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RBI talks to Ilieva Ageenko, e-commerce director of emerging applications at North Carolina-based Wachovia, about the bank's new mobile banking product, the first such service from one of the big five US banking giants. Wachovia Mobile is being targeted at the bank's 6 million online banking customers.
The US stands out as one of the least-developed m-banking markets. However, in a fragmented global m-banking market with little standardisation and hesitation from banks, the m-banking industry itself remains small and undeveloped. Notable m-banking launches over the past 18 months include services from Standard Chartered in Singapore and DnB NOR in Norway, while Mitsubishi UFJ announced last year it was going to form Japan's first m-bank with leading mobile operator KDDI (see RBI 555).
This year has kicked off with one of the biggest m-banking launches - and, significantly, it's in the US. Wachovia, the fourth-largest retail bank, has rolled out Wachovia Mobile, a relatively straightforward m-banking product aimed at its substantial 6 million online banking customers. Initial functionality allows them to view and monitor account activity, check account balances and transfer funds between eligible accounts, logging on using their online banking user ID and password.
This initial phase of Wachovia Mobile is available...