Author: Rebecca

Mobile banking could be the end of hundreds of brick and mortar branches

| August 6, 2015

According to the research from the UBS investment bank, smartphones could lead to widespread closures.

As a growing number of people start to use mobile banking as a regular part of their interactions with their accounts, it is now being predicted that hundreds of bank branches across Australia may be forced to close.

A survey was conducted by the UBS investment bank and it predicted more than 600 closures.

Analysts from UBS in New York, London, Japan, and Hong Kong partnered up with KPMG in order to produce a massive 54-page report that it has now published and released. Within it, 67 different bank management teams were surveyed across 18 different countries. Among them, there was an average expectation of a branch reduction of 5.6 percent as a direct result of the rise of mobile banking use.

That said, in Australia, that figure is predicted to be about twice the average of closures from mobile banking strategies.

Mobile Banking - Image of Automated Teller MachinesThe report showed that despite the fact that Australia has seen a steady number of bank branches for quite a long time, the survey respondents feel that the country will be facing an 11 percent closure rate as a result of banking over smartphones and other mobile devices.

Based on June 2014 data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, there were 5483 bank branches in the country at that time. Should the predictions of 11 percent be accurate, that would mean that there would be an estimated 603 branch closures across the country.

Because of this fear, many bank branches across the country have worked hard to reconfigure themselves in order to create a much more drop-in style environment and by reducing or removing tellers. This makes it possible for customers to be sold more types of products at their own convenience.

According to the UBS statistics over the span of the next three years, it could easily be that a cumulative reduction of costs by about 10 percent, as well as a boost of 6 percent rise in bank revenues. Over that same span of time, it is anticipated that there will reach the point that 46 percent of mobile related transactions, which Is an increase over the current 25 percent, and the 13 percent from 2013.

Mobile ticketing to launch at Delhi-Palwal Rail Station

| August 3, 2015

Commuters who are using the two train lines in India will be able to use cell phones to buy tickets.

A new mobile ticketing system will soon be launched to make it possible for commuters in Haryana, India, who travel between Palwal and New Delhi to be able to purchase their unreserved tickets by way of cell phones.

All that is required is a smartphone and the appropriate mobile app and the user can buy tickets on the device.

This mobile ticketing program will be implemented as of August and is a component of a broader strategy to convert unreserved tickets into a paperless system. It is also meant to help to reduce the need to stand in line and purchase those tickets. This system will be available to users of Android or Windows based smartphones. All they need to do is download the free Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) app.

With the app, the mobile ticketing features become available to the device user who can display their ticket to officials.

Mobile Ticketing - Image of Delhi MetroThe railway ticket can be purchased through the use of a credit or debit card that is entered into the application. With the UTS app, commuters who are asked to show their tickets by railway officials can simply display the information on their mobile device screen.

This app makes it possible to buy a paperless ticket for a destination anywhere along the Delhi-Palwal section of railway, which spans 32 miles. Along this stretch, there are 15 different stations, including Nizamuddin, Tughalakabad, Faridabad and Ballabgarh. All of those stations will be covered by the paperless mobile tickets service.

The system was created by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) “utsonmobile”. The mobile app can be downloaded from either the Google Play store or the Windows Store, as appropriate. Once it has been installed, it walks the user through all of the required steps for making the ticket purchase, on-screen.

That said, despite the fact that the hope is that the majority of commuters will use the mobile ticketing system, the traditional ticket windows will still be available to travelers who wish to buy paper tickets.