Wells Fargo: From the Stagecoach to the Launch of M-Banking

Implications: Banking goes mobile as Wells Fargo launches "m-banking" test pilots with its employees, which will allow its customers to access their accounts, pay bills, check their balances and conduct other online banking transactions, conveniently from their cellphone handset. 

1.  Citibank, Visa, MasterCard, Cingular and other card companies and networks are jockeying for position, to cash in on the potential stream of new volume m-payments has the potential to offer, and with approximately 72-75% of consumers owning a mobile device, m-banking may be poised for future growth as a new payments option

2.  NFC - near field communication, SMS - short message service and WAP - wireless application protocol are the primary technologies behind m-banking, which work in conjunction with OFX (open financial exchange), which provides compatibility between online banking and bill payment applications and personal financial management applications, such as Quicken, QuickBooks and MS Money

3.  Authentication tools such as PIN numbers and digital certificates will be utilized to link the cellphone and/or mobile device to the consumer's bank account

Analysis: U.S. consumers want and are asking their FIs (financial institutions) for the same type of advanced mobile commerce services as cellphone users in Asia are enjoying, which is safe, secure and convenient m-banking transactions offered by biometric fingerprint protection. "M-banking" has been "buzz-worthy" news recently, however, banks and wireless carriers are still squabbling over who will have control of transactions and ultimately the profits from m-banking, which has delayed rollouts.

1.  FIs will pay fees to wireless carriers to enable m-banking services for their customers and consumer adoption will be key for the service to be a success and contactless technologies may also play a key role in future rollouts of m-banking solutions

2. U.S. consumers, carriers, card networks and FIs all want the same thing, which is an open, standardized, secure and easy to use platform to conduct m-commerce transactions via their cellphone handset and after "best practices and protocols" are established by carriers and FIs, we can expect more pilots and rollouts of m-banking solutions