With Tri-Mode M-Banking, mFoundry Eyes High Growth

In a move to simplify solutions in the rapidly changing mobile-banking market, mFoundry Inc. has added enhanced capabilities to its m-banking product. It now offers text banking (SMS) and alerts, as well as support within the mobile web browser (WAP). The two new modes join mFoundry's mobile applications-based downloadable solution which was launched in late 2006. “We are one of only two vendors with a three-mode solution,” says John Pizzi, chief operating officer at mFoundry, Sausalito, Calif. “Banks can decide what's best and easiest for them and they can take as much or as little of the service as they want.” Financial institutions face a quickly evolving and sometimes confusing mobile-banking market with an array of vendors and products. Pizzi says three modes of delivery allow financial institutions to cover a wide range of devices. These include simple flip-phones, smart phones such as Blackberries, and touchscreen phones including the iPhone and iPod Touch. Users can check balances, pay bills, transfer funds, locate branches and ATMs, and receive and send messages. Financial institutions pay a monthly fee based on capacity and terms of usage. “Mobile banking is not as complicated as everyone has made it out to be,” says Pizzi. “We are in a position to simplify the process.” Mobile banking is expected to explode over the next few years, according to a report by Javelin Strategy & Research, Pleasanton, Calif. The report says 191 million consumers will have cell phones by the year 2012 and virtually all of those users will have access to mobile-banking services. About 108 million U.S. consumers will use mobile-banking services by 2012. Javelin research analyst Mark Schwanhausser thinks financial institutions will ultimately offer all three modes of mobile banking in order to cover all customers and devices. Mobile banking is the subject of a major report in the upcoming June issue of Digital Transactions magazine. MFoundry has seen the adoption of its mobile-banking software exceed an average of 75% growth each month. The three-mode solution should accelerate adoption even more, according to Pizzi. Each mode tends to capture different groups, he explains. Most cell phones support texting and can reach a wide range of consumers at a low price. The Web browser is available on smart phones used by many working professionals. The iPhone with its downloadable banking application is favored by younger customers. MFoundry has hundreds of thousands of end users, including one financial institution with more than 100,000 iPhone users. This group is growing rapidly, according to Pizzi. Smaller banks and credit unions will become more aggressive in mobile banking, predicts Pizzi. “It's a big draw for customers,” he says, adding that many small institutions have sound balance sheets and can afford to chase new clients.