Mobile banking no longer means just driving up to a window, pneumatic tube machine, or ATM. Mobile communication devicescell phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), and similar deviceshave commandeered the term and some of the functions as they have become ever more commonplace.


Spokane Teachers Credit Union is one of the financial institutions here thats transitioning to the newer form of mobile banking with customized access features for users of the devices, says Dale Davaz, director of online services for STCU.


We are a little early on the curve, as the credit union tends to be, Davaz says. He says about 250 of STCUs members have signed up to use stcu.mobi since its launch at the end of March. Those customers are averaging about 1,000 page views per month altogether, as they check account balances, pay bills, and transfer funds via a Web-based mobile interface.


Also joining the fray is San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank. Wells Fargo just unrolled its Wells Fargo Mobile Service nationwide on July 24, says Eskander Matta, senior vice president of online services for the company, following a limited pilot program testing the institutions separate CEO Mobile in May.


Demand for the new technology is still limited, Davaz says. Though 90 percent of adults now have cell phones, only about 12 percent to 13 percent have devices that are Web enabled, he says. Though banks like STCU and Wells Fargo dont charge for their mobile offerings, individual cell-phone companies typically charge for the access, the data transfer time, or both.


The lack of consumer demand has caused some financial institutions to be more cautious about entering the mobile fray. Gary Kishner, spokesman for Seattle-based Washington Mutual Bank, says the company hasnt found a high enough demand for mobile banking to justify it at this time.


Washington Mutual does offer e-alerts by e-mail or text message, typically triggered by limits preset by the customer, such as when a withdrawal occurs thats over a certain dollar amount or when theres an overdraft.


We are always looking at new technologies and what would make our customers lives simpler, Kishner says.


Other institutions, such as Sterling Savings Bank, are waiting to see what technology emerges as the winner when the cyber dust settles before launching their own products. Jennifer Lutz, a spokeswoman at Sterling, says the bank has Internet services like e-mail alerts and e-mailed account balances that customers can access with a Web-enabled device. Forwarding of those services by text message to cell phone, however, is for now only available to corporate customers. The bank hasnt rolled out any special interfaces for cell phones and PDAs, and has no immediate plans to do so, she says.


Some financial institutions have explored the possibility of teaming up with cell-phone companies to provide mobile access solely via their networks, but STCU and Wells Fargo have both opted to use an interface that is Web driven. Davaz says this means the customer can use any cell phone or PDA and doesnt have data stored on his or her phone, including passwords, which would increase security concerns.


For STCU, Davaz says, the cost of setting up the service was relatively inexpensive. STCU contracted with MShift Inc., of San Jose, Calif., to design the Web screen that customers see on their portable devices. For STCU, the MShift service included a fixed setup cost and the credit union also pays a minimum monthly fee for MShifts hosting of the service, regardless of the number of users.


Wells Fargo designed its own software in-house, Matta says, with input from pilot programs the company has done with a limited number of customers.


Security was a priority in the design of STCUs mobile system, Davaz says. When a credit union member signs up for the service, he or she does so with a cell phone, so the phone is identified by its electronic serial number. In addition, the user must enter an identification name and password, just as with the credit unions regular online banking service. If a different device is used to access the account, that triggers a secret question that the user has pre-selected, as an additional security measure, Davaz says.


If you leave the connection open on your phone, the connection will time out, or sign out automatically, he says, similarly to STCUs online banking service.


People can sign up online for the Wells Fargo service with a user name and password, and receive the same security guarantee as with Wells Fargos regular online services, Matta says.


A number of financial institutions say their members can access online banking features from their cell phones just as they would from a laptop, but Davaz says the advantage of stcu.mobi is that the interface is designed not only for security, but also for ease of use and speed on a small screen.


Aside from the logo on there and some tabs, its all textvery lean and very fast, Davaz says. Additionally, he says, its formatted to avoid the need to scroll from one side to another on a small screen, with the information more vertical than horizontal.


The information is stacked in rows to fit the screen a little better, he says. Davaz says among the customers using the service already, stcu.mobi seems to be proving quite popular.


The feedback weve had has been positive. The early adopters think its very cool and think its cool that a local bank would dive into (the technology), Davaz says.


Matta says in the pilot programs for Wells Fargo Mobile, users have reported positive experiences, at the upper end of a 5 point satisfaction scale. At Wells Fargo, mobile customers can check balances and transfer funds between their own accounts.


The functions for Wells Fargo still are limited, however, as far as moving money goes. For now, bill paying and transfers to third-party accounts are not part of the mobile offerings. Matta says in the future Wells Fargo hopes to add bill-paying features to its system. Additionally, the bank is working on a collaboration with Visa USA for a mobile-payment pilot program, using Visas payWave technology, a Wells Fargo press release says.


Though Davaz foresees potential down the line with voice-activated functions, he says people seem pretty pleased with button-pushing functions like text messaging, and he believes demand for mobile services will grow from there.


Contact Jeanne Gustafson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at [email protected].