45% Handset Users to Do Mobile Banking by 2014

One of the services that mobile phone owners around the world can enjoy on their devices today is mobile banking, which is reportedly seeing increasing usage on the market. According to a study recently published by Javelin Strategy & Research, mobile banking will change the manner in which consumers manage their finances today, while being used by nearly half of the mobile phone owners around the world by 2014.

“Mobile banking is quickly moving from infancy to commonplace, which will help separate the winners from losers in banks' ability to attract and keep technology-loving consumers,” said Mary Monahan, Research Director and Managing Partner. “Consumers are hungry for the 'always-on' and 'real time' ability to monitor and manage their money, and mobile banking serves that need better than any other.”

According to the study, the growth in mobile banking usage is also expected to change the way in which customers pay for goods in the future. The report also shows that mobile banking growth is driven by the rise in smartphone adoption, and also focuses on basic thin-client capability development for the integration of financial services into mobile online sites.

Other findings Javelin Strategy & Research shows in the study include the fact that 45 percent of mobile phone users are expected to use mobile banking by 2014, and that half of the users currently enjoy access to such services. At the same time, the study also shows that 99 million U.S. adults will make mobile banking transactions at least once per year by 2014, and that AT&T is the carrier with the highest number of mobile bankers, courtesy of its iPhone exclusivity.

“Mobile banking is quickly becoming an essential consumer capability,” said Mark Schwanhausser, Financial Services Channels Analyst. “Just as the iPod changed the music industry and their business models, our data shows that iPhone users are changing the banking industry by leading the way in monitoring and managing finances through mobile devices.”