sybase 365 m-banking survey doc

8/14/2019 Sybase 365 M-Banking Survey Doc

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E x e c u t i v e s u m m a r y

N a n o - e c o n o m i c s :

M o b i l e o p p o r t u n i t i es f o r t h e f i n a n c i a l s e c t o r

The Sybase 365 Mobile Banking Survey looks at user trends in approaching and utilising mobile services across

five Asia Pacific region: Australia, Singapore, India, China and Taiwan. The research finds that, though existing

mobile banking usage is at an early adopter phase in its evolution, there is enthusiasm for future services.Beyond mobile user perceptions, the report goes on to discuss some of the wider implications of mobile banking

on the financial sector.

In addition to specific mobile services, the survey discloses the passionate approach that some in Asia Pacific

share for keeping up to date with personal finances, highlighting the potential benefitsof dynamic mobile

data services in this area. A summary of key findings from the survey is as follows:

Potential dividends

The ability to access account balance enquiries via a mobile phone is the most compelling consumer banking

service for Asia Pacific mobile users, with over 80% expressing an interest in the service

27% of consumers interested in mobile banking would be willing to pay for the service

31% of users interested in mobile banking would be willing to switch banks if mobile banking services wereoffered for free

Nano-economics

On average, 27% of Asia Pacific mobile users know the exact amount of money in their bank balance at any

time, that figure rises to 43% in Taiwan and 42% in India

Taiwan also has the highest proportion of users who have no idea of their bank balance (30%), showing a

highly polarised approach to personal finance

Most users prefer to check their bank balance on an ad hoc basis, although Australians show a slightly more

methodical approach, checking every few days

Security Australians show the most confidence in mobile banking security, with 46% believing that the services

are secure

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E x e c u t i v e s u m m a r y


M o b i l e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r t h e f i n a n c i a l s e c t o r

As might be expected, there are some considerable regional differences to take into account when

looking at the survey, which are discussed in the body of the report. A summary of country-specific

trends is described below:

AustraliaAustralian users are the most interested in the ability to deal with their finances while on the move,

and more than a quarterwould consider switching banks for the offer of free mobile banking services.

Australians are the most methodical when it comes to checking their bank balance, which they do

every few days.

Singapore

Singapore has the highest proportion of users who want statements on request via their mobile phone.

They are least likely to switch banks for free mobile banking services and prefer to use the Internet or

ATM to check bank balances.

India

Indians are the very likely to know their exact bank balance and to know if their bank offers mobile

banking services. Users in India are also most likely to use their mobile phone to check their bank

balance, and are reasonably confident of its security. India has the highest proportion of respondents

that have used mobile banking services in the last three months.

China

Chinese userswere most interested in receiving text notifications of banking transactions, and

are the most likely to consider switching banks for the offer of free services.

Taiwan

Taiwan shows the most polarised attitudes in the research, having the highest percentage of those

knowing their exact bank balance and the highest proportion of users who have no idea. Taiwanese

users express the least interest in dealing with their finances while on the move. However, a young

demographic and high mobile penetration means that Taiwan is considered to offer a good opportunity

for mobile banking services.

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R e s e a r c h m e t h o d o l o g y



The research surveyed 1,818 mobile users across 5 Asia Pacific regions, which were split as follows:Australia (255 interviews), China (276), India (311), Singapore (692) and Taiwan (284). Interviews were

undertaken via an Internet-based questionnaire in May 2007. The research was commissioned by

Sybase 365 and carried out by BDM Intelligence, a leading custom market research firm in Asia.

As a result of the significant regional differences in mobile use across the Asia Pacific continent, averages

across the countries are referred to in commentary on the findings but must be considered in context some

considerably different regions. Though age ranges are consistent, mobile penetration rates and socio-economic

differences will influence comparative findings. With this in mind, all graphical data is presented on a per-region

basis for reference purposes.

.

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M o b i l e o p p o r t u n i t i e s



Given the scale and diversity of the Asia Pacific region, consumers are interested in accessing a wide range ofbanking services via mobile phone (see Figure 1). The ability to access account balance enquiries via a mobile

phone is the most compelling consumer banking service, with over 80% of consumers across all regions

expressing an interest in this service, followed by mobile fund transfers.

A second-tier of mobile banking opportunities includes reports for potentially fraudulent behavior and the ability

to freeze bank cards, which reflects some of the security concerns around mobile banking services that are

discussed later in this report. The ability to receive marketing and promotional messages is the least compelling

service for consumers, while statements on request, overdraft and minimum balance alerts and stock market

information are of moderate interest to consumers across Asia Pacific.

However, the region is notable for its relatively wide country-specific differences in terms of the types of

mobile banking services consumers want to access. For example, consumers in Taiwan are significantly lessinterested (23%) in using mobile phones for fund transfers than those in India (67%), Australia (75%) and

Singapore (71%). Conversely, Taiwanese consumers are more interested in receiving information, such as

interest rates (57%), and marketing / promotional messages (60%) than those in other regions, where little

interest is expressed. Survey respondent demographics for Taiwan are similar to those for other regions,

with the majority in the 25-44 age group, so further analysis into these apparent discrepancies could reveal

some interesting insights into the effectiveness of marketing messages for mobile banking services.

Meanwhile, consumers in India express the most concern around the security of mobile banking services.

In line with this they accounted for the largest percentage of survey respondents expressing an interest in the

ability to report potentially fraudulent transactions and to freeze cards via their mobile phones (67% for both).

Consumers in India and China are also more interested in receiving overdraft and minimum balance alerts totheir mobile phones than those in other regions, which could reflect the fact that both countries have a high

population of mobile users in the under-19 age group.

Interestingly, the ability to receive financial promotions and incentives is relatively low across all regions, which

perhaps reflects a broader debate in the mobile industry around more effective ways for consumers to receive

information or adverts that are pushed to their mobile phones by service providers.

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7

51%

55%

55%

57%

61%

71%

86%

21%

38%

42%

53%

65%

75%

88%

48%

67%

67%

67%

47%

67%

92%

36%

70%

47%

51%

65%

36%

88%

19%

68%

28%

36%

64%

23%

84%

Account balance enquiries

Funds transfer

Payments via mobile

Ability to freeze a card

Statements on request

Reports of potentiallyfraudulent transactions

Automatic updates when

transactions take place

14%

15%

26%

29%

40%

49%

20%

4%

18%

7%

50%

15%

35%

19%

28%

8%

59%

59%

49%

25%

45%

15%

30%

43%

19%

12%

30%

60%

19%

57%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Taiwan

China

India

Australia

Singapore

Information eg: intetestrates/exchange rates

Minimum balance alerts

Marketing/promotional messages

Stock market information

Financial offers & incentives

Overdraft alerts

Fig 1: Which of the following

mobile banking services would

you be interested in if offered

by your bank?


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Figure 2a & 2b set out to establish the gaps between mobile awareness of specific services and subsequentadoption of those services.

As might be expected, Figure 2a and 2b show that the vast majority of mobile users in the survey sample are

familiar with (over 98% on average) and utilize (over 97%) text-based mobile services. Consumers in all regions

are also highly aware of entertainment services, such as music downloads and games), and mobile Internet

browsing, with a utilization ratio of roughly two-to-one for each of these services so for every two consumers

that are aware of the service, one of them will access it.

For mobile banking services, utilization rates are slightly lower, but still encouraging. For example, 53% of

respondents are aware of mobile banking services, and nearly 19% use them a conversion rate of under

three-to-one, which is almost equal to that of mobile email. Likewise, of the 50% of respondents who are

aware of the ability to check bank balances on a mobile phone, 16% have used the service in the last threemonths again, a utilization rate of nearly three-to-one. This suggests that there is an opportunity to boost

uptake of mobile banking services by raising awareness, as the survey results suggest that where consumers

are made aware of mobile banking services nearly one-in-three will subscribe to them.

However, it is important to note that in the case of bank balance checking, the figures are highly skewed by

the results from India, where people are generally aware of services that enable them to make payments (63%)

and check bank balance from their mobile phones (84%). The gap between awareness and usage is lower

here given that 27% purchase goods and services and 42% check their account balances using their

mobile phones.

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9

88%

89%

91%

99%

92%

85%

89%

98%

89%

84%

69%

100%

91%

90%

82%

95%

98%

95%

96%

100%

47%

51%

55%

69%

70%

84%

42%

31%

84%

54%

88%

60%

84%

81%

60%

39%

35%

77%

79%

88%

43%

66%

49%

54%

57%

69%

87%

38%

57%

69%

64%

42%

78%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

TaiwanChinaIndiaAustraliaSingapore

Send/receive text messages

Play games

Play & store music

Access the Internet

E-mail

Check traffic reports/get directions

Instant messaging

Check latest sport scores

Watch live TV

Make payments via mobile

Check bank balance

Fig 2a: Which of the

following mobile services

are you aware of?

52%

93%


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However, if the responses from Indian respondents are removed, the average awareness percentage for the

remaining regions drops to 42% and the service utilization rate to just 6%. It could be argued that these findings

lend weight to the idea that higher awareness levels of mobile banking services could translate into greater

adoption rates. For example, 81% of Indian respondents are aware of the ability to check bank balances on amobile phone, with 49% having used the service in the last three months. Conversely, only 31% of Australian

respondents are aware of mobile banking payment services which could explain why only 7% of the sample

had used the service in the last three months. In Taiwan, meanwhile, a 38% awareness level translated into

just 2% of respondents using their mobile phone to check bank balances.

While utilization rates for mobile banking services across all regions are relatively encouraging, the survey results

highlight a worrying lack of awareness across all regions in Asia Pacific, apart from in India. This is an important

point, given that in regions where awareness is high, such as India, use of mobile banking services is higher.

In addition, in regions where utilization is particularly low, such as in Taiwan, providers may need to analyze

why utilization rates are so poor for example, it could be that consumers have concerns surrounding security

that are preventing them from using mobile banking services, in which case educational campaigns could helpto boost adoption rates.

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24%

46%

56%

59%

99%

16%

41%

35%

24%

98%

55%

61%

32%

47%

100%

31%

64%

60%

76%

95%

25%

32%

51%

47%

94%

Play games

E-mail 1%

4%

6%

6%

9%

17%

22%

7%

13%

6%

29%

4%

4%

34%

49%

8%

49%

34%

1%

34%

9%

13%

11%

26%

3%

14%

2%

8%

4%

17%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Taiwan

ChinaIndiaAustraliaSingapore

Send/receivetext messages

Play &store music

Accessthe Internet

Check trafficreports/get

directionsE-mail

Instantmessaging

(eg:PC)

Checklatest

sportsscores

Checkbank

balance

Makepaymentsvia mobile

Watchlive TV

Fig 2b: Which of the

following mobile

services have you

used in the

last 3 months?


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As shown in Figure 3, most survey respondents are still unsure whether their bank offers mobile banking

services, except those in India. The difference could be due to more effective marketing and promotional

campaigns in India, where 71% of survey respondents know that their bank did offer such services only 13%

of respondents did not know. China has the second largest proportion of respondents who are aware thattheir bank offers mobile banking services. It is no coincidence therefore that India and China also have the

highest usage rates for mobile banking services within Asia Pacific.

Conversely, a high proportion of respondents in Taiwan (68%) do not know if their bank offers mobile

banking services this region corresponds to the lowest usage rates (see Figure 2b). The story in Singapore,

meanwhile, is slightly different, with 41% of respondents believing that their bank did not offer mobile banking

services however, it is not clear whether this is an erroneous perception or if, indeed, few Singaporean

banks actually offer mobile banking services. The former is most likely, given that Singapore is one of the most

advanced locations in Asia Pacific in terms of infrastructure and mobile banking readiness.

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Yes

No

Dont know

Fig 3. Does your bank

offer mobile banking?

51%

41%

8%

54%

23%

23%

13%

17%

71%

47%

7%

46%

68%

18%

14%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Taiwan

China

India

Australia

Singapore


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A c a s e f o r c h a n g e



Figure 4 again shows that the interest shown by respondents in the ability to access finances while on the

move varies significantly between each sub-region. Responses to the question of whether respondents

would consider switching banks if free mobile banking services were offered did not show such a wide

variation, with an average of 31% interested in the proposition.

Consumers in Australia expressed the most interest in being able to access their finances while on the move,

with 72% of respondents finding the prospect appealing, followed by China (50%). It is worth noting that both

samples include a high proportion of respondents in the 25-34 age group Australia 69% of the sample, and

China 72%. Only 9% of Taiwanese respondents are interested in accessing their finances while on the move,

suggesting that Taiwan potentially offers the least attractive market opportunity for the provision of mobile

banking services.

However, only 28% of Australians would consider switching banks if these services were offered free of charge.

The reason for this large discrepancy is unclear, but it may that switching banks is particularly challenging in

Australia, which is a point worth noting by potential mobile banking services providers in the region.Conversely, Chinese respondents were the most likely to consider switching banks if mobile banking services

were offered free respondents in this region also expressed the most interest in receiving financial offers and

incentives around mobile banking, which highlights a promising strategy for engaging consumers with mobile

banking services in China.

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Fig 4. Statements of agreement

surrounding enthusiasm for mobile

services.

I would like tobeable todeal with my

finances on the move

I would consider switching

to a bank if I was offered free

mobile banking

19%

39%

28%

72%

36%

30%

48%

50%

25%

9%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

T a iw a n

C h in a

I n d i a

Au s tr a lia

S in g a p o r e


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A c a s e f o r c h a n g e



Meanwhile, only 9% of respondents in Taiwan expressed an interest in accessing their finances on a

mobile phone. However, 25% would consider switching banks if services were offered free.

Compared to Europe and the US, respondents in Asia Pacific expressed much lower interest in switching

accounts in exchange for free mobile banking services. This could relate to greater difficulties in switching

banks in this region or to the level of comfort felt by respondents in terms of the use of multiple providers for

current accounts, credit cards, loans and so on. Either way, it appears that offering free mobile banking

services alone would not be enough to attract potential customers to mobile banking in the Asia Pacific

region. Instead, it may be that educational awareness-raising campaigns are a better way forward for

increasing adoption.

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Na n o - e c o n om i c s



As shown in Figure 5 (table) the degree to which consumers in Asia Pacific know their exact bank balance

shows a wide variation throughout the region. India (42%) and Taiwan (43%) have the largest proportion of

nano-economists respondents who know the exact amount of their bank balance at any given time.

Again, the reasons behind such high levels of financial awareness are likely to be wide-ranging and may

include a lack of available funds, a prudent attitude to money or potential concerns over security.

Interestingly, responses from Taiwan showed a high degree of polarisation: despite having the largest

percentage of nano-economists in the Asia Pacific region, Taiwan also has the highest percentage of

respondents who have no idea what their bank balance is (30%) at any given time. This suggests that bank

balance updates via mobile phone can be an attractive initial proposition for consumers.

Respondents in the remaining four regions seemed to fall between two stools, with only a small proportion

either knowing the exact amount or having no idea the reality is likely to be that the vast majority have some

idea of the state of their bank balance, but not a precise figure.

Fig 5: Degree to which people know amount of money in personal bank accounts

14

Singapore Australia India China Taiwan

% knowing the exact amount 13% 6% 42% 33% 43%

% have no idea 7% 6% 8% 14% 30%


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Na n o - e c o n om i c s



Figure 6 shows that, like Europe and the US, Asia Pacific respondents generally prefer to check their bank

balance on an ad hoc, or need to know, basis. Again though, the responses highlight some significant

cultural differences. Australian respondents, for example, prefer to check their bank balance either every

few days (44%) or weekly (29%) rather than on an ad hoc basis (15%), while 18% of respondents in China

check their account less than once a month.

Evidently, there will be considerable social and political reasons for differing approaches to personal finance and

differing levels of interest in knowing how much money is in the bank. Bank accounts are normally scrutinised most

closely by those with personal financial woes, to the more affluent with particularly dynamic accounts. In looking

at frequency, the objective is to understand at a general level how often any given region proactively seeks

personal financial information, using this as a gauge to establish how desirable a mobile service may be.

Fig 6. Frequency that

people check bank balances

15

2%

40%

12%

24%

19%

3%

0%

15%

6%

29%

44%

6%

4%

46%

17%

17%

8%

8%

18%

56%

14%

12%

0%

0%

7%

52%

23%

5%

14%

0%

0% 20% 40% 60%

T a i w a n

C h i n a

I n d i a

A u s t r a l i a

S in g a p o r e

Daily

Every few days

Weekly

Monthly

Less thanonce a month

Ad hoc/whenI need to


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M u l t i - m e t h o d b a l a n c e c h e c k s



With so many tools now available for checking bank accounts, it is no surprise that Asia Pacific respondents

reflect a wide variation in the methods they use to access their financial information, as shown in Figure 7.

Internet banking and visiting an ATM/cash point are the most popular methods, while a relatively low proportion

of consumers use telephone banking. Overall, mobile banking is the least used method for accessing accountinformation in Asia Pacific.

In Taiwan, 84% of respondents use ATMs to check their bank balances, while 45% obtain such information by

physically going to their banks, compared to just 20% who access account information via the Internet and 5%

via mobile phone. This suggests that although Taiwanese are receptive to new technology, they are very

prudent when dealing with their finances, preferring a more traditional approach.

Meanwhile, 50% of Indian respondents checked their bank balance on their mobile phone and 54% via the

Internet although the majority still obtain account balance information through brick-and-mortar facilities such

as receiving statements through post (58%), ATM machines (54%), and visits to the banks (17%).

Australian respondents, however, much preferred

to access their bank balance via the Internet (88%),

with only 2% visiting their bank. A tentative argument

for this low proportion of bank visits could be due

to the dispersed nature of the Australian population,

with banks unlikely to be nearby. If this is the case,

then Australia would appear to represent strong

potential for the adoption of mobile banking services.

However, with only 4% of Australian respondents

having used mobile banking to access their bank

balance, there are clearly barriers that would needto be overcome.

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Fig 7.

Methods used to check bank balance

Internet

Via ATM/cash point

Statement in post

Go to bank

Via telephone

Mobile banking/text from bank

4%

11%

7%

31%

74%

71%

4%

13%

2%

25%

54%

88%

50%

33%

17%

58%

54%

54%

14%

37%

30%

28%

49%

63%

5%

23%

45%

11%

84%

20%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Taiwan

China

India

Australia

Singapore


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M u l t i - m e t h o d b a l a n c e c h e c k s



Chinese respondents use the full gamut of technology tools to access their bank balance, including 14% who

use their mobile phone. This suggests that the Chinese are more open to using different methods for accessing

bank balances (which may depend on convenience). At the same time, China has the highest percentage of

respondents in the 25-34 age group (72%) in Asia Pacific, as well as a relatively high proportion of users whoclaim to keep pace with technology advances (47%) i.e. a well-educated and technology-savvy population.

Taken together, these figures suggest that China is a potentially attractive target market for mobile banking

services.

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M o b i l e b a n k i n g s e c u r i t y



18

Fig 8:

Percentage of country

respondents believing that

mobile banking is either

secure (4) or very secure (5)

on a 1-5 scale

20%

46%

29%

16%

11%

0% 20% 40%

Taiwan China India

Australia

Singapore

As shown in Figure 8, Australians have the most confidence in the security of mobile banking services in

Asia Pacific, whereas Taiwanese respondents expressed the least. While the low confidence levels are at first

glance disappointing, the responses do at least highlight consumer fears around the security of mobile banking

services which could potentially be allayed through educational campaigns.

While Australia had the highest proportion of respondents who trusted their bank to safeguard their interest while

using mobile banking (46%), other responses (not shown here) identify security as a significant barrier to adoption

of mobile banking services in Australia, with 83% of respondents choosing it from a list of potential barriers.

Users also perceive the service difficult to use, with 33% saying they did not understand how to use mobile

banking and 17% believing that it is hard to use.

In Singapore, meanwhile, 20% of respondents felt that mobile banking was secure. However, 29% of our sample

thought that it was an unnecessary service. Indeed, since its inception in1999 mobile banking has failed to

reach widespread consumer awareness in Singapore.

Chinese and Taiwanese respondents showed the

least confidence in the security of mobile banking

services. Consumers in Taiwan appear particularly

concerned with only 11% agreeing that the service

is secure or very secure, while over half of

respondents felt that it was not secure or not secure

at all. When asked to pick the main barrier to

mainstream adoption from a list, 70% of Taiwanese

respondents chose security. In China, only 16% of

respondents feel that mobile banking is secure.

However, a relatively large proportion (40%) were

neutral about the issue of security, suggesting thatthere is potential to positively influence this particular

group of mobile phone users in China and change

their perception of mobile banking security.


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P a y m e n t p r e f e r e n c e s



19

Figure 9 shows the willingness of those respondents who did show an interest in mobile banking to pay for

different services. Funds transfer and the ability to make payments via a mobile phone were, on average,

the most popular mobile banking services across Asia Pacific (both attracted 27% of respondents willing to

pay for these services). Unsurprisingly, respondents were least willing to pay to receive marketing andpromotional messages (1%) and financial offers and incentives (4%).

The desire for monitoring fraud was highlighted, with 23% of all respondents willing to pay for the ability to freeze

a card via mobile and 24% willing to pay to receive reports of potentially fraudulent activity. Indian respondents

expressed the most willingness to pay for these services, and Taiwanese the least. These figures support the

more general findings from Figure 5, which showed the Indian sample to be the most financially aware in terms

of knowing their exact bank balance at any time, while Taiwanese consumers are polarised between financial

awareness and an apparent disinterested approach to their finances, with 30% having no idea of the state of

their bank account.

Again there are wide variations between Asia Pacific regions in terms of willingness to pay for mobile banking

services. For example, Chinese and Indian respondents are generally the most willing to pay for the range of

mobile banking services, with Australians and Singaporeans generally the least willing. Indian respondents are

the most willing to pay for statements on their mobile phone (32%), while none in Taiwan expressed an interest

in paying for the service. However, Taiwanese respondents were most willing to pay for the ability to make

payments via mobile phone, and Chinese respondents showing strong willingness to pay to receive

overdraft alerts.

The figures highlight the importance of cultural differences and preferences when introducing mobile banking

services to different Asia Pacific regions. Where one region might be more amenable to paying for overdraft

alerts, another may have no interest at all, highlighting the importance of understanding consumer needs at a

regional level and tailoring services accordingly.


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P a y m e n t p r e f e r e n c e s



20

Fig 9.% interested respondents

willing to pay for mobile

banking services13%

16%

17%

17%

20%

23%

9%

25%

20%

4%

26%

21%

5%

21%

35%

32%

37%

41%

5%

31%

31%

5%

27%

15%

17%

42%

15%

0%

23%

12%

1%

2%

3%

6%

6%

11%

12%

0%

0%

2%

10%

2%

11%

5%

0%

10%

14%

19%

14%

27%

5%

3%

8%

38%

8%

13%

24%

30%

0%

0%

3%

2%

14%

14%

12%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Taiwan

China

IndiaAustralia

Singapore

Minimum balance alerts

Overdraft alerts

Statements on request

Reports of potentiallyfraudulent transactions on your

account

Being able to freeze card orcard transaction

Funds transfer

Information requestseg: interest rates/exchange rates

Stock market information

Account balance enquiries

Automatic updates whentransactions take place

Financial offers and incentives

Marketing/promotional messages

Payment via mobile


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T e c h n o - l i t e r a t e



One of the considerations that mobile service providers have to factor into their mobile content strategy is the

issue of technology formats. Though this challenge is being overcome with each new iteration of delivery

platforms and devices, (lack of) compatibility is something that can confuse users.

Fig 10: Awareness of technology formats

Singapore Australia India China Taiwan

Don't know 14% 31% 18% 5% 7%

Java ready 7% 8% 18% 9% 2%

WAP 66% 79% 88% 91% 93%

MMS 85% 82% 79% 88% 84%

However, the majority of users throughout Asia Pacific are familiar with technologies such as MMS and

WAP (84% and 83%, respectively) respondents from Singapore were the least likely to know if their mobilephone offered WAP services (66%). A far lower proportion know if their mobile phone is Java ready (9%),

while 15% of respondents do not know the technology formats available on their mobile phone. Indians are

most aware of Java (18%), while Australians are least likely to not know which formats their phone

supports (31%).

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T e c h n o - l i t e r a t e



As shown in Figure 11, however, there is a dichotomy in how Australians perceive their technology prowess,

with the highest proportion (13%) of all the Asia Pacific regions describing themselves as technology leaders.

The majority of mobile phone users describe themselves as techno-watchers or techno-followers that is,

they are happy to keep pace or stay just ahead of the curve.

Perhaps the most important consideration for banks regarding the technology awareness of mobile users is

that enthusiasm for mobile banking is not technology driven. Techno-phobes are no more or less likely to

desire mobile banking services than early adopters in the survey. It is a practical need to keep a handle on

finances rather than a want for state-of-the-art services that is likely to create the strongest driver for

mobile banking.

22

11%

22%

33%

32%

2%

10%

10%

31%

35%

13%

17%

13%

25%

42%

4%

16%

5%

21%

47%

12%

2%

2%

39%

48%

9%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Taiwan

China

IndiaAustraliaSingapore

Techno-leader

Techno-watcher

Techno-follower

Techno-resistant

Techno-phobe

Fig 11:

Which of the following

best describes your

approach to technology?


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Conclusion



Asia Pacific offers an interesting region view in terms of both diversity and enthusiasm for mobile banking

when compared across the three international territories (Asia Pacific, Americas and Europe) that have been

engaged in the Sybase 365 Mobile Banking survey. Striking comparison between the techno-centric hubs

of Singapore and Taiwan and setting them against the more Western composition of Australia and thehuge societal and geographic diversities of India and China will always present challenges. However, there

are many observations that, at an international level, are wholly consistent with the Americas and European

regions and worthy of review.

It is important to see the bigger picture of banking services when looking at mobile technology. Beyond the

globally accepted use of text messaging, its usage is widely associated with dynamic forms of information,

such as sports fixtures and news events. However, dynamic content can also be relevant to people when

looking at personal financial information, especially for those individuals with lively accounts, or, as is more

pertinent to Asia Pacific regions, people who may struggle with telecommunications infrastructure for fixed

line internet access.

Mobile banking is gaining traction in Asia Pacific on a number of levels, though the speed at which each

region adopts mobile banking clearly differs. India has a greater enthusiasm for mobile banking services

than Taiwan, for example. However, mobile penetration rates in India are considerably smaller than in its

Far Eastern neighbours, with only one fifth of Indians possessing mobile devices against 103% mobile

penetration in Taiwan. The contradiction of less devices but greater mobile service use can be answered to

some extent by the fact that India has three times the number of mobile internet users (31.3 million) than

fixed line internet users (9 million) (source: Trai 2007). In short, Indian mobile device use is fundamentally

different, mirroring the regions sentiment towards mobile banking.

As a market in its infancy, it is interesting to watch how mobile banking develops and which financial

institutions become the trailblazers in offering consumers another tool with which to monitor and manage

their finances. For the financial institution, the value in offering mobile services is two-fold revenuegeneration and cost reduction.

Revenue generation, not surprisingly, is often presented as the more vibrant area for businesses to focus on,

especially in the media and entertainment fields where premium pay mobile content creates exciting new

revenue opportunities. However, the survey shows that there are monetisation opportunities for the financial

sector as people are prepared, in some cases, to pay for premium personal finance and security services

using a mobile.

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24/24

Conclusion



Cost reduction provides an additional business proposition for mobile banking services. Creating data services

to lighten the burden on customer service infrastructure, whilst also adding value to the customer experience,

is more likely to strengthen a business case for banks to go mobile. In short, banks need a 360-degree view

of mobile service deployment and its benefits to customer and operational expenditure alike.

The impetus now is for mobile and banking sectors to encourage mobile banking services and to highlight

the benefits of mobile banking to an audience who are likely to be open to using another tool to support their

enthusiasm for personal financial services in a more immediate manner than the Internet can afford.

Though diversity within the Asia Pacific region is an important consideration, the survey helps to answer some

of the more fundamental questions that financial institutions grapple with when formulating mobile strategy.

For example, there is considerable interest in mobile banking services across these huge populations and,

in some areas, encouraging levels of service awareness to adoption ratios. Awareness is key if banking is to

realise the opportunities presented by mobile services. Most of the Asia Pacific mobile user base is a largely

untapped market in terms of mobile banking and there appears to be evident potential to expand existing

efforts in helping consumers link to their banks via mobile data.

In response to the findings, Sybase 365 has developed five key considerations for evolving mobile services and

adoption in the banking sector.

Increase awareness of mobile banking services amongst customer base

Develop more sophisticated mobile data services beyond balance and payment updates

Establish the enthusiasm for mobile banking services with different aspects of the customer demographic

Evaluate operational savings of text push services to replace aspects of customer service proposition

Use flexibility of mobile data projects to validate wider strategy mobile services expansion

Mobile banking is not necessarily a panacea for all customer needs. Like any technology format it is a tool thatcan enhance existing services. Customers are keen to be kept abreast of any changes to the nano-economy

and it appears that existing mobile provisioning could capitalise on this opportunity and better capture the

imagination of mobile users. Innovation and cost management are critical tenets for commercial success in the

financial sector and mobile banking services are capable of delivering against both of these objectives if

appropriately executed.

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For further information

please contact:

Jean Loh

[email protected]

Tel: +60 32713 0888

sybase 365 m-banking survey doc

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