Despite skepticism of many treasurers most would actually use a mobile banking platform, particularly for payments. The problem is banks aren’t rolling out platforms fast enough, according to a new report from advisory firm Aite.
From a bank rollout and customer adoption perspective, mobile banking “significantly lags that which has been achieved on the consumer banking side, where its availability is far more widespread,” Aite says in its report. Companies would even be willing to pay banks for mobile services, Aite says, as many treasurers indicated they’d be amenable to paying for the convenience. Therefore, “banks should consider charging for mobile access—perhaps as an additional line item for their monthly online banking fees,” Aite says.
In a Capital One Bank survey at an AFP conference in late 2013, the bank showed that reception for mobile banking would be positive. While only 32 percent of finance and treasury professionals use a corporate mobile banking platform, Capital One said, “they largely agree on advantages afforded by mobile technology.” Capital One added that 58 percent “noted that the primary benefit is the ability to make payments, transfers and wire approvals.”
And despite the latest hacks at the registers at Home Depot and Target, security is less of an issue. In its latest report, Aite says treasurers’ attitudes have changed toward mobile banking, with only 5 percent of treasurers saying they had security concerns and wouldn’t use it. This compares to 43 percent of treasurers in 2010 who said security was a concern that would prevent them from using mobile banking.
“As corporate treasurers grow more comfortable with the mobile channel, their desire to perform more sophisticated capabilities will also increase. While most vendors were fast to address payment approval requirements, they have been slower to recognize end-user interest in administrative capabilities,” says Christine Barry, research director in Wholesale Banking at Aite.
Aite also says banks should not only get more involved in mobile treasury space but also make the offerings wide enough for all devices. “Banks should consider a multi-device strategy for corporate treasurers,” says Aite. That’s because BYOD “will continue to add new device types to the mix, and institutions will need to avoid alienating customers from mobile usage.”