Mobile is not for everyone all the time. Blog Series Week 7

Just because I have a smartphone, doesn't necessarily mean I want to do everything on it. For me, a smartphone is useful for browsing or grabbing snippets of information, and I even use it as a telephone once in a while. But maybe I’m just too old to see the appeal of sitting and staring at a 4-inch screen to watch the news.

As a consumer, I originally loved and trusted my mobile phone to make those emergency phone calls saying I would be late for dinner. Once smartphones entered the market, I then relied on it to pull up directions to a restaurant or Google a trivial point to win an argument with a friend. Today, I trust my phone enough to make occasional purchases (i.e. buy printer ink, book taxis). As a consumer this is a practical, reliable device that helps me navigate everyday activities and communication.

In the business world, however, the ‘real-estate’ of the mobile phone screen is simply too restrictive for many of today’s bank-required processes. Anyone fancy a Letter of Credit on a 4 inch mobile screen? The mobile revolution has been fast, the iPhone has yet to blow out the candles on its 7th birthday and yet the expectations of the market have been altered.

Banks are catching up, and the rapid adoption of consumer mobile banking should be a warning bell to the corporate market. It wasn't that long ago when I was uncomfortable entering payment information into my mobile device to make a quick purchase; now I do it without much thought. Of course, predicting the future is tough.  But one thing for sure is that the need to manage your work away from your desk will continue.  As our personal mobility has increased, and the boundaries between the office and home blur, we require access to work from wherever we are.

Simple mobile-based banking tasks have already been introduced to the market (e.g. payment approval). But it will likely be a simplification of other action items that will give greater control to the corporate user, to bank when they need to bank and not just when they are in front of their PC. Mobile should be enabled in everything we do, giving the user flexibility to bank when, where and how they choose.

Mobile is not a device; it's a way of working.