According to the survey, providing customers with mobile applications is viewed as being crucial to having a competitive advantage by 63 percent of UK financial services organisations. The development of applications is an example of how use of innovative technology can be exciting and engaging to the customer. It also demonstrates the banking sectors wider progressive attitude and desire to dominate the mobile payments industry.
Moreover, the study has found that 20 percent of UK banks have released a customer-facing mobile application in the last 12 months while 17 percent are in the process of developing applications for customers. 19 percent of financial institutions in the UK are developing applications for private clients.
Furthermore, the research has found that the increasing importance of mobile in banking and finance can be attributed to the explosion in customer demand and expectations. The greater availability of cloud-based delivery mechanisms has made it feasible for mobile services to be developed and rolled out quickly and securely. Cloud computing is considered by the majority of UK respondents as having a significant part to play in developing their mobile strategies, with 78 percent agreeing the cloud is an enabler of increased mobility and 43 percent stating their organisation is either using or planning to use it.
Finally, the study has revealed that, despite growing awareness of the advantages of mobile banking applications, there are still over a quarter (27 percent) of UK respondents who reported not having a mobile strategy, which could leave them exposed to the risk of being out-maneuvered by more innovative competitors.
The survey was issued by cloud computing services provider Rackspace in collaboration with UK consultancy firm CityIQ.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now