Carroll County Times Articles
Cell Phone Banking
by Catherine McDonald – June 3, 2007
Phone calls, texting, downloading ring tones, accessing email - what's next? Well, now you can use your cell phone (also Blackberry) for bank transactions. Customers can view and monitor their bank account activity, transfer money, check account balances, and contact customer service - right from their cell phones. This is called "cell phone banking" or more often "mobile banking" and is available in various areas of the US (check with your bank to see if your bank offers this service). Wachovia "Wachovia Mobile", Bank of America "mobile banking", Citibank "Citi Mobile", Bancorp, Regions Financial Corp, and SunTrust Banks offer cell phone banking. Many of these banks have paired with a cell phone/wireless carrier such as AT&T (formerly Cingular), Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile, & Verizon to offer these services.
The U.S. is a latecomer to mobile banking services. Europe, Japan, China, India, Korea, Singapore, Philippines, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are all offering mobile customers banking services. Cell phone use in Africa has exploded from just 1 million users in 1996 to over 100 million today.
What are some customer concerns? Security and cost.
Security - most experts state that the cell phone service is safe as or safer than Internet banking. Banks are using encryption, one-time passwords, and other security measures. The main security concern is the theft of your cell phone. This is a concern whether or not you use cell phone banking. Unlike credit cards, the customer is held responsible for all charges made on the cell phone prior to contacting the cell phone company. To protect against theft - Check the user guide that came with your phone and start using the "lock" or "password" feature to potentially prevent a thief from making unauthorized calls. Report your missing device immediately, and be sure to keep meticulous records including the date and time you called your wireless carrier, the name and ID number of the representative to whom you spoke, and what you were told.
Cost - at this time banks are not charging for cell phone transactions, but the wireless carriers are charging by the kilobyte of data that is used. New York Times personnel tested this feature of Citi Mobile - they checked their balance, made a transfer, confirmed a few payments, and had one text message. The total for their "call" was $2.59 (for 244 kilobytes). To minimize costs, the wireless companies suggest signing up for data and texting plans - making it one basic fee per month for set or unlimited usage.
So, are you going to run out and sign up with mobile banking? Many customers (myself included) are inclined to wait a little longer until some of the "bugs" are worked out. However, sooner or later, mobile banking is here to stay!
Next up - Electronic Wallets.
About the Author
Catherine McDonald is President of A & O Consultants LLC, which specializes in Emergency Planning and Research and is a member of the Carroll Technology Council. She volunteers in Carroll County and is a volunteer speaker for community groups Questions are welcome and may be addressed in future articles. Email mail@carrolltechcouncil.org or go to www.carrolltechcouncil.org to learn more.
The viewpoints expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Carroll Technology Council.
