Tag: australia

Mobile banking on the rise in Australia

| February 5, 2013

Mobile Banking AustraliaMobile banking reaching new heights

Mobile banking is taking hold in Australia. The Market Intelligence Strategy Center, a financial services consultancy, has released new information concerning the state of mobile banking and mobile commerce within the country. More consumers are finding it easier to manage their finances through their mobile devices. This includes paying for products, managing investments, and accessing their bank accounts. These are all aspects of mobile commerce, a phenomenon that is growing in popularity around the world.

Analysis shows mobile banking reaches 6 million users

According to the Market Intelligence Strategy Center, mobile banking in Australia has exceeded 6 million users. The firm notes that it took nearly four years for Internet banking to reach the same milestone, but mobile banking has reached it in just over three. This data is based off of figures released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which notes that the adult population using smart phones is at 8.7 million strong throughout the country.

Banks begin embracing mobile consumers

The nation’s banks have been embracing mobile technology aggressively. Over the past year, nearly all Australian banks have made changes to their services in order to be more accommodating of mobile consumers. Many of these banks have seen the majority of their traffic come from Android devices, with iOS devices coming close behind. These banks have also found the mobile technology is a great way to sell products to consumers, as they enjoy a nearly constant connection with customers through a variety of mobile banking applications.

Focus on mobile may be good for banks

Mobile banking is expected to become more popular as mobile Internet speeds increase. 4G connections are becoming more common, but have yet to become universally available to all consumers. As Internet speeds increase, consumers are more likely to increase their reliance on the mobile devices they have come to love. This may be good news for Australia’s banks, as well as the country’s various mobile commerce initiatives that are working to attract the interest of mobile consumers.

GREE launches messaging application in test markets

| December 27, 2012

GREE messaging appGREE begins testing new application in small markets

GREE, a Japanese developer of mobile gaming applications, is setting up to launch its GREE Messenger in 2013, which will be available for the iOS and Android platforms. Though the developer has plans to launch the new application next year, the GREE Messenger is actually already available in some markets. This is because GREE has decided to push a test launch to determine the impact the application may have in the already crowded Asian market.

India, New Zealand, and Australia get GREE Messenger

The Asian market is filled with messenger applications that are designed to connect consumers to one another. These applications are typically very simple, allowing consumers to chat with their friends and make use of animated graphics to spice up their messages. GREE is keen to enter into this sector and has decided to test its messenger application in three markets: India, Australia, and New Zealand. The test version of the application has limited features and has seen relatively little coverage due to the fact that GREE has not actually announced that it is available in these markets.

Application may feature gaming aspects in the future

Mobile gaming has become much more than a craze among consumers; it has become a very important and accepted part of the mobile technology space. Though the GREE Messenger is not a mobile gaming application, GREE does have tentative plans to introduce some gaming elements into future versions of the app. For now, users will be able to text chat with their friends, invite their friends to group chats, share photos and videos, and check into locations they visit.

Foreign markets may be good testing grounds

Introducing the GREE Messenger to smaller markets in Australia and New Zealand where messaging applications are not as popular as they are in Asia may be a good move. Asia’s most popular messaging application, WeChat, boasts of more than 200 million users, with others also taking up a similar portion of the consumer base. This makes its difficult for similar applications to find any headway in the market and GREE is primarily focused on exposure and ensuring that its application can actually live up to consumer expectations.