Though consumer initiatives have received most of the attention recently, at least two banks are extending the conveniences of mobile banking to other client segments, as well.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo ($486 billion in assets) is rolling out a mobile banking pilot called CEO Mobile to its commercial clients. According to Megan Minich, the bank's SVP, wholesale Internet and treasury solutions, and head of the mobile technologies team, the product is an extension of Wells Fargo's CEO Portal online commercial banking product. "Mobile technology is the next big way customers will want to interact with their bank," she says. "We're building another channel for them."
According to Dan Schatt, senior analyst with Celent (Boston), mobile banking on the commercial side will be instrumental in helping executives and small business owners make speedier, more informed decisions. "These people need to be mobile," Schatt says. "Wherever they are, with mobile banking, they can facilitate payments to vendors and get balances in real time to speed their ability to make informed decisions." The added service value, he notes, could be a competitive differentiator for banks.
CEO Mobile is designed for any size business, explains Wells Fargo's Minich. Current functionality includes the ability to view interbank balances, wire activity and detailed account activity, she relates, adding that customers can select which accounts they wish to access via the channel. "[CEO Mobile] will enable customers to do things on their own schedule," Minich says, noting that additional features will be introduced throughout the year.
CEO Mobile is browser-based and uses software that can optimize the presentation of data for users' specific devices, Minich adds. All communication between Wells Fargo and the customer is encrypted via 128-bit SSL and uses the same authentication as the CEO Portal -- user ID, password and token, if necessary.
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