Your Bank in Your Pocket

No Matter Where You Roam, New Mobile Services Make It Possible to Keep. . .

Property manager Joshua Rosenthal was in a car headed toward Miami Beach when he realized he needed to transfer a tenant's rent money to his company's account. No problem. The driver didn't even have to pull off the road. Rosenthal, owner of Bethesda property-management company CAPM, just fiddled with his PDA, and the job was done.

"When you're away, problems seem to accumulate at a higher rate . . . than when you're present, so I live off of this," he said, motioning to his PDA, which sat next to him on a couch in Adams Morgan's Tryst coffee shop. "Connecting to my bank is a convenience."

Mobile banking -- that is, checking an account balance, transferring funds or paying a bill using a cellphone, BlackBerry, PDA or iPhone -- is still in its infancy, but it's gaining momentum. About 3 million people used mobile banking in the past 90 days as of June. That was almost triple the number of people who used it six months before, according to TowerGroup, an industry research firm. But the number of mobile banking customers is tiny compared with that of customers who use online banking services from their computers. For example, Bank of America has 1.2 million mobile banking users. That's less than 5 percent of its online banking customers.

Mobile banking must overcome some hurdles before it can be widely adopted. Many consumers worry about security risks. Mobile banking software -- still in its 1.0 form -- has to work more seamlessly before the service can be very convenient. Accounts can be tedious to set up, and bank information can load slowly (at least by today's instantaneous standards). Sometimes, customers must log out to use some services, such as finding an ATM, and then log back in if they want to continue banking. There's also competition from other electronic services. Account information is already easily accessible online, at ATMs and over the phone.

Rachel Lang isn't averse to using her phone to pay bills over the Internet. She pays her electric bill by connecting to Pepco's Web site on her BlackBerry.

But she hasn't signed up for mobile banking. "I have a hard time accessing SunTrust's Web site, but Pepco's is really easy," said Lang, scrolling down Pepco's site and clicking on a "bill pay" link.

SunTrust customers who want to sign up for mobile banking must enroll in online banking, have wireless service with AT&T or Verizon Wireless and a compatible AT&T or Verizon mobile handset. Would-be mobile banking users must download an application onto their phones to access their accounts, transfer funds or pay bills.

A number of banks, including Citibank, offer mobile banking through downloads available only to customers who have specific carriers and phones. Other banks, including Bank of America, Wachovia and U.S. Bank, offer a slimmed-down version of their online banking systems for mobile customers. It can be accessed by anyone with a phone capable of going online. Clients log on and use links to check their balances, transfer funds, and in some cases, pay bills.

Other banks offer a uniquely mobile solution: Chase customers who text-message "BAL" to Chase (24273) on their phone quickly receive a reply with their account balances. Customers can also check transaction histories and get due dates for credit card payments.

Some banks are working on integrating all three solutions. Citi and SunTrust both plan to offer all three mobile banking options to their customers sometime next year.

Banks say mobile banking offers customers an added convenience that they can't get using online banking or an ATM.

"We recognized that customers want convenience, where they want it when they want it," said Peter Knitzer, chief executive of Citibank North America. "We wanted to make it more accessible for customers to get to their money and move their money."