The iPad, Apple's much-hyped new tablet device, was released last month to some measure of success — over 1 million units were sold in just 28 days. Clearly, the device has found an audience, more than any other tablet computer produced to date.

The question for financial institutions is, does this matter? How should banks and credit unions react? In the short term, the best reaction is to make sure their websites work in the Safari browser that ships with the iPad. Consumers who bank online will continue that behavior, only now many of them will be doing it using iPads. Financial institutions should also make sure that if they provide a mobile version of their site that automatically launches when accessed by the iPhone, it doesn't do the same when opened with the iPad. Limited screen size is not a concern with Apple's new tablet.
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So, should financial institutions rush to create custom iPad apps to support the new device? Not quite yet.

As a user experience architect with Fiserv, I have conducted scores of consumer interviews and usability tests to understand consumers and provide the most effective product design possible. While doing so, I have reaffirmed again and again that mental models (how users think of activities or objects) and usage patterns (what users do to accomplish day-to-day tasks) are two deciding factors when it comes to technology adoption and success.

As noted above, usage patterns will remain the same for a while — users will check their finances online, mostly through the financial institution website. They will typically access this site from their home computer or laptop, and the iPad will initially be just another access option. The 3G iPad, however, may shift the traditional usage patterns. Because it will offer uninterrupted Internet access anywhere the user is (within the AT&T service area, of course), consumers will be able to use it to bank "on the go." The iPad may become the world's best mobile banking platform, due to its screen size, processing power and ever-present connectivity. For the most part, this mobile banking will not take place through custom mobile apps, but through the web browser.

This is not intended to minimize or dismiss mobile banking applications. Consumers have many more mobile phones than iPads, and always will — but the iPad does provide a richer experience than most mobile devices. That said, it's still about the user's mental models that will determine if they will use the iPad for banking. If users think of the iPad as a device that is as secure as their personal computer, then they will use it for banking. If not, then the iPad will face concerns related to security and privacy.

Also, the way consumers eventually use the iPad should influence financial institution strategies around facilitating usage of their services via the iPad and other tablets. The iPad will be used by many as a "lean-back" device, intended for consumption of information and entertainment. Others will look at it as a "lean forward" device, one that can be used to create content such as presentations, documents, spreadsheets and more. For the first group, providing online banking services through their existing site may be more than sufficient. For the second, providing a custom iPad app that provides not only banking services but also financial planning and goal tracking may be more useful. How these usage patterns "shake out" over the next few months will be worth close attention.

Smart technology providers cannot afford to wait things out. Even though we do not know how end users will use the device, we are making sure that we "future proof" ourselves by ensuring that our products work with the iPad and that we provide apps for the platform. The idea of being able to use the iPad or other tablets to virtually "touch your money" is an intriguing one, and we have some top development resources working on a "touch banking" product offering for the iPad.

Some financial institutions have already started the process of providing such custom apps for the iPad. Spain's Banco Sabadell will soon be rolling out its own custom iPad app, and it will not be the last. The key to the success of any such app is, as always, user-centered design. The apps should empower users to accomplish tasks, and not just be first-to-market "me too" solutions. When it comes to any such solution, banks should always keep consumer's needs, mental models and usage patterns in mind.

So, will the iPad change things in banking? Not overnight, but, as we saw with Apple's iPhone product just three short years ago, change can sneak up on the world very quickly. Apple went from 0 to 50 million iPhones sold in that time ... and if they sell only one tenth as many iPads, that's still a lot of existing (or potential) users for financial institutions to accommodate.

Joseph Dickerson is a User Experience Architect, Electronic Banking Services, for Fiserv.