Banks seeing more business demand for mobile apps
With a mini-computer in the hands of everyone who has a smartphone, mobile banking has been a growing part of retail banking, but access to account information on phones and tablets is becoming increasingly important to businesses throughout Central Massachusetts, according to the banks and credit unions that serve them.
“Banking and banking markets are always in transition and (mobile banking) is very much part of the transition story in the last three to four years, and the pace is pretty rapid,” said John Heerwagen, CEO and president of Middlesex Savings Bank, based in Natick.
The growth in mobile banking has been constant. A Federal Reserve study of commercial financial services released in March found that adoption of mobile banking continues to grow, with 51 percent of smartphone users reporting that they had used mobile banking in the previous 12 months, up from 42 percent in 2011. This coincides with increased smartphone use over the same period.
“On the consumer side, the use of our mobile platform grows every month,” said Tim Smith, CFO of Fitchburg-based Workers Credit Union. “People are going to (increasingly) use their smartphones to bank and I think it is only going to accelerate from here.”
The emphasis for mobile banking remains on the retail side for Middlesex, Heerwagen said, but business customers are also looking for similar online and mobile conveniences.
Among the first innovations four years ago was remote deposit capture, which allowed companies to scan deposits and send them electronically, avoiding trips to the bank. Now, commercial applications allow business owners to make mobile deposits on the go, using the camera on a tablet or phone to upload a check, according to Sharon Quinn, senior vice president of cash management services at Avidia Bank, based in Hudson.
Avidia sees interest in commercial mobile app
Avidia's commercial mobile app, which was introduced two years ago and went through a major update last year, has become a big selling point when the bank tries to woo business clients.
“We have seen a big movement to the (commercial) mobile apps in the past year to 18 months,” she said. “In general, people are becoming more used to tech in their everyday life whether it be retail banking or their (work) life. They are so used to referring to their phone or their tablets.”
All these innovations are especially important for small to mid-sized businesses, she said, which make up the majority of commercial lending for Avidia and many other local banks.
“Business owners can be checking in from wherever they are and see what is happening in their accounts. They don't have to be sitting at a desktop or computer,” Quinn said. “What businesses now can do on the newer platforms, whether that be phones or tablets, is more robust than what an individual consumer can do with their online banking.”
Owners of small companies are often in the field themselves, requiring them to check accounts and execute transfers remotely, Quinn said. “Larger companies have the luxury of having a staff sitting in the office, but (for) a smaller to mid-size company, a lot of times people are wearing a lot of hats,” she said.
Meeting customer needs on their time
Expanded mobile access also addresses widely varied work hours of many businesses, according to Quinn, with the apps and online banking essentially extending the bank's hours.
At Worker's, the mobile apps and other online banking products used for commercial accounts are the same as what's available to the credit union's retail members.
Many of the company's commercial accounts are with small, sole proprietorship businesses where the home banking products serve the customer's needs, Smith said. There are financial products, such as Quickbooks, that can interface with these home banking products for commercial accounts. “Everything we do on the Web to open accounts and allow folks the access to information continues to grow,” Smith said.
According to Quinn, the next step for most online banking products is refinement and adding more control through the apps.While Avidia's app today may be able to alert a commercial customer to a potential fraudulent withdrawal, in the future the customer will be able to review it and authorize the charge right from their tablet. The bank is working on real-time movement of funds through apps due to the inherent ability to more closely control funds, including the bill collection.
“I think it's important for a bank anywhere to have (mobile) capabilities,” Quinn said.
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