step towards mcommerce in banking will ease out the pressure on the banking staff in remitting heavy amounts of currency. Mobile banking is also a safe option when it comes to foreign exchange transaction as this technology seamlessly encourages financial transactions over cross borders. Android, iPhone, Blackberry and Window Phone 7 are some of the best mobile phone operating systems on which bank related mobile apps are built.
Endeavour - The Mobility Company specializes in developing mobile ecommerce [http://www.techendeavour.com/Mobility_in_Retail] solutions for retail owners, insurance companies and banking sectors. Some of the major clients who trust Endeavour for mobility services with respect to the above mentioned business platforms are TESCO, Digi-Data, RMB Capital Partners along with many more fortune 500 companies.
By: Anand Raju
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