I get that multi-channel messaging is a mess. I understand that new regulation is creating huge backlogs in project queues. But 17 years into the Web banking era, I should be able to service my bank account entirely online, if that is my choice. And more importantly, if I've signed on for alert services, there shouldn't be any surprises when I go to log in to my account. 

Yesterday, <largebank> failed me on both accounts (see note 1).

With Finovate Europe less than two weeks away, we are wiring large sums to London to pay for it. My bank got a bit concerned about all this outbound activity, which is good. I'm glad they are paying attention.

But how the went about notifying me about their concerns was simply outdated. Here's how it went down:

1. The bank called me from a toll-free number and left a voicemail asking me to call them back. Despite the fact that I get every alert under the sun, the bank did not send an email or text message. I don't know about you, but listening to voice messages from random 800 numbers is very low on my priority list. By mistake I did happen to hear it a couple hours after the fact. 
2. As soon as I listened to the message I first went to my email to see if I'd also received a message from the bank to verify the authenticity of the phone call. Seeing nothing there, I attempted to log in to online banking to verify the call and assure myself that my account had not been drained. But guess what? The bank had disabled my account access and gave me a vague error message with instructions to call a toll-free number. The number matched the one on the voice mail so at least I could confirm it wasn't a vishing attack. There had been no mention in the voice mail of my account access being disabled.

Now, when you are 11 days out from an event and the cash in the bank is needed to pay for it, it's beyond disconcerting to be locked out of your account for no known reason.

Luckily, we were able to quickly assure the bank that yes, we really did need to wire that much money. So we are back up and running and our patient vendor simply had to wait one more day. (Update: I wrote this post yesterday. Today, the exact same thing happened again with another wire. While it wasn't a surprise this time, it's annoying.)

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A Better Process
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Let's repeat this scenario using an approach that preserves your customer's sanity while making it more convenient for those that favor digital channels:

1. Bank sees something odd so it freezes outgoing wire transfer capability and sends me a text message, email message and leaves a voice mail.
2. Instead of shutting down my account access, they let me into my account so I can verify that the balances are still there. And for extra credit, the suspicious activity is highlighted.
3. After confirming the transaction through an extra authentication step, the bank re-opens my outgoing wire capability.
4. For extra credit, let me simply authenticate the suspicious items by replying back to the messages (at least on smaller dollar items).

Now that I can breathe again, I can lay out three rules to guide your "suspicious activity" messaging:

1. Contact the customer in their channel of their choice (but also use others for backup in urgent situations).
2. Allow the customer to authenticate transactions without moving out of that channel.
3. Never completely disable online access (unless absolutely necessary). Yes, shut off transfer-out functions, but continue to allow "read only access." And post a red warning graphic within the account drawing attention to the suspicious activity. 

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Notes:
1. I'm not identifying the bank because my "data point of one" may not be indicative of what other customers experience. But I will disclose the name "off the record" if you email me jim@netbanker.com.
2. For more on messaging, small business, security and much more, see our Online Banking Report (subscription required).

We're very excited to announce that FinovateEurope 2012 has officially blown past last year's record attendance of 450 with two weeks still to go.

On February 7th in London, this year's audience will get to witness dozens of new fintech innovations debut from both cutting-edge startups and leading established companies (check out the list of presenters) via Finovate's signature fast-paced demo-only format.

In case you're curious about who's attending this year, here is a (very) small sample of the organizations that have already registered:

If you want to join the top-notch audience and watch the future of European finance and banking technology debut live, there are still a few tickets left. But please register soon as tickets are continuing to sell quickly. We'll see you in London!

FinovateEurope 2012 is sponsored by: Bluerock Consulting & The Bancorp Bank

FinovateEurope 2012 is partners with: BankerStuff, BankInnovation, Celent, Deutsch Startups, Finance on Windows, The Financial Services Club, The Financial Services Innovation Centre, Juniper Research, and PYMNTS.com.

City Bank of Texas has been a mobile innovator for more than four years, launching a ClairMail-powered mobile site in Oct 2008. I first heard its story at the Mobile Summit in June 2009. At that time, the bank already had 10% of its online banking base using mobile.

City Bank now offers a full range of apps including Android, iPhone and iPad, which make for a pretty impressive graphic. The new apps are powered by Malauzai Software.

And, in a world where most apps look pretty much the same, it has managed to pioneer several unique features:

• Debit card on/off switch: If customers ever want to switch off their debit card, because it was misplaced, or if funds are running low, they simply move the toggle on the My Cards page of the mobile app (see inset).  
• Reward-checking status: City Bank is a long-time rewards checking client of BancVue. Its mobile app includes a rewards tracking feature so users can see where they stand in the three-level program (see the Android screen in the lower right below).

Both features are must-haves. But the on/off switch is brilliant both for its simplicity and the value. And this a tangible mobile feature/benefit likely to get talked about in the press and at the weekend barbeque. We are giving it an OBR Best of the Web award, the first of the year and 84th of all time (see note). 

 
The City Bank of Texas mobile lineup (link, 23 Jan 2011)

Note:
1. Since 1997, our Online Banking Report has periodically given OBR Best of the Web awards to companies that pioneer new online or mobile banking features. It is not an endorsement of the company or product, just recognition for what we believe is an important industry development. If anyone knows of other financial institutions offering a similar feature, let us know and we'll update the post. City Bank of Texas is the 84th company to win the award since 1997 and the first in 2012. Recent winners are profiled in the Netbanker archives.

Evidently, the owner of the domain "square.com" drove a hard bargain. How else could you explain a billion-dollar tech company, Square, using a domain name with "up" in it <squareup.com>?

Dorsey's Square had all the Google juice around the word, so it wasn't likely causing any lost sales. But for credibility, there is no choice but to own the basic .com version of your brand. (Plus, they would hate to get confused with the board game of the same name).

It may not yet be a done deal. I don't see any confirmation of a sale on the web. Square.com is currently being redirected, very slowly right now, to squareup.com.  And the  Whois record still shows that square.com owned by Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, the makers of the popular video game, Final Fantasy. 

by Michael Nuciforo

Editor's note: This post was written by Michael Nuciforo, a Mobile Banking Consultant at Keatan. His previously worked at ANZ on a number of developments including goMoney and more recently was Head of Mobile Banking at RBS managing the UK Retail portfolio.

Banks have perfected what I refer to as the ‘negative pricing model’. In simple terms, it’s charging fees when customers make mistakes. We are all familiar with it. It is the annoying cost of returning a DVD late, or staying too long in your parking space.

At present banks rely significantly on revenue generated from fees when customers fall foul of their terms and conditions. Amongst all the doom and gloom of regulatory pressure, the euro debt crises, and record low margins, could mobile banking be the right service to implement a ‘positive pricing model’?

Tiered charges for access to additional features and content have become common due to the popularity of games such as FarmVille and Sims. This is great news for banks as the market has likely reached the right point of innovation, access and acceptance to allow for the monetization of mobile banking.

Now that most banks have launched first-generation mobile services, new features are perfect for tiered pricing. Areas such as NFC payments and remote deposit capture are a great place to start. They are tangibly more convenient than existing processes, and are designed to leverage the specific capabilities of a mobile device.

But can banks pull this off? Or will it just be seen as yet another annoying banking fee?

When implementing a pricing model banks need to be clear about their strategy and objectives. For the model to work, it is critical that unique mobile specific services are delivered to warrant the cost. And banks shouldn’t charge for services that they already offer for free today. This will only anger existing users. They should also avoid charging for services available in other channels for free, though some exceptions could apply. Banks need pricing that is fair, transparent and that rewards loyalty as well.

Any new fee will disappoint some customers. Banks should also expect negative media attention at first. This will happen any time bank and fee are included in the same sentence. Banks need to be proactive about engaging regulators during the process and communicating actively to customers. It is important that fees are integrated seamlessly into the customer journey. Regular enhancements should also be made to the service. Success will ultimately rely on the quality of new features.

With traditional revenue streams under attack, and investment in mobile growing, pressure will come on mobile leaders to justify the costs. The honeymoon period for mobile banking will be tested at some stage. Customer retention and transaction migration are fine, but are they enough for your senior executives? And can they be accurately proven?

With customers now familiar with this pricing model in other facets of their everyday life, it is important that banks also take the opportunity to do this now. Otherwise mobile banking, like online banking, will become a free channel for life.