There is a great report on Android Device and OS fragmentation that captures the essence and scale of this “Fan Effect”.  Our team has seen the effects of this fragmentation first hand as has spent time crafting a solution to streamline the automation and testing of a wide range of manufactured devices, screen sizes, operating systems, and form factors including tablets, smart phones, and feature phones.  Our goal with mobile test automation is to dramatically improve the ability to deliver a high-quality, well tested mobile app solution safely to market, all the while reducing the cost of executing the requisite number of tests to ensure that the mobile banking app being deployed to market has been thoroughly validated.

Our ongoing work in test automation and our development of the Blackstone Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) has provided a tangible solution to solving this mobile device proliferation problem.  We have seen a reduction in average test case execution time from 8 minutes to 30-45 seconds for automatable cases.  That is a time savings of 90%+.   And through the use of concurrent device testing approaches have proven out the ability to further dramatically reduce time to execute test runs.

In one particular case for a top 25 bank, we achieved a level of mobile test automation that allowed the team to test in a half of a day (i.e., ~4 hour period) what would normally have taken a week (~40 hours) for a manual tester to execute.  In this example alone, we were able to reduce our test headcount while executing more test cases week-over-week than was previously achievable.   Building this kind of test automation efficiency will become a necessary part of mobile release planning if banks are looking to keep pace with the continued demand for new mobile features from its customers as well as the continued proliferation of new mobile devices in the market.

- Clay and Ken

     

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So the question remains, do you have a Digital strategy like many other banks that is loosely defined, potentially reinforces siloed technical capabilities and products, and does not to provide much detail as to how to make the best initial investments?  Or do you have a Winning Digital Strategy that provides specific sales, marketing, servicing, operational, and reporting needs in addition to prioritizing how your organization will reshape itself to quickly take advantage of the highest value areas?

To form a Winning Digital Strategy, you should recognize the following:

• A Winning Digital Strategy should take advantage of the extremely personal, always-on, and context aware capabilities that mobile and social technology advancements provide while recognizing that knowing and serving your customers’ preferences will help to build trust over time.
• A Winning Digital Strategy should help reinforce annual growth targets as well as cost containment goals in that the mix of channels that customers use will change, as will the underlying costs of servicing customers across each of those channels.
• You should set the expectation within your organization that a Winning Digital Strategy will require operational and procedural changes to account for new technology adoption.  Processes will change; ways of serving your customers will change.  Set these expectations early, and map the changes to tangible value.
• Visibility and control over the process will need to be thought through as will the new procedures that will be required to mitigate the risks that digital technologies like mobile, social, geo-location, and more powerful data analytics introduce.
• Organizations should expect that a greater degree of rigor will be required to improve the selection, purchase, and application of broadly defined digital technologies so that investment may be more appropriately aligned with the specific needs of the institution as opposed to assuming that a “digital platform” will adequately support specific  targeted needs.

As with “Cloud” and “Big Data,” the rise of new paradigms like “Digital” bring with them a host of buzzword laden over-simplifications that should be scrutinized to ensure that the organization understands how the new paradigm will impact the industry and the bank’s business.  Once the opportunities and threats are understood, a Winning Digital Strategy should not allow the buzzword laden over-simplifications to dominate the conversation, but instead will support the development of an incisive and clearly delineated assessment of needs followed by executable activities that add value.

-Clay Almy (calmy@bstonetech.com)

     

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By design, a QR code is machine readable.  A human has no way of discerning what URL or other piece of data is embedded in the code without scanning it – and to further complicate matters, URL shorteners are often used to obfuscate an address such as http://bigbank.com/code/54321?action=XYZ&location=a1b2c3 into more terse like http://sho.rt/url.  Again, I (as a QR scanner) don’t necessarily know whether that address leads where it should or to a phishing/malicious site.  We have been (or should be!) conditioned not to follow URL links we don’t know or cannot quickly verify – yet there is an assumption with QR codes to follow them blindly.

As a social experiment, I constructed two posters with QR codes and placed one in a prominent location in each of the Blackstone offices in Arlington.  The posters featured nothing besides a Blackstone logo and a QR code.  The QR codes were not linked to URLs hosted on a local network, so I used the goo.gl URL shortening service to obscure the endpoint – and still had almost one-third of the denizens in a single office follow the link (enticing them to Engage!) without knowing what was waiting at the other end.  In this case it was nothing malicious, just a note thanking the visitor for their participation – but it could have been worse.

So how does a user protect themselves in this situation – or how can financial institutions provide security to their customers, letting their customers know to trust QR codes they provide?  The answer seems to lie in a first-party or “certified” QR scanner – such that my Bank embeds a scanner into the mobile banking app. The customer would then scan a bank provisioned QR code and let the user know it’s trusted by the Bank scanner.  Valid URLs could be verified by simply referencing a whitelist of safe URLs or through additional layers of security depending on the requirements of the Bank.  In any scenario, the scanner and mobile app could provide a thumbs up or down indicating that it’s safe to for the customer to continue by opening the link.  The cost of development time and possible licensing of QR recognition software would be a small price to pay if QR codes could be trusted more fully, as trust breeds adoption, and QR codes present a terrific opportunity for banks to increase engagement with customers using increasingly dynamic, context aware, and personalized content.

-Ryan Tighe (rtighe@bstonetech.com)

     

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There are many reasons why we generally don’t want technology to drive business strategy. Many companies have fallen prey to buying into buzzword-heavy or “shiny” technologies that either they don’t really need, are here today and gone tomorrow, or are simply not a good fit for their business requirements.  So can it ever be ok, or even beneficial, to put the cart before the horse by letting technology advances drive a business strategy? For an example, let’s examine the evolution of data storage technology, including recent advances related to Big Data.

It used to be that, when building a data storage platform, we would setup a centralized relational database, perhaps establish a warm disaster recovery site using database replication or a mirrored SAN file system, and call it a day.  Sure, we had a single point of failure, it required very expensive hardware, and it had limited scalability, but we just accepted that as normal because it was the way we were (and still are) used to building systems.  Besides, there were large, profitable, influential, database vendors that advocated that approach.  The consequences of failure due to not following their advice could be career-limiting.

Fortunately, there are always technology-driven companies who stand to benefit from challenging conventional wisdom.  One relevant example that comes to mind is the adoption of Object Database technology by financial trading companies.  When each millisecond of latency makes a difference to the bottom-line, there is tremendous incentive to push the envelope of data storage technology.  Despite some important drawbacks, Object Databases often deliver massive performance gains compared to relational databases, and for financial trading companies, they provided a real competitive advantage.

So why didn’t more widespread adoption of Object Databases occur? Here are some likely reasons:

• The important business data was already in relational databases (negative inertia)
• The business could not clearly assess the risk of moving to other technical solutions (closed source products, lack of understanding)
• The technology was not widely implemented or tested in their industry (no industry champions)
• There were other alternatives to achieve similar benefits (namely, improved performance) that were generally “good enough”

Although Object Databases raised expectations of what a database should provide with respect to performance, they did not offer benefits that were compelling enough to overcome the perceived risk and negative inertia that stood as barriers to adoption. As a result, Object Databases occupy only a low-volume niche in the marketplace, although companies did benefit as various relational database vendors incorporated a subset of Object Database features into their products.

More recently, NoSql databases, one of the key technology enablers of Big Data, have risen into the spotlight. NoSql databases store data in a non-relational way that facilitates its distribution across many servers. While Object Databases began life as commercial products, NoSql databases were the brainchildren of Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and others – influential, technology-driven companies that shared the challenge of reliably storing and analyzing enormous volumes of distributed data. Their scalability requirements forced them to challenge conventional data storage wisdom in order to gain competitive advantage. Their willingness to incubate and open source their technology provided a means for others to better assess the risk of adoption. Their success in the market also provided a clearer barometer for assessing the value of rethinking one’s own technology strategies. Not only do the open-source NoSql databases that have grown from Google, Yahoo, and Amazon’s efforts provide new and unique benefits, but they have the momentum that the original Object Databases lacked – industry champions and substantial developer mindshare.

By raising expectations for what database software should provide with respect to performance, reliability, and cost of ownership, NoSql databases have made an important contribution to the Big Data ecosystem, enabling new possibilities for increasing revenue, lowering operational costs, and developing greater insight and agility. These new possibilities can be explored with questions such as:

• What if I could dramatically reduce my database software costs by paying only for production support (i.e. the software itself is free)?
• What if I could dramatically reduce my hardware costs by replacing a few heavy-weight, highly-specialized machines with commodity hardware?
• What if my data storage solution was immune to one or even two simultaneous hardware failures?
• What if I could take care of a hardware failure on Monday morning instead of Saturday night?
• What if my business decisions were based on more complete and more granular data? Could we gain competitive advantage?

In conclusion, technology can (and should!) drive business strategy by changing the game and forcing companies to adapt to remain relevant. At this point, it seems clear that Big Data, and NoSql database technology specifically, is not simply a “shiny thing” or a buzzword-heavy fad, so perhaps it is time to ask, “how could my company benefit from the new Big Data storage possibilities that now exist?”

-Andy Murray (amurray@bstonetech.com)

     

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In the Financial Services industry, the mobile channel is enabling customers to bank anytime and anywhere, while banks gather even more data about its customers.  By capturing every aspect of a customer’s banking behavior, banks will be able to predict if and when a customer will apply for a car or student loan or refinance a house.  Banks can then tailor their outreach and marketing communication for each individual customer and deliver the message via the mobile device.  For instance, a customer running multiple transactions at a car repair shop exceeding $1,000 within a two-month period may prompt the bank to send a mobile message to the customer regarding the bank’s competitive rates on car loans.  Subtle, yet timely and effective. 

Privacy concerns are serious but it is a topic that the media loves to dramatize to instill consumer fear.   For example, this article starts off stating that mere “Likes” alone will accurately reveal a user’s “race, age, IQ, sexuality, personality, substance use and political views.”  Taking a Big Data approach, the study gathered additional user data such as demographic profiles and personality tests, and then applied an algorithm to match “Likes” with user profiles.    Therefore, “Likes” alone is not the sole predictor, but rather, it is the combination of a wide array of digital actions and volume of data provided by users. 

For the most part, consumers, including Facebook users, are freely providing information about themselves.  When this information leads to unintended consequences, good or bad, a tension between privacy and personalized service is created.  The moment a customer receives an unsolicited mobile message on car loans from his bank, after burning money on his ‘87 Chevy, he may feel unnerved that he is being spied on or he may feel delighted at the timeliness of the personalized message.  Whether personalized service equates to a breach of privacy is in the eye of the beholder, so for now, banks should find opportunities to test the market and “know their customers” through Big Data.  The use of Big Data has and will continue to advance technological and economic progress. 

-Alexa Choi (achoi@bstonetech.com)

     

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1)      Mobile provides access to QR codes

QR codes are an incredibly effective way to gather customer information, and also a quick and easy way to provide the customer with access to coupons, tickets, and a host of money saving content.  QR codes, when scanned by a mobile device, provide a path from a physical marketing asset like a poster to web based content that can serve as a critical first step to engaging customers and helping them pick their next loan.  QR codes can also connect customers with bank resources to engage in conversations, provide coupon that load directly into the phone, and help a bank gather important data along the way.  As scanning QR codes becomes more ubiquitous, the possibilities for marketing to co-signers, borrowers, and colleagues become more and more interesting and valuable.

2)      Mobile provides access to conversational messaging

Mobile provides multiple mechanisms for messaging, which allow banks to engage in one way and two-way conversations with customers and prospective customers.  Conversational alerting is already in use by a number of banks, often to help identify suspicious transactions or fraud cases, by sending the user an SMS or push notification to the mobile device that the user may respond to.  The application of conversational messaging is of high value to banks that recognize when customers should be considering new loans based on life events or based on timing throughout the calendar year.

Additionally, if a bank considers combining technologies, QR codes may be combined with conversational messaging to provide a rapid capture strategy for banks looking to originate new loans and serialize loan purchases for existing customers.   By responding to a customer who has scanned a QR code with a message that initiates an immediate conversation, the bank is now able to combine technologies for much more compelling engagement.

Imagine that you are a freshman in your Spring Semester, and you have not yet figured out your loan situation for the upcoming year.  On-campus QR marketing could be an effective on-ramp to serializing loan purchases.  If you scan a QR code that leads immediately to a conversation using messaging, the bank is able to provide important and relevant information that can help you to begin making a decision regarding available products for the next semester.  This is a massive step forward from traditional methods given that banks can now make customers aware of products based on a customer’s mobile request (the QR scan), and also move the customer down the sales funnel as a more informed and engaged consumer.

3)      Mobile provides geo-location information / geo-fencing opportunities

If a customer shares his or her physical location with a bank, the bank can provide an even more context rich service.  This is true for scanning specific QR codes, as discussed above, but it is also true for simple location of the mobile device.  Imagine that a customer is house hunting, and the bank is able to map the customer’s location to MRIS house listings.  Providing the customer with a note that says mortgage rates could be as low as 3.5% and offers assistance with the house hunt would be a remarkable service.  The same is true if banks could identify that a customer is on the car lot looking to purchase a new or used car and initiate a dialog around loan options or fast track the person to a loan representative who could complete the loan process.

In a similar fashion, if a bank is able to identify that the customer is standing near a large poster or banner with a QR code which could insert a coupon into the customer’s mobile wallet, the bank could notify the customer via a mobile message that he or she could save money by scanning the nearby QR code.  In this scenario, the bank has just improved the capture rate of their QR marketing.  The poster is no longer a “display it and they will come” marketing effort, but instead potentially much more interactive and experience.  Through conversational messaging banks can even institute the ability to receive responses to their awareness message like “can’t find the poster,” “no thanks,” or “thanks!” which provide even more insight into what the customer is willing or not willing to opt-in for.

 Good for Consumers / Good for Commercial Customers

In addition to considering how mobile engagement technology could improve loan originations for end consumers, banks should also consider the value that this technology can provide to their business customers that are also trying to improve their own sales.  For banks with small and medium business relationships, the possibilities for building a valuable and loyal ecosystem of retail customers and business customers are endless.  By considering the wide array of customer engagement technology described above (and we have not even discussed social media), banks can not only engage customers about their own products, but also drive awareness, learning, and unique engagement around the products that their small and medium business partners provide.

 -Clay Almy (calmy@bstonetech.com)

     

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In our current work/life environment, mobile phones, tablets, and PCs remain in consistent and in some cases simultaneous use as customers navigate their workdays and weekends.  Given a customer’s access and use of multiple devices (I may switch from phone to laptop to iPad in a span of ten minutes as I walk through my house or settle in at the coffee shop!) how are banks expected to get the communication right when trying to drive new revenue?  What capabilities should a bank use to drive engagement through the different devices, and how will they succeed at sending the right message to the right person at the right time when that may also depend on sending it only once and to the right device? More importantly, how will they get me, the customer, to purchase a loan, buy insurance, sign up for a new card, or use their rewards site?

A framework that helps to lay a foundation for addressing these questions and turning the mobile channel into a revenue producer is the concept of the sales funnel.  First, consider your customer engagement using the traditional model of customer Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action (AIDA).  Next, consider how the array of mobile devices might support, reinforce, or accelerate your customer’s progress through this funnel. 

By using the right communication channel at the right time, banks can help initiate customer awareness, say of an available line of credit, and then shepherd the customer through the learning and decision making process.  In the table below, we investigate the applicability of different mobile devices across the sales stages, and see that increasingly, devices and their form factors inherently align themselves with each stage of the sales funnel.  The tables below assess the mobile phone, the tablet, and the PC or Laptop.

Generate Awareness

 Generate Interest

Support Decision Making

Drive to Action / Support Conversion

The funnel approach provides a great framework for considering how devices types apply to specific customers in specific scenarios and stages of purchase, however, customer preferences and capabilities still constantly push tendency toward “one click” transactions/approvals or forms that have been nearly entirely “pre-populated”.  As such, there is an opportunity for the sales stage activities to be pushed up the funnel if a bank is able to do more (and more effectively in a wider range of noisy/busy environments) on the smallest form factor.  Through the use of the right approach (one-click / pre-population) on the right device, or through a clearer understanding of how customers are using the many devices in their possession (on the go / reclining on the couch), banks may increasingly succeed at generating revenue amidst the wide proliferation of mobile devices.

-Clay Almy (calmy@bstonetech.com)

     

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How are people using tablets? Statistics have shown that a lot of tablet owners – in addition to checking email, surfing the internet, reading digital media, and performing some level of social networking – are engaging in personal financial management (PFM).  Nearly 50% of tablet owners have performed some level of banking on their tablets, with close to 40% of tablet owners having engaged in mobile banking on a consistent monthly basis. This translates into 20M consumers in the US market alone that are engaging in mobile banking and 16M are doing it every month.

So how is the financial services industry currently catering to its tablet-wielding personal financial management (PFM) customers?  To start, let’s look at the top 25 US retail banks. Market movement with ‘newer’ technologies in the retail financial banking space usually begins with the top 25 US retail banks, as these are institutions that have the customer base, assets under management, and capital to be able to invest in progressive or ‘ahead of market’ technology. And here is where we find a gap between what customers want and what the financial services industry is currently offering:  while approximately 90% of top 25 banks have served up both an iPhone app and an Android smart phone app, only 20% of the same top 25 banks have developed a native iPad app. And of that same top 25, only 4% have developed an Android tablet app.

How is the tablet consumer population responding to this? In short, not favorably. Often regarded as engendering a ‘lean back’ orientation by its users, tablets engage people in a more enhanced way by taking advantage of both superior computing power and touchscreen real estate vs. the ‘on the go’ orientation of a modern day smart phone. And bank customers now expect to have their bank information delivered to their tablet in a more enhanced way than what they can get from their smart phone app.

We work with several different financial institutions across the US on their mobile banking programs, and as part of this we study ‘app store’ reviews that our clients’ customers provide. More and more, our clients’ customers are not only providing feedback and ratings for the smart phone app they are currently using, but they are expressing the desire to have a native tablet app.  In certain cases, the lack of a native tablet app equivalent to the customer’s specific smart phone actually brings down the financial institution’s smart phone app rating.  Thus we are observing a growing sentiment in the general consumer population in which it feels financial institutions should be providing access to their personal financials in the form of native tablet apps.

What level of functionality are consumers expecting in a PFM tablet app? Beyond the utility of banking functions there is demand ranging from enhanced data visualization to better financial education tools to more engaging presentment of financial products to loan/credit application processing to enhanced product comparison tools. While the final mix of tablet app functionality will be determined by the specific financial institution, a few guiding principles would be appropriate to follow:

1) Don’t think that a smart phone app running on its tablet equivalent counts. This has been observed in both consumer app store feedback as well as industry forums: while portability of a smart phone app to a tablet app offers some utility to the end user, an app built for a smart phone is not optimized for its tablet counterpart and thus doesn’t offer more capability to a user.

2) Take advantage of the ‘lean back’ orientation that a tablet provides. As the ‘lean back’ orientation essentially means a user will generally be sitting and in a more relaxed state of mind when using a tablet (vs. ‘on the go’ with a smart phone), rethink what content you may want to present to them. For example, users in the ‘lean back’ orientation would likely have a higher propensity to be in exploratory mood (e.g., “I do need a new credit card, what does my bank offer?” “I wonder what home equity line products my credit union actually offers?”). Thus consider taking advantage of this and presenting specific financial product content in addition to offering standard banking functionality.

3) Expand what’s possible. As the digital magazine on a tablet has proven, the tablet offers an enriched, never-seen-before digital experience superior in many ways over both a smart phone and laptop. So think outside of the box in terms of what you’d like to be able to do, as the chances are it may very well be feasible on these powerful new devices we call tablets.

-Ken Hans (khans@bstonetech.com)

     

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At the heart of the proliferation is the mobile device.  These days, the mobile device allows phoning, text based chatting, video chatting, emailing, texting, browsing, tweeting, and even depositing  pictures of checks as means to communicate with the bank.  Additionally, the mobile phone is handy for customers on the move, while the iPad and tablet competitors are quickly taking hold as the device of choice when lounging in front of the TV or lying on the couch.  So presumably one channel alone should allow banks to stay in touch with customers, however, the mobile devices are not the only preference that banking customer choose when they want to deposit a check or understand how to start a loan process.  Branches still serve a valuable purpose even if the trend is toward increased use of mobile devices, ATMs are more capable and simple to use than ever before, and the home phone is still used by millions across the country.

As a result, banks are forced to support multiple channels to maintain effective contact with their customers.  The question banks face then is ‘How can I engage my customers and maintain a conversation with the customer that is timely and relevant?”  Relevant means that the bank is aware of all the products and services the customer currently consumes while timely means that the bank is able to respond to the customer promptly regardless of how the request was sent.   Ideally, a timely response would also take into account user preferences and allow customers to switch between digital channels without compromising their experience.

The crux of the problem lies in three areas:

1. Knowing your mobile customer and his or her preferences
2. Delivering the right information to the customer at the right time
3. Delivering the right mobile experience for the right device

Knowing your mobile customer and his or her preferences

Knowing your mobile customer means not only identifying your entire pool of mobile customers, but also segmenting, identifying preferences, and targeting them.  At present this is a very different problem than simply knowing your online customers.  Mobile technology is changing rapidly, and gathering mobile analytics is still a nascent capability across the industry.  It is however, an absolutely critical component to getting started with unified channels.  Identifying the mobile customer, segmenting the mobile customer, correlating the mobile customers behavior with other customer segments, and developing the best approach for communicating and offering your product or service is at the heart of your bank’s competitiveness.

Delivering the right information to the customer at the right time

Delivering the right information to the right customer is an incredibly complex endeavor.  There are critical elements of information management and integration that must be considered if a bank is going to be successful bringing new capabilities to market quickly across the proliferation of mobile devices.  In many cases, the “online customer” from the online banking days is assumed to be the “mobile customer” of today.  Such approaches are short sighted, and banks will find that trying to piggy back on the channel will ultimately increase costs and constrain mobile capabilities in the medium and long term.  New and more flexible approaches to managing and accessing customer data must be put in place if a bank is going to support customers across multiple channels with a complete view of the customer’s products and preferences.

Delivering the right mobile experience for the right device

Building unique and differentiating mobile app experiences is the hot topic right now, but a bank should not forget the fundamentals.  Each device potentially supports a customer in wildly different situations.  The mobile phone is great for a quick transaction, preferably one that the customer can execute with their thumbs, or better yet, a notification that gives the customer information that helps them manage their busy lives.  The iPad is great for researching and learning in a leisurely environment, and perhaps fulfilling an action that requires a couple button clicks or finger swipes, but probably not filling out complicated forms.  The PC is still the great customer workhorse.  A customer is able to learn, and will be much more comfortable filling out forms, typing detailed customer information, and even requesting chat support.  Having an appreciation for how the customers are likely to use the device will inform the bank as to what information, services, or alerts should be pushed to each of its digital channels.

Unified Digital Future

A unified Digital Future is inevitable, and will separate the competitive banks from the rest.  Having a unified strategy that uses analytics to support investment decisions based on mobile preferences and use, manages information to provide real time services, and delivers the right mobile and online experience to support the customer in all of his or her environments will be the winning approach.

-Clay Almy (calmy@bstonetech.com)

     

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It’s true that mobile technology is moving quickly, but just because we have newer and newer features arriving on our devices each week does not mean that we should be ready to simply ditch others without asking questions from several different perspectives. In this particular case with banks assessing emerging technologies, I propose that technology should not be the focus of the question at all, but instead, the customer should be the focus.

By putting the customer at the center of our focus, the question changes from “Is SMS dead?” to “How many of my customers prefer SMS based communication?” and “Why do my customers prefer SMS based communication?” What you may find is a dramatically different answer to a dramatically different question.

The customer centric question also immediately identifies that the customers engage with the bank in a number of ways. Although mobile adoption continues to rise relative to Online, Branch, ATM, and Call Center adoption, there is still a need for the bank to provide service across all channels to support customer engagement at its most fundamental level. There are numerous cases where multiple channels are required to effectively engage the customer, provide information, and allow the customer to “do real work” like completing forms or applications. Most importantly, effective engagement is dependent on the customer’s present situation, the customer’s environment, and the customer’s willingness to perform certain actions on certain mobile devices.

Additionally, it is critical to investigate what the term “engagement” means. In a many ways, banks tend to perceive engagement as the customer accessing an ATM, walking into a branch, or requesting a balance via SMS or via mobile app. This type of engagement is incomplete, as there is an entire world of engagement through bank notifications using SMS or email that create loyalty, keep the customer engaged, or keep the customer protected. If a bank is able to proactively keep customers informed and able to manage their busy lives without having to call a call center or visit a branch, then the bank has created truly positive and valued engagement with the customer.

The notion that SMS is an “older” technology minimizes the most important elements of the technology. SMS is available on all phones, whether feature phones or smart phones. SMS is generally accepted to be read up to 90% of the time which is much more than email, and SMS often does not require a customer to type in username and password prior to issuing a banking command, making it much more convenient for people on the move.

So to those who are questioning the value of SMS as a viable channel in their suite of customer engagement tools, remember that the world of mobilized products and services takes many forms, and that SMS plays an important role among the many technical options available. For now, even in the face of rising mobile app and continued online use, SMS should be regarded as a critical component for engaging your customers and providing access to key banking services.

-Clay Almy (calmy@bstonetech.com)

     

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