| By Jim Bruene on May 24, 2007 12:21 AM | Comments (1) |
The May 24 New York Times contains a generally favorable review of Citibank's new mobile phone service (article here). Writer John R. Quain also touches briefly on Bank of America's WAP service and gives Firethorn's application a spin via BancorpSouth's mobile service.
For followers of the space, there's not much new information here. But a 1,200-word article in the NY Times is significant for the mere fact that the editor's found the subject newsworthy.
The only downside cited, and it's a HUGE one, is the cost from the carrier. In the author's test, it cost him $2.59 in data charges for what sounded like a single Citi Mobile banking session (he did not have a data plan). Ouch.
Here's the exact passage near the end of the article:
For example, checking my balances, making a transfer and confirming a few payments totaled 244 kilobytes, plus one text message, on Citi Mobile. Total charges from AT&T: $2.59.
Update: Drew Sievers, CEO of mFoundry, the vendor powering Citi Mobile, emailed to say that the data charges cited in the NY Times article included the initial download. Subsequent sessions, would cost just pennies each, even without a data plan. He also said that the typical user attracted to mobile banking will already have a data plan, making mobile banking essentially free, at least from the carrier.
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It is interesting to see the general news press pick up on the fact that banks are moving to application-based systems to power their mobile banking. That's real insight into something the casual reader may not have known. The flip side, of course, is that general news coverage will be superficial by nature--the slip up on the data charges is an example. The reporter also offered up this doosy:
"I tried BancorpSouth’s service using Firethorn’s software on an LG CU500v flip phone. The experience was similar to that of Citi Mobile; it allowed me to view account information or make transactions, including last-minute bill payments. There were delays of 4 to 5 seconds in switching between accounts, but in many ways it was simpler and easier to master than online Web banking on a PC. The only drawback is that you have to be an AT&T/Cingular subscriber."
The only drawback? I would think that another obvious drawback to Firethorn's current product is that it would not run on the reporter's phone. In fact, it won't run on most phones. Not a problem if you are writng for the NYT, as a preloaded LG CU500v is just a Fedex package away. But what about the rest of us?