This is a huge day, and one that I hadn't expected for at least another couple years. The convergence of mobile payments and caffeine. What more could a mobile banking geek and coffee connoisseur want? 

Starbucks pioneered stored-value cards and launched its first card in 2001. Today, it became the first company (note 1) to create an iPhone app exclusively for a payments card. Apparently, Finovate alum mFoundry helped build the app (cnet story, thanks Brandon).

Users were offered $5 extra credit on their first Starbucks card reload of $25 or more made from the new app. Registered cardholders received an email notification earlier today urging them to "turn your iPhone into a Starbucks card." (see screenshot below).

Note, the Starbucks Card Mobile app (app store link) is in addition to the regular myStarbucks app which has a store locator, coffee/drink info and a favorites-sharing function (app store link). That app also launched today (notes 2, 3). 

The app is gorgeous and shows how important design can be in creating a trustworthy and easy-to-use payment product (note 4). For example:

Home screen (left screenshot):

• The card balance is immediately and prominently displayed

Reload screen (middle screenshot)

• Uses big, easy-to-read buttons--remember, this is a small screen, with a giant green, full-width Continue button  
• Current balance repeats at the top

Mobile payment screen (right screenshot)

• The bar code for mobile point-of-sale payments (test only, see below) is rendered over a background image of the card, complete with card number, a nice touch to reassure users and Starbucks baristas that this is the real thing.

Analysis
Of course, the mobile commerce and banking community will be abuzz about the mobile payments test. At 16 Starbucks locations (8 in Seattle and 8 in Silicon Valley), iPhone users will be able to pay at the counter using a barcode generated on screen (right screenshot). Luckily, several Starbucks are within a couple miles of my home so I'll be able to report back with results as soon as the test locations are live.

But I think the stored value card management functions are more interesting for the present. Just think if you had an application that looked like this for your debit or credit card. Think of the brand-value uptick, PR notice, and word-of-mouth buzz. 

Starbucks Card Mobile screenshots (23 Sep 2009)

Email announcing the new mobile card app (sent to a registered Starbucks cardholder in the mobile payments test market, 23 Sep 2009, 12:43 PM Pacific)

Notes:
1. Starbucks is the first company in the U.S. to have a dedicated app for a payments card. Although unaware of any elsewhere in the world, I would expect that card apps exist, at least in Asian markets.
2. The main Starbucks app is currently the 33rd most popular free app in the store and number 1 in Lifestyle; Starbucks Card Mobile is number 46 overall and 3 in Lifestyle (6 PM Pacific).
Update (9 PM Pacific): myStarbucks has moved to number 19 and Starbucks Card Mobile to 38.
3. The Starbucks apps are huge, 6.3 MB for the regular and 3.7 MB for the card, so makes sure you have good reception or are connected via WiFi.
4. However, I have been unable to log in to my actual Starbucks account as of 7 PM Pacific, owing perhaps to overloaded servers.
5. For more info on financial institution opportunities, see our Online Banking Report: Mobile Banking via iPhone.

Earlier today, Citibank launched a dedicated iPhone app (iTunes link) powered by mFoundry. Previously, certain Citi cardholders could use the Firethorn iPhone app, but there was no App Store listing under the Citi brand.

The app, which is free to download, is currently number 10 in the App Store Finance (free) category. It will likely rise to the top, at least briefly, as Citi customers download the app.

The app is featured on the Citi homepage today (see first screenshot below) and is front and center on the Citi Mobile landing page (second screenshot below). The bank has also posted a nine-screen demo of the app here (see inset).

Anyone that's ever used a mobile website will appreciate the Citi login screen (see inset below). A jumbo-sized numerical keypad is included below the signin area to make typing the PIN easier on the small screen.

The Citi application does the usual four functions:

• check balances
• transfer funds
• pay bills
• find Citi branches and ATMs

The bank wisely informs users that their iPhone access can be deactivated immediately in the event of a lost or stolen phone by calling its toll-free number.

With this launch, four of the 10 largest U.S. consumer banks have a dedicated presence in the Apple App Store: Bank of America, Chase, and PNC Bank.

Citibank homepage features the iPhone app (2 March 2009)

Left: Landing page for Citi Mobile (link, 2 March 2009)

The Citibank application page in the iTunes App Store (link, 2 March 2009)

Note:
1. See our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking for more information on the market. 

You'd think that seven months after Apple launched the App Store for the iPhone, it would no longer be news when a U.S. bank adds an application to the store.

It's not like a cost-prohibitive slotting fee is involved. Developers pay Apple exactly zero dollars to be listed in the store (note 1). Apple's revenue is from the 30% share of any fees charged for an app. All the bank apps are free, so that's not an issue.

But it is news since the addition of PNC Bank two weeks age (app here) brings the grand total of bank-specific apps to four, five if you count PayPal. Even if you include the several dozen banks supported by Firethorn's multi-bank app, there are still no more than 40 banks supported (note 2). And there's not a single credit union, yet. 

Here are the five App Store participants in order of their appearance:

• Bank of America and PayPal were both in the App Store when it first opened in July 2008 (post here)
• IBC Bank (powered by mFoundry) launched in Sept. 2008 (post here)
• Chase Bank launched Dec. 2008 (post here)
• PNC Bank (powered by mFoundry) launched late January 2009

Wells Fargo has an iPhone app, but it's not yet shown up in the official App Store.

PNC mobile banking app
PNC's entry is a full-featured app powered by mFoundry. Along with balance and transaction activity, it includes bill pay, funds transfer, and an ATM finder with location-based capabilities. Users must enable mobile banking from within online banking in order to use the app.

The app has risen from number 17 in the Finance category a week ago to 13 today (note 3). However, the app has not yet made it to the PNC website (note 4).

PNC iPhone App screenshots (11 Feb 2009)

Notes:
1. The app does need to be approved by Apple, a process that can take weeks or longer.
2. Users can also track thousands of financial institutions through Mint or PageOnce.
3. Bank of America is #1, Chase is #4, PayPal is #5, Mint is #6, Firethorn is #9.
4. A PNC.com site search for "iphone" yielded just one result, an iphone listed in a mobile banking compatibility table. (Off topic: Note to PNC Bank, your site search doesn't function in Firefox 3.0).
5. For more information on the market, see our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking and the latest forecast in last month's Online Banking Report Online & Mobile Forecast.

Verizon Wireless mobile phone users can now download PNC Bank mobile banking directly from the Verizon Wireless site (here). The free service, powered by mFoundry, is housed in the Features & Downloads area (see first screenshot below).

However, unlike Firethorn's mobile banking app which carries a "recommended" endorsement from the wireless carrier (see second screenshot), the PNC Bank app is found only via site search (see last screenshot). The PNC app is currently not available via browsing the business apps.

Users may click on the Send to Phone button, a shortcut that sends an application directly to their mobile phone for easy downloading. Both mobile banking applications are free.

PNC Mobile Banking app on Verizon Wireless site (3 Nov 2008)

Search results for "banking" at Verizon's Tools & Applications area
(3 Nov 2008)

Firethorn's mobile banking app is recommended at the Verizon site
(3 Nov 2008)

Note:
1. For more information on the market, see our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking.

The last of our mobile demos is from Carlo Cardilli, SVP business development & sales, at mFoundry. 

mFoundry is a mobile banking provider founded in 2004. The San Francisco-based company has worked with Citibank among others.

What's New
mFoundry just launched the second native banking app, available through the Apple App Store. The demo showed a fictitious bank, but the bank that launched the app with mFoundry is IBC.

The iPhone app has full online banking and payments capabilities. It also has an ATM/branch finder that uses the location-based or GPS capabilities in the iPhone.

Eventually the distinction between mobile and online banking will disappear as the devices and services converge (see note 1). But until then, mobile banking, because it's perceived as cutting edge, is more interesting to many customers. That's why Bank of America, Chase, Citi and many others have featured mobile banking in on- and off-line media (see previous coverage here).

But it's not just a mega-bank game; any financial institution can play up its mobile capabilities. Texas-based IBC Bank, in the top-100 with $11 billion in assets and more than 200 branches, flaunts its mobile capabilities with a large banner on its homepage (see screenshot below). The mobile banner currently rotates with an identity-theft-protection pitch.

IBC Bank homepage featuring mobile banking (2 Oct 2008)

IBC Bank releases iPhone app
Last week, IBC became just the second U.S. Bank to release a native iPhone app in the Apple iTunes App Store. The mFoundry-powered application was the 36th most popular finance app yesterday, out of about 120. Following is a screenshot of the application's entry in the App Store. Bank of America, which launched its app on the first day of the App Store, is the other App Store participant (see previous coverage here).

mFoundry will demo its latest innovations at our Finovate Conference Oct. 14. Video of its previous demo is here.

Note:
1. For more info, see our Online Banking Report on Mobile Banking.

If you are looking for a single article that summarizes the current state of mobile banking, check out Karen Epper Hoffman's feature article, Mobile Banking: Where's the Business Case in this month's BAI Strategies. Karen is one of the most important writers in the financial services press, with a rich industry background, and I always enjoy speaking with her and reading her work.

The business case is indeed elusive: Unfortunately, Ms. Hoffman is not able to answer the question raised in the headline. But it's not her fault. It's simply too early to know how the mobile banking business case will shake out. With just a few hundred thousand users out of 200 million U.S. adults, even finding someone who's used mobile banking is difficult, much less figuring out if they'll do expedited payments on the phone or decrease their costly chats with your service rep.  

There are literally hundreds of factors that will determine whether mobile becomes a standalone profit center or is just one more cost center. Many of those factors won't be known until well into the next decade. In fact, we are likely headed towards a convergence of phone, laptop, and entertainment device, that will make the question moot.

But it matters little: Banks have no choice in the mobile matter. Whether or not the business case is made with straightforward fees (e.g., signature debit) or with a bunch of impossible-to-measure intangibles (e.g., online banking), banks WILL support mobile access, just like they support telephone and online today. 

But HOW they support it during the next five years is a matter of great debate and fortunately our upcoming FINOVATE conference (note 1) includes mFoundry the company behind the most high-profile launch to date, Citi Mobile, and MShift, the company that supports more than 80% of all the live U.S. mobile banking programs.

mFoundry
Even after all the hype of the past 12 months, the fact remains that only one bank, and one vendor, have launched a fully downloadable, custom mobile banking app: Citi Mobile powered by Sausalito, Cal-based mFoundry (see previous coverage here). And with a reference account like Citibank, mFoundry is on everyone's short list for 2008/2009 deployments of downloadable mobile banking & payments apps. I've had a chance talk to CEO Drew Sievers several times this year, the last time at the Mobile eCommerce Summit in June, and I look forward to seeing the latest from his pioneering company at FINOVATE.

MShift
While Citibank may have the highest profile launch to date, the vast majority of financial institutions offering mobile banking, 90% or so, use the platform of San Jose, Cal-based MShift. After meeting CEO Awele Ndili in May at a Metavante user conference, we wrote about his amazing hold on the smaller end of the market and listed the 32 clients they had live as of mid-May (here). There have been several launches since then including one of our favorite credit unions, Tech CU, also located in San Jose (news release here). The thing I remember most from my first meeting with Dr. Ndili is how he manages to run simultaneous live demos from 3 or 4 different handsets at time, including a check image on a tiny flip phone screen. It will be interesting to see if he tries to perform that trick on the FINOVATE stage.
 

Note:

1. FINOVATE 2007: DEMOing the Future of Finance includes 7-minute demos from five key mobile players: mFoundry, MShift, ClairMail, Firethorn, and Monitise Americas (see previous coverage here). While the auditorium seating is sold out, we have a few remaining seats available in a 40-seat overflow room down the hall. That room features a great view of the live audio-video feed of the demos. To register, visit the FINOVATE site and click register in the upper-right corner.

Every day another announcement reinforces my belief that mobile banking is here to stay, and today is no different. For those who have not heard, a recent press release is noteworthy: “mFoundry and First Data Team Up for Mobile Solutions.”  This announcement by itself is impressive; however, when you also consider the other partnerships in place, such as last November's “CheckFree and Firethorn Partner To Deliver Mobile Banking and Bill Payment Services for Financial Institutions,” you realize the true scope of what is unfolding. 

Let me step back just for a moment to frame what is taking place. As of June 2006, according to fdic.gov, there were 8,767 commercial banks and savings institutions operating within the United States. In addition, there are 8,535 credit unions, according to cuna.org, as of May 2007. This represents a total of 17,300 U.S. financial institutions. Now, let’s look at some of the figures quoted in the press releases listed above. 

According to the First Data press release, “As a component of this relationship, First Data's STAR(R) Network and mFoundry expect to offer mobile banking opportunities to more than 5,400 financial institutions.” CheckFree, which already served thousands of financial institutions itself, was just acquired by Fiserv (pending approval). When we dig into that press release we see that, “Fiserv currently serves almost 6,000 core processing clients and all top 100 banks in the U.S.”

Now, I understand that there are overlapping institutions and that not everyone will provide mobile banking; therefore, I will not attempt to estimate the number of institutions that will implement the Rich UX solution via their preferred vendor. However, I’ve worked with scores of vendors over the years and they all agree on one thing – the toughest part of signing a new institution is simply getting a foot in the door. So once you realize that Firethorn and mFoundry have literally thousands and thousands of “open doors,” you begin to see why the estimates of quick mobile banking uptake are more and more likely.

At the Mobile Commerce Summit, we heard Citibank is running national spots featuring its mFoundry-powered mobile banking service, Citi Mobile <citibank.com/citimobile>.  (Hat tip Richard Crone).

Back in the old days, like late 2006, we would have had to request a copy of the ad from the bank. But today, everything is on YouTube, so check out the 30-second spot below (screenshot at right). 

While its not as appealing as Apple's iPhone commercials, the Citi spot does a good job demonstrating the utility of mobile banking. It features a close-in shot of a couple driving down the road with the wife making a quick forgotten payment in a few seconds, while still carrying on a conversation with her husband. It is also great branding, furthering Citi's long-term positioning as a technology leader.*

What it Means
National advertising by the big banks, as well as carriers introducing their mobile wallets later this year and next, will create considerable awareness among consumers. Although, usage will be light for the next few years, mobile commerce is NOT a fad. This is one area you should address very carefully in your upcoming budgeting process for 2008.

For more information, see our Mobile Banking Report.

----

*Citi would look even hipper if it embedded the YouTube ad in its mobile banking landing page.

The long-awaited launch of True Mobile Banking 2.0 (note 1) in the United States happened yesterday with Citibank beginning a limited rollout of its mFoundry-powered downloadable mobile banking service. The service is currently available to Citibank customers in Southern California with nationwide rollout this summer. However, the bank's website today merely says it's "coming soon" (see screenshot below; link here).

The new service is not mentioned on the main Citibank website, unless you use the site search feature (see note 2).

The single mobile banking page doesn't tell us much we didn't already know (see previous coverage here), other than a few minor details are revealed for the first time:

• Mobile PIN number is the same as what's used for regular phone banking; PIN numbers can be created online through a link on the mobile page
• To enroll, users enter their mobile number, carrier and phone model and a link to the downloadable application is sent via text message

A short four-screen demo (below) shows users how to activate the service once it's been downloaded:

There was lot's of new coverage on launch day, indicating that Citi made the press rounds prior to launch:

• Steve Bills from American Banker chimes in with a brief piece using consultant Richard Crone as a reality check on Citi's PR material (here)
• Eileen Alt Powell put this out on the AP Wire
• Time even picked up the story (here)

Note:

1. True Mobile Banking is defined as transactional banking directly from a mobile phone, without the need to access a website (WAP). The 2.0 means it's a second-generation technology, not to be confused with the circa 1999-2002 version 1 that worked on a limited universe of PDAs.

2. Accessed the website from a Seattle IP address via my laptop which does NOT know that I am a Citi customer.

Citibank recently posted a short FAQ (click here or view screenshot below) on its website that confirms what we had suspected about its upcoming launch of mFoundry-powered Citi Mobile (see previous coverage here and here).

Here's what we now know:

1. The service will be FREE of charge

2. It will be a downloadable app (unlike the SMS-based service in India shown above)

3. It will work on approximately 100 cellphone handsets

4. It will work across multiple wireless carriers

5. It will include bill payments and funds transfer

6. A direct link to customer service is provided

What we still don't know:

1. Will is support SMS/text messaging?

2. What login/security process will be used?

3. Will it work with all Citi checking accounts or only certain products?

4. Will it work across all major carriers?

5. Will it require a full data plan at the carriers?

As you can see from the Citibank India graphic at the top of the page, major banks offer mobile access in much of the world. But in the U.S., the Citibank launch is a major milestone as the first downloadable application that can be used on common handsets. For more information, see our latest Online Banking Report, Mobile Banking & Payments 2.0 (OBR 138/139).

Click on the screenshot right, to see the Citibank FAQ on mobile banking. Or go directly to its website here.   

We've finally wrapped up our latest report, Mobile Banking & Payments 2.0, published by Online Banking Report, our by-subscription research division (see note 1).

• Link to the PDF abstract and table of contents here
• Link for subscriber access, or to purchase, here

Work on this report started at BAI's Retail Delivery Conference in mid-November where we scheduled a series of briefings with the three mobile players in attendance: ClairMail, Firethorn Mobile, and mFoundry. As reported here previously, we were mightily impressed with the opportunities available in the mobile space.  

After three months of looking at mobile banking, talking to more players, and trying to develop a reasonable forecast, we have slightly tempered our initial enthusiasm. While we remain optimistic that the mobile channel will someday eclipse desktop online banking in terms of pageviews and routine transactions, in North America mobile banking is NOT a new channel, but rather an extension of existing sales and service channels (see note 2). And with few fees expected, the business case must be made on the softer retention benefits and customer service savings.   

The Forecast
Even with a challenging business case, most top-10 retail banks are headed to market in 2007-2008 with some form of mobile banking. We forecast that 25% of U.S. households will use mobile bank access by the middle of the next decade. The mobile banking adoption curve for the next 10+ years will be virtually identical to that of online banking from 1995 to the present (see inset above and note 3). 

But we are much less certain on which method of mobile banking will cross the chasm. Unlike Web-based banking, there are powerful entities, called wireless carriers, that stand between the bank and its customers in True Mobile Banking. So it seems that text/SMS-based services will lead the initial wave, because they are less dependent on the carrier and most under-40 users are already using them. However, long term, we believe more complete one-button (see note 4) solutions will prevail. And while we do forecast the adoption for all three methods, there are too many variables to be certain. A year from now, things should be quite a bit clearer.   

Subscribers, please post your comments about this report below, or email them directly to jim@netbanker.com.

End Notes:

1. For those of you that may be new readers, this blog is written by the publishers of Online Banking Report, an industry newsletter that began 12 years ago. Many of our blog postings are a by-product of the research we are doing for Online Banking Report, so you'll often see references to our more in-depth research published there, available by subscription only. 

2. This is different in other countries where branch and PC-based banking is less pervasive.

3. U.S. adoption by household, +/- 25%. The underlying data and assumptions for this table are in the full report, OBR 138/139, as referenced in the opening paragraph.

4. One-button mobile banking is our name for banking functions that may be called up on the mobile screen through a link on the main menu. It could be a WAP-based mobile website or a downloadable application. 

I spoke with mFoundry CEO/Founder Drew Sievers last week. If you want to get energized over the possibilities of mobile commerce, this is the guy to talk to.

Although mFoundry already has more than 100,000 users of its mobile application, we were most interested in its recently announced deal with Citibank. The bank is set to launch a full mobile banking application in Q1 2007 that encompasses both SMS-based banking and what we call True Mobile Banking (TMB), a banking application running on the mobile device (see definitions here).

While mFoundry's CEO cannot confirm which functions Citibank will use, the vendor's mBanking platform includes the following: 

• account inquiry
• transaction summary
• funds transfer
• bill payment
• ATM/branch locator
• password generator

The platform also supports advertising and service functions (download spec sheet here).

How it Works
The mFoundry approach uses both text messaging for alerts and simple inquires and a complete downloaded application that mimics Web-based online banking (i.e., True Mobile Banking). With True Mobile Banking, the user's phone carries a unique identifier that is registered with the bank (factor one); and before receiving data or initiating a transaction the user must log in with a password or PIN (factor two).

When the user logs in, current balance and recent transactions are automatically downloaded and displayed, satisfying most user needs within seconds. The application times-out after a certain length of time and more importantly, no data is retained on the device itself, so security is nearly perfect. If the phone is lost or stolen a call to the bank will deactivate the service, although as long as the password or PIN has not been revealed, there is little security risk. 

Analysis
As mentioned in our post three weeks ago (here), it's taken nearly a decade for me to jump on the mobile banking bandwagon. Earlier efforts were too hard to use and had limited appeal, primarily to a small group of PDA-toting geeks.

However, now that even basic mobile phones can use the service (see note 1) and top brands such as Citibank, Cingular, and MasterCard are poised to pump millions into educating the market, mobile finance should take off rapidly (see note 2). 

End Notes:

1. mFoundry says its service works across more than 200 different phones at the five major carriers, AT&T, Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Sure enough, even our relatively inexpensive 2-year-old Sanyo is on their list of supported phones.
2. In order to download the mobile application, users select their carrier and phone type from sliding menus (see screenshot below, from mFoundry's My Mobile News).

2. The next issue of our Online Banking Report will contain a mobile banking forecast.