News

Mobile-banking platform that finds surcharge-free ATMs celebrates a milestone

August 25, 2010

mFoundry, a mobile banking platform provider, today celebrated 1 million end users, an achievement that signals mobile banking has become a key customer service channel for the nation’s financial institutions, said an analyst.

“The number of users began to grow in the last 12 to 18 months with increased adoption of the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry smartphones,” said Drew Sievers, co-founder and CEO of mFoundry. “Thank God for the iPhone.”

ecom Advisors, a financial services consulting firm, reported that 27 percent of smartphone owners use their phones for mobile banking compared with 22 percent in 2009.

Nearly 200 banks and credit unions employ mFoundry’s mobile banking platform. The Larkspur, Calif.-based company acquires new customers through direct sales and though the company’s channel partners like NCR Corp. The Duluth, Ga.-based company, which is the world’s largest ATM manufacturer based on annual shipments, recommends mFoundry to bank customers, Sievers said.

“Large banks and very tiny banks are adopting mFoundry’s platform to appeal to younger customers who use their smartphones. Mobile banking also cuts the cost of banking operations,” Sievers said.

Mobile banking customers initially used their smartphones to send SMS text messages, transfer money between accounts, check account balances and to pay bills online. Sievers said, however, customers also are using their smartphones connected to a mobile banking platform to find the nearest surcharge-free ATM.

The growth of mFoundry means financial institutions consider mobile banking a true standalone channel with ATMs, branches, online banking and call centers, said Red Gillen, senior analyst at Celent LLC, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm.

“Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank introduced mobile banking in 2007, and there were a lot of questions about it [mobile banking], Gillen said. “The number of banks that are adopting mFoundry’s mobile banking platform means it is not a passing fad; it’s here to stay.”

Bank of America, an mFoundry investor, recently announced that it will pilot mobile payments with smartphones next month in New York City. Charlotte-based Bank of America has 5 million mobile-banking customers and if the pilot pans out, it is expected to enhance the financial institution’s mobile banking offering.

So how did mFoundry employees celebrate the milestone? “We had a couple of beers and went back to work,” Sievers said.