29 US Banks Receive Mobile Banking "Report Card" From ABI Research

It has been two years since mobile banking was introduced in the United States, and analysts at ABI Research believe it is time to assess its progress, with a focus on the user-friendliness (or otherwise) of the services on offer. The firm has published a mobile banking “report card” which assesses 29 banks on the discoverability and accessibility of their mobile banking services.

 

Senior analyst Mark Beccue says, “People are asking ‘Is mobile banking taking off in the US?’ For that to happen, two things are required: the services must be easy to find, and accessible to a broad range of consumers . So the ‘grades’ in this report card are not about subscriber numbers or any other measure of success, but about how consumer-friendly the banks’ offerings are.”

 

The results are as follows:

 

                        A — Exceptional: BB&T, Eastern Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Northeast Bank, USAA, Wells Fargo

                        B+ — Very Good: Bank of America, Chase

                        B — Good: Capital One, US Bank, Huntington Bank

                        C — Average: America First, Bancorp South, Citibank, PNC, Wachovia

                        D — Below Average: Carolina First, 1st Bank, IBC Bank, Mercantile Bank, Regions, SunTrust, Synovus

                        F — Failing: M&T, Provident Bank

                        No mobile banking offering: Citizens Bank, Comerica, HSBC, KeyBank

 

Of 29 banks examined, 17 are the nation’s largest retail banks. The remaining dozen banks are a sampling of other community and regional banks.

 

Summarizing the results, Beccue says, “We have two observations/recommendations. First, mobile banking’s reach in the US isn’t as good as it could be. If banks want mobile banking to be ubiquitous and available to as many consumers as possible, they’ll have to promote text messaging in particular as the method of choice. Secondly, if you’re in the retail banking business and you don’t have a link – or at least a list of your mobile banking services – on your website’s homepage, then you’re undermining your whole effort. Discoverability is critically important.”

 

“Mobile Banking: US Banks Report Card [1]” evaluates and grades 29 US banks on the reach, breadth of services offered, security, and discoverability of their mobile banking operations, resulting in a report card which shows the leaders and laggards of mobile banking in the US.

 

It forms part of the firm’s Mobile Money Research Service [2].

 

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of emerging trends in global connectivity. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers through 25 research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com [3], or call +1.516.624.2500.