Mobile banking sees no growth

banking technologies saw almost no growth between 2010 and 2011, reports Digital Trends.

This is according to a new report from marketing analysis firm Javelin Strategy & Research based on surveys with over 13 000 consumers. The study says, at the same time, consumers are increasingly embracing smartphones and other mobile technology that is capable of delivering a decent mobile banking experience.

The primary reason is that consumers don't feel mobile banking is secure: between 2009 and 2010, more than half (54%) of consumers surveyed rated mobile banking as 'unsafe' or 'very unsafe.'

Opportunities were found among consumer groups where the levels of Internet device ownership are high and adoption rates of anti-virus software are low, says ABA Banking Journal.

Javelin found that, overall, while consumers are using Internet devices at exploding rates - smartphone ownership alone increased 42% from 2010 to 2011 - slightly more than half of consumers

do not have any anti-virus software.

Philip J Blank MD for security, risk, and fraud at Javelin, says: “What the consumer is saying [to the payments industry] is you've got to address the security problem,” writes Digital Transactions.

Blank warns the prospects for NFC could darken, however, if consumers remain reluctant. “I don't think the vendors have done a good job of leading from security,” he says. “If you want to make NFC mainstream, you're going to have to address the security issue.”