"Many people are out and about and travelling during the holiday months, so they do not have access to a PC or their normal Internet banking service, but their bills need paying just the same. This is no longer a problem thanks to mobile banking, and this summer saw a lot of people realise just how useful the new services that mobile banking offers can be", explains Ann Merethe Sommerseth, who heads up EDB's work on mobile banking solutions.

 

EDB Business Partner is the IT company that developed and now supplies the mobile banking solutions used by most Norwegian banks. The company is Norway's largest supplier of IT solutions to Norwegian banks and financial institutions, and was also instrumental in the launch of Norway's first Internet banking services in 1996. EDB completed work on developing its mobile banking solution in 2006, and Norwegian banks were among the first in the world to make use of this new technology, which makes most of the features of Internet banking available from mobile phones.

 

"The arrival of mobile banking represents a leap in technology in just the same way as when Internet banking was first launched, giving banking customers a whole new range of opportunities and flexibility. Access to the customer's bank is now literally in his or her pocket at any time, so people can manage their finances whenever they want and wherever they are. Ann Merethe Sommerseth believes that the big increase in use of mobile banking this summer is only the beginning. When EDB launched Internet banking systems in 1996 the new service was first adopted by a relatively small number of customers who increased their usage rapidly as they became familiar with the functionality and flexibility it offered. "We are seeing the same pattern now with mobile banking. Over the next three to four years we expect to see the majority of banking customers start to make use of mobile banking as an addition to their Internet banking service", she explains.

 

 

Mobile banking basically delivers the same services as Internet banking. Customers can use mobile banking to pay bills, check their account balances, authorise e-invoices and view both recent movements on their accounts and automatic payments due to go out. Mobile banking also allows users to block their Visa card. The big advantage of mobile banking is that customers can now access most banking services with no restriction on time or location. EDB currently operates mobile banking services for a number of Norwegian banks.

 

At the moment, around 5-7% of these banks' customers are using mobile banking. The most popular mobile banking services are checking account balances/available funds, viewing recent transactions on their accounts and making transfers between own accounts. 32% of mobile banking customers are female, and the majority of all users are under 40 years of age.

 

 

The development of mobile banking is an indicator of the features that EDB believes will characterise the bank of the future. Mobile banking and debit cards will become the normal channels for transactions in the future. Making transfers between accounts, paying bills, buying goods and services and similar transactions will all be carried out using mobile handsets and debit cards. Internet banking is evolving to play the role of a user-defined administration portal for the customer to communicate with the bank on services related to financial advice and the specific needs of the individual customer as his or her circumstances change.

 

Contact person:
Torgeir Kristiansen, Information Director - Corporate Communications, EDB. Tel. +47 901 27 909