Mobile banking

Mobile banking is a service that lets bank customers do things like checking their money and sending payments using a mobile device. Instead of going to a bank or using a computer, customers use a special app made by their bank. This makes it easy to manage money any time of day.

With mobile banking, people can see how much money is in their accounts, pay bills, move money between accounts, and even put money in their accounts using a phone's camera. These apps are designed to be easy and safe, using the phone's own security features.

For banks, mobile banking helps save money because fewer customers need to visit a bank branch. However, people still need to go to an ATM or bank to get or put in actual cash. Mobile banking is different from using a phone to pay for things in a store, which is called mobile payments.

History

The first mobile banking services used text messages, called SMS banking. In 1999, when smart phones with WAP support came along, the first European banks began offering mobile banking through the mobile web.

Before 2010, most mobile banking was done through text messages or the mobile web. The success of Apple's iPhone and the growth of phones using Google's Android operating system led to more banks creating special mobile apps for phones. Even with these apps, banks also started using new web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript to offer mobile banking through websites. These websites often include a web application made with JSP and J2EE, along with features from J2ME.

A study in May 2012 found that more than a third of banks could tell when someone was visiting their website from a mobile device. This allowed them to redirect users to an app store, a special mobile banking website, or show a menu of mobile banking options.

Concept

Mobile banking is a way to do banking using a mobile device. It lets people do things like move money, check balances, and get special information about their accounts.

This type of banking usually includes three main parts: mobile accounting, mobile financial information services, and services to help with business or money matters. Many services need to give information, like checking how much money is in an account, before someone can do something else, like sending money. So, information services are important and often used on their own too.

Mobile banking services

Mobile banking lets people do their banking using a phone. You can see how much money is in your accounts, get alerts about transactions, and check things like loans or credit cards.

You can also send money to other accounts, pay bills, and even check stock prices. Banks also let you see if your loan applications are approved, order new cards, and get helpful messages or emails. You can even find nearby ATMs and see news about money matters.

Challenges

Mobile banking can be tricky to set up because there are so many different types of mobile phones. Banks need to make sure their service works on all of them, whether they use special software, a web browser, or just simple text messages.

Keeping mobile banking safe is very important. Bad people sometimes try to steal information using special tricks on phones. Banks use special codes sent to users’ phones to help keep accounts secure.

Banks also need to make sure their mobile banking systems can handle lots of users all the time, no matter where they are in the world. This means the systems must always be working and reliable.

Another challenge is updating the mobile banking app without needing users to visit a bank. Finally, mobile banking apps should let users pick things like their language, time format, and favorite recipients for money transfers.

Mobile banking in the world

See also: List of countries by mobile banking usage

This is a list of countries showing how many people use mobile banking by using apps on their phones instead of just text messages. The information comes from research done in 2012.

Countries like Kenya do very well in mobile banking, even if we only count text message services. By 2011, about 38% of people in Kenya used a service called M-Pesa. By 2016, many Kenyan banks created successful mobile banking apps available on Android and Apple devices. Banks such as Equity Bank Kenya Limited with its Eazzy banking app and The Co-operative Bank with its Mco-op cash app are examples.

Mobile banking is very useful in places with few banks, especially in rural areas. This is especially helpful in countries where many people do not have regular bank accounts. In these areas, banks are often far away, and people must travel long distances to reach one.

In Iran, several banks such as Parsian, Tejarat, Pasargad Bank, Mellat, Saderat, Sepah, Edbi, and Bankmelli offer mobile banking. In Guatemala, Banco Industrial provides this service. In Mexico, people can use mobile banking through Omnilife, Bancomer, and MPower Venture. Kenya’s Safaricom, part of the Vodafone Group, offers the M-Pesa Service, mainly for transferring small amounts of money but also increasingly for paying bills. In 2009, Zain started a mobile money service called ZAP in Kenya and other African countries. Other Kenyan companies like Tangerine, MobiKash, and Funtrench Limited also offer mobile money services. In Somalia, many telecom companies provide mobile banking, with Hormuud Telecom and its ZAAD service being well-known.

Telenor Pakistan started a mobile banking service called Easy Paisa in late 2009, working with Taameer Bank. Eko India Financial Services, working with the State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, offers banking services through mobile phones to people who may not have regular bank accounts, including migrants and those in rural areas.

By 2010, the number of mobile banking users grew very fast in Kenya, China, Brazil, and the United States — over 100% in Kenya and China, and around 100% in the United States.

In Bangladesh, Dutch Bangla Bank started the first mobile banking service on March 31, 2011. This service works with mobile operators Banglalink and Citycell. With this service, Dutch-Bangla Bank can reach people in rural areas who own mobile phones but not regular bank accounts. People can do many banking tasks using a mobile phone, such as sending money, paying bills, and getting payments.

In May 2012, Laxmi Bank Limited started mobile banking in Nepal with a service called Mobile Khata. This service works with all major mobile networks in Nepal and connects with many banks in the country.

Barclays offers a service called Barclays Pingit, and Hello Money provides services in Africa, letting people send money from the United Kingdom to many parts of the world using a mobile phone. In April 2014, the UK Payments Council started the Paym system, which lets people pay others using just their mobile phone numbers.

In November 2017, the State Bank of India launched a platform called YONO in India. YONO provides regular banking services and also lets people pay for things like online shopping, travel, taxis, and education.

In January 2019, the German bank N26 became the most valuable mobile bank in Europe, valued at $2.7 billion with 1.5 million users.

The following list shows the percentage of people using mobile banking apps in the last three months in selected countries around the world in 2014. The data comes from a survey of 82,914 people.