Will the 3G iPhone Mobilize Your Banking?
It is sleek and visually appealing (some may call it beautiful), easy to use, and now it is cheap. The $199 3G iPhone debuted on Friday to much fanfare, and it likely marks the return of AT&T to top-dog status in the telecommunications industry. But the impact of the 3G iPhone is hardly limited to Apple, AT&T and their competitors. The debut of a more affordable version of the iPhone is also a boon to the fledgling mobile banking industry.
Mobile banking is what it sounds like—balance checks, account transactions, and payments conducted on a mobile phone. These activities can be conducted via text-messaging, an online browser, or through a downloadable application. Until now, this segment of the banking industry has been growing fairly slowly, but analysts expect mobile banking to take off in the coming years. A study conducted by the financial consultancy Celent predicts that 35% of online-banking households will be using mobile banking by 2010.
What does this have to do with the 3G iPhone? Mobile banking is conducted easiest on a smart phone equipped with an advanced mobile web browser. Right now, smart phones account for 15-20% of new mobile phone sales. Because of its user-friendly features and stunning design, the iPhone is popular with segments of users who would otherwise not be interested in purchasing a smart phone. As the latest faster, cheaper iPhone floods the market, more and more mobile phone users will have easy access to mobile banking technology.
This is great for banks, great for Apple, and great for AT&T. It is also great for users, especially those in countries where the mobile infrastructure is more advanced than the fixed-line infrastructure. As mobile banking technology proliferates, Indian, Chinese, and Indonesian users who previously have had limited access to online banking will be provided a new way to bank.
Because they are so common around the world, mobile phones are a great example of the ubiquity of technology. With this ubiquity comes unique, and often unforeseeable, impacts on seemingly unrelated industries and locales. As we have seen, the 3G iPhone doesn't just provide another purchasing option for consumers in the U.S.; it also impacts banking strategies and the residents of emerging economies worldwide.
For more information on mobile banking, check out this very informative Wikipedia entry.
If you want to learn more about the 3G iPhone check out this story from the San Jose Mercury News.
