The Mobile Commerce Prospects: A Strategic Analysis of Opportunities in the Banking Sector

Mobile Commerce has gained increasing acceptance amongst various sectionsof the society in previous years. The reasons for its growth can betraced back to technological and demographical developments that haveinfluenced many aspects of the socio-cultural behaviour in today’s world.The need (and/or wish) for mobility seems to be the driving force behindMobile Commerce. The launch of UMTS technology has provided MobileCommerce with the necessary verve.Mobile Financial Services build a cornerstone of Mobile Commerce.They comprise of Mobile Payment and Mobile Banking. Mobile Banking,the primary research object of this study, in turn consists of the followingsub-applications:1. Mobile Accounting2. Mobile Brokerage3. Mobile Financial InformationMobile Financial Information can be considered as an independent moduleand offered as a stand-alone application. Each of the first two subapplicationsis offered, in contrast, invariably in combination with informationservices.An empirical survey of the customer acceptance conducted under theambit of this study reveals large-scale interest in Mobile Banking. The customerinterest and the willingness to pay however vary for individual services.It is therefore necessary to design offers taking cognizance of theneeds and wishes of relevant target groups.Mobile Banking presents an opportunity for banks to retain their existing,technology-savvy customer base by offering value-added, innovativeservices and to attract new customers from corresponding sections of thesociety. The customer survey provides evidence that such sections in themeanwhile include the affluent and financially relevant groups of the societyin Germany. The time seems to be ripe to convert this non-negligiblecustomer interest into business-driving customer demand. A proactive attitudeon the part of the banks therefore seems to be recommendable.Many banks in Germany have come to regard Mobile Banking as a necessarytool for thwarting negative differentiation vis-à-vis rivals and to foster/retain an innovative image. This self-reinforcing dynamism is expectedto gain currency in near-future so that Mobile Banking services couldsoon advance to a standard product – on the lines of Online Banking – offeredby more or less each and every bank.