Banks can hasten the adoption of corporate mobile banking by leveraging their existing corporate Internet banking offering – that their customers are accustomed to – to provide a similar, seamless experience on tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices. A browser-based mobile banking service usable on tablet devices is more likely than downloadable apps on smartphones to succeed with corporate users who are comfortable with mobile devices but less so with specialized apps. Last but notleast, the mobile banking solution must be workable on a wide range of devices and platforms.

1. Taking Mobile Banking Corporate
Universal Banking Solution System Integration Consulting Business Process Outsourcing

2. It’s ironic that in a world that has gone mobile, treasury executives access to critical information
corporate treasurers and CFOs are still tethered and tasks even when on the move.
to their desks because they need computer
access to issue approvals using corporate Independent technology vendors of consumer
Internet banking. mobile banking applications have only now
started to explore this space with the expectation
While consumer mobile banking has soared in that the trend of equipping company executives
recent years ever since the smartphone arrived with smartphones and tablets will favor the
on the scene, its corporate cousin is yet to adoption of corporate mobile banking – yet in its
take off. However, according to various industry infancy – in the not too distant future.
participants, there is significant untapped demand
for corporate mobile banking, as those finance Most solutions offer popular functions such as
professionals who use mobile banking in their basic account operations (balance check,
personal lives – not just on mobile phones but on transfer, approval etc.), alerts about important
a variety of devices including tablets – want the events as well as two-way messages that can
same convenience at work. be used to initiate action, and exception
management to allow ‘out of the way’ approval.
This optimism is corroborated by a recent Of these, approvals and alerts on critical events
survey of 267 bankers, in which over 40% of such as inward and outward payments and
respondents said that they would likely use ‘out of office’ delegation of authority are the
corporate mobile banking to check account most preferred.
balance or transfer funds. The treasurers among
them were even more enthusiastic – more than The above functions may be augmented with
half said that they would be interested in advanced features like vendor payment facility,
advanced corporate mobile banking functions accounts payable and receivable information
including transaction approval and payment viewing, transaction hold and release, cash and
initiation, and more importantly, a sizeable number treasury management services and reporting,
were willing to pay for these facilities. electronic invoice generation over a tablet
device, payroll processing and ‘’positive pay
All of which naturally leads one to ask why decision” to confirm or deny the payment of
corporate mobile banking isn’t a raging success checks after viewing their scanned images on
yet. The single largest reason behind the mobile. Although the majority of banks offer only
poor adoption of corporate mobile banking is basic corporate mobile banking functions, studies
a serious concern about data security. But indicate that the higher screen resolution and
now it is hoped that improvement in the optimized experience of tablets will encourage the
security perception, convenience, experience usage of advanced services in future.
and consequent adoption of consumer mobile
banking will rub off on the corporate version to Modes of Corporate Mobile Banking
give it a fillip in the near future.
Although individual consumers use mobile
What is Corporate Mobile Banking? banking in a variety of modes including SMS,
USSD, Browser-based and Downloadable Apps,
Corporate Mobile Banking is currently an only the last two are relevant to the corporate
abridged version of Corporate Internet Banking. version. It is most logical for banks to start
Some banks have developed in-house solutions with the browser-based version, because they
to enable their corporate customers operate can leverage their existing Internet banking
company accounts using mobile devices to fulfill infrastructure, technology, processes and security
a variety of functions including transaction mechanism to launch a corporate mobile banking
approval, fund transfer, balance check and wire offering. Besides cutting investment and lead
payment. It is easy to see that these solutions time, this arrangement also allows banks to
improve productivity by providing finance and apply the same multi-factor authentication used
Taking Mobile Banking Corporate

3. in corporate Internet banking on the mobile to give least, the mobile banking solution must be
it additional safety. workable on a wide range of devices and platforms.
While downloadable apps are easy to use and It is vital that banks create awareness about
obviously superior from a user experience point the strong security features of mobile banking,
of view, they have certain drawbacks such as the especially its robust data transmission and
storage of data on the mobile device for meta authentication mechanisms.
caching, which increases the risk of data theft.
Therefore, banks offering this service must Banks can further improve the efficacy of
ensure that such data is completely cleared once corporate mobile banking by integrating it with
the application is closed. their customers’ ERP systems.
Challenges of Corporate Mobile Banking Although corporate mobile banking is a potential
source of revenue for banks, they must price
Undoubtedly, countering the negative security it attractively. It has been observed that
perception of corporate mobile banking remains corporates who say that they are willing to pay
it’s biggest challenge. In this case, security fears for a corporate mobile banking facility in research
related to ID/data/device theft are much higher surveys, frequently back off when they actually
than in consumer mobile banking, given the need to make that decision.
volume and sensitivity of exchanged data, and
the impact that any lapse could have on the It is also important to target this service at the
bank and its corporate users. The heightened right users within the right companies. Vendors
standards of risk management and regulation in believe that the sweet spot is in the small and
the aftermath of the financial crisis have turned mid-sized corporate user segments. Banks must
banks even more cautious about adopting identify the executives with the greatest need
corporate mobile banking. for corporate mobile banking and tailor their
solutions to the typical actions – like issuing
Another challenge is providing a holistic approval or interacting with the bank’s Relationship
view of the global accounts for large multi- Manager – that need to be performed by these
national corporates. executives while on the go.
The multiplicity of mobile devices and operating What Lies Ahead
systems is also posing a challenge to the
creators of corporate mobile banking offerings, Market watchers feel that consumers’ need for
who must not only provide functional, easy to anytime, anyplace access to various services
use and secure, but also device agnostic solutions. will also seep into their corporate life. And as
companies continue to invest in the latest
Key Success Factors gadgetry – smartphones, tablets and that which
is yet to come – to improve executives’ business
Banks can hasten the adoption of corporate productivity, the outlook seems positive for
mobile banking by leveraging their existing corporate mobile banking, which has had a slow
corporate Internet banking offering – that start thus far.
their customers are accustomed to – to provide
a similar, seamless experience on tablets, Indeed, major technology vendors seem to agree
smartphones and other mobile devices. A with this assessment, and most of them will have
browser-based mobile banking service usable on a smartphone-based corporate mobile banking
tablet devices is more likely than downloadable offering in place at the end of this year. What
apps on smartphones to succeed with corporate they need to do to ensure its success is convince
users who are comfortable with mobile devices prospective customers about its safety, enable
but less so with specialized apps. Last but not it to work on a range of devices, especially
Taking Mobile Banking Corporate

4. tablets, and ensure that it has all the features • Mobile Corporate Banking Moves Up the
that finance and treasury executives would need Agenda, March 30, 2011
when they are away from the office.
• Corporate Banking by Smartphone - Can Your
Reference: CFO Work From the Road ... or His Child's
Soccer Game?, February 9, 2011
• Tower Group : Report on “Mobile Corporate
Banking: More than Fine Tuning the • Will Mobile Corporate Banking Fly?, David
Channel”, May 30, 2011 McCann, November 2, 2010
• Aite : Report on “The Business Case for
Offering Corporate Mobile Banking Services”, Author
Oct 2010 Arunnima B S
Principal Consultant - Finacle Product Strategy
• Corporate Mobile Banking Presents Untapped
Infosys Limited
Opportunity for Banks, May 9, 2011
Taking Mobile Banking Corporate