Tag: mobile banking

Mobile payments are evolving and many banks may be in danger of getting left behind by consumers

The mobile payments space is evolving at a rapid pace and banks are struggling to keep up. Innovative mobile services appear to be launching on a daily basis and many of these services are changing the way people pay for products online and in the real world. Those finding the most success in this field are those outside of the financial service industry, but banks still have a chance to establish a stronger presence in the mobile commerce market.

Rapid adoption of mobile payment services highlights the slow progress banks have made

The rapid adoption of mobile commerce among consumers is pressuring banks to become more mobile-centric. Money transfers are becoming more common on mobile platforms and fewer people are relying on banks for their financial needs. Moreover, those participating in mobile commerce are making use of platforms developed by software firms and not those made by banks. Typically, the platforms developed by banks are seen as cumbersome and somewhat inconvenient to use regularly.

Many banks have an opportunity to engage mobile consumers through simple services

Banks have existed as the primary money service provider for years. As such, many people still look to banks for the financial institutions that they are and many have faith in their bank’s ability to provide attractive mobile services. Some banks have found success in engaging mobile consumers through the use of simple banking applications. These apps have served as a way for banks to expose themselves to the mobile spectrum and examine what mobile consumers are interested in and what types of services they do not like.

Some banks may have to emulate companies like PayPal that have had success in engaging a mobile audience

In order for traditional banks to remain relevant in a world where mobile technology is becoming a dominant force, they will have to find ways to mimic other financial service providers that have an overarching focus on the digital space. PayPal is a primary exemplar of what can be accomplished through an unconventional focus on the mobile space.

GCB Bank has now become the latest to join with goSwiff for smartphone friendly point of sale services.

Global mobile payments innovator, goSwiff, has now partnered up with GCB Bank Ltd., bringing the total number of bank clients to fifty and giving more locations the opportunity to complete transactions at a point of sale through smartphones.

This will provide merchants and consumers with a new shopping opportunity at the checkout counter.

Equally, Simone Ranucci Brandimarte, the chief executive officer of the Singapore-based goSwiff, unveiled an entirely new business strategy for the global operations of the company. This addition of GCB Bank is the latest in a long and growing list of bank clients that have joined with the company in order to be able to offer mobile payments services to their merchant clients, within emerging markets.

Therefore, GCB Bank will be able to offer mobile payments services to its Ghana merchant customers.

The bank is the largest indigenous commercial bank in Ghana. According to the goSwiff chief strategy officer and President CEMEA, Erik Holst-Roness, GCB “leads the way in innovation with new banking technology. This is a bank with a strong commitment to customer service and the determination to make a change in the way their clients go about banking.”

The CEO of the bank, Simon Dornoo explained that he feels that the addition of the mobile point of sale system from goSwiff was a “natural choice” for them. He has observed the size of the company’s global experience and feels that by adding it to the options available to merchants, they will be able to enhance their “presence in the payment markets in Africa.”

Dornoo stated that the bank had been seeking a complete solution that would allow them to be able to develop this type of technology based service. They decided on goSwiff as the partner that they needed in order to be able to launch this type of smartphone payments option to their Ghanaian customers.

Mobile payments is a market that is taking off at an explosive rate in Africa, as it provides the ability to bring services to people who were previously completely unbanked.