From Mobile Also to Mobile First

Mobile hardware sales and shipment statistics are arguments that have now become peripheral to the case for mobile banking. So let's hone the focus a little bit.

Around 590 million customers banked on their mobile phones in 2013. In just four years that number will cross a billion, equivalent to about 15 percent of all global mobile subscribers. Mobile payments, meanwhile, have been bounding along - from USD 202 billion in 2012 to USD 410 billion in 2013 and projected to cross USD 1 trillion by 2015 and USD 2 trillion by 2017. That same year mobile purchase volumes will reach USD 1 trillion.

But mobility's role in banking may be truly understood only when it is viewed through the prism of customer expectation.

More and more customers are basing their stay-or-switch decisions not on the availability, but on the quality of mobile services that banks provide. This distinction becomes acutely relevant in the case of younger customers. Innovative mobile services are also emerging as a significant driver of satisfaction among banking customers. Most importantly, customers want banks to innovate services around uniquely mobile opportunities like location to deliver personalized offers.

From a banking channel strategy perspective, especially in emerging markets, the mobile is just another channel even today. That will change soon, given that mobile is expected to eclipse online as a preferred channel by 2017.   

Banks have to transition their strategies to acknowledge and account for customer expectations and the unique possibilities of mobile banking. Banks have to understand that mobile is just not an alternative channel delivering convenience but a game changing opportunity for innovation, customer engagement and experience.

In 2014, banks will invest in innovations that will deliver more consumer and enterprise value by leveraging the native possibilities of mobility. Mobile banking will go beyond delivering the convenience of access to leveraging the unique characteristics of the mobile ecosystem.

In 2014, customer expectations will compel banks to evolve from an entry level 'Mobile Also' tactic to a game changing 'Mobile First' strategy.