Online banking and bill payment are now in the top three factors when considering another bank, according to a new Harris study.

Technology News: E-Commerce: Reducing ID Theft by Increasing E-Commerce

For the first time online banking and bill pay has moved into the top three factors considered by consumers when choosing a bank,” said ….  general manager of Atlanta-based CheckFree’s electronic commerce division, which sponsored the Harris study, which queried 2,083 Internet users.

And online is a serious factor in reducing fraud, even though this is counter intuitive to most.

If you pay your bills often at these “portals,” you will dramatically decrease the risk that some nefarious member of an organized crime syndicate will snatch your data, mid-stream, off the Internet. That’s important information — potentially perception changing.
Consumers are increasing their reliance on online banking, the Harris survey shows. The availability of online banking and bill pay features ranked third among the top three factors in selecting a bank for personal accounts, following “availability of free checking” and “reasonable fees and service charges.”

Some additional facts from the study.

The survey points to the following facts:

• Convenience: With 27 percent of consumers stating the most important benefit was saving the paper, stamps and hassle of paying bills by check, while 17 percent stated that paying online was the easiest way to pay bills.
• Speed: With 13 percent of consumers stating the most important benefit was that it is faster than paying by check.
• Control: With 9 percent of consumers stating the most important benefit was the ability to ensure bills are paid on time as specified by the consumer

Continue reading “Online banking and bill payment confirmed as factor in choosing a bank”

Wells have been working towards this since 2002.  Note how they are just not imaging the cheques, and reading them automatically, they are clearing them immediately and passing that benefit to the customer with same day credit for cheques. Finextra: Wells Fargo introduces envelope-free ATM deposit system Envelope-Free ATMs offer customers some important benefits: Faster and easier ATM deposits – customers can deposit stacks of bills (up to 30 bills in different denominations) and checks (up to 10) directly into the machine at one time. Assurance that checks or cash deposits have been received – customers can see on-screen check … Continue reading Wells Fargo introduces envelope-free ATM deposit system

Listened to Jane Thompson from Walmart talk about the Walmart bank. She went to some lengths to demonstrate the value Walmart place in their in-store banking partners, and that the Walmart bank is soley required to manage their own debit credit and electronic check transactions. This was in response to the highly charged fight against their proposed bank. However they are, and will continue to offer cheque cashing, money transfers, and bill payment. That sounds like a bank, but Walmart contend these services, are aimed only at the unbanked population. There are still questions, and it remains to be seen … Continue reading Walmart bank – to manage their own debit credit and electronic check transactions

There are three good examples now. Nothing revolutionary yet. Visa – Lifetakes HSBC – yourpointofview.com Wells Fargo – Guided by history 1) Visa: during this marketing campaign, the agency sought pictures from real people, and sourced them from Flickr. They asked permission from the individuals. 2) HSBC yourpointofview.com is an HSBC site. It starts of with "Welcome to a place for those who believe that individual points of view enrich the world. A place for the naturally curious". It then asks if you want to express you point of view on something, or to read what others have said. Topics … Continue reading Social computing, early examples – Banks

ATM’s across the world are being used for new and innovative services, that keep customers satisfied.  North American ATM’s just provide the basics.

WSJ.com – The Envelope-Free ATM

In Russia, a consumer can put rubles into an automated-teller machine and get U.S. dollars in return. In Brazil and Venezuela, the machines print checks. And banking customers in Indonesia can use an ATM to schedule and pay for the ritual sacrifice of a goat.

However something as simple as envelopeless cheque depositing which sounds cool, is not necessarily a good use of investment.

Unlike traditional machines that swallow an envelope and require the customer to key in the deposited amount, the new versions read checks and count cash themselves. They can display an image of the check on the screen, and also print an image of the deposited check on a customer’s receipt. Bank executives literally “oohed” and “aahed” when a representative of ATM maker NCR Corp. demonstrated the technology at an industry conference last fall.

The costs of the cameras and cheque handing, to achieve this are significant, and given cheques are going away, does this make sense?  Perhaps the North Americans have this part right.

Relevance to Bankwatch:
The ATM manufacturers find it easy to wow Bank Executives in the ATM space because those folks generally haven’t been engaged in the online banking space.  The online bankers know innovation, and understand the importance (now, post dot com crash) of not getting caught up in the technology, and remaining focussed on the customers needs.

Continue reading “North American ATM’s are falling behind”