"Bank America to let 30 million bank wirelessly"
By Dorte Toft
IDG News Service, 07/15/99
Beginning next year, Bank of
America will allow its 30 million
customers to do their banking over the Web via wireless
devices such as cell phones and 3Com's Palm computing
device, the bank announced Wednesday.
Bank of America, the largest bank in the U.S., will base
its system on software from Toronto-based 724
Solutions. The software is also used by about 500 Bank
of Montreal customers who are participating in a wireless
Web banking trial somewhat similar to Bank of America's
planned service. Meanwhile, Barclay's Bank in the U.K.
and DeCoMo, a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph &
Telephone, are using 724 Solutions software to allow its
customers to conduct Web banking over their cell
phones.
Judging from the experience at Bank of Montreal,
customers are attracted to the freedom of banking from
anywhere - and not just from a PC. When the bank asked
for volunteers for the trial, more than 100,000 customers
applied, according to Rick Kuwayti, spokesman for Bank
of Montreal.
The wireless banking system, called Veev, has several
advantages over traditional phone banking, which is
based on a step-by-step voice response system.
"Veev turns your phone into an actual Internet-device,"
Kuwayti says.
The cell phone screen functions as a PC screen for
navigation and display of information. A Palm device
connected to the phone provides a larger screen and the
possibility for using the Palm's screen keyboard. Thirty
percent of the customers involved in the trial use Palm
devices, according to the bank.
Users can also customize the service. For instance, they
can set up their service so that their cell phone rings
when a particular stock moves a certain percentage,
Kuwayti says. The bank expects to offer stock trading in
mid-2000.
A participant in the Bank of Montreal trial says being able
to conduct banking on a portable device enables her to
act quickly.
"You have no more excuses for being late," says Robin
Stephens, a doctorate student at Toronto Hospital who
uses Veev for checking bank balances and transferring
funds. "But there is some room for improvement."
One problem is the lack of a keyboard, which forces
people to use a phone's keys to type in letters, and that is
cumbersome.
The potential number of customers for Web-based
services is growing fast. According to market researcher
International Data Corp. of Framingham, Mass., 12.2
million non-PC Internet access devices will be sold next
year, nearly matching the sale of personal computers.
Another research company, Jupiter Communications of
New York, predicts that more than 10 million mobile
phones will be capable of accessing Internet-based data
by 2002.
The founder of 724 Solutions, Greg Wolfond, also
founded Footprint Software, which develops
object-oriented financial techniques. When IBM bought
Footprint in May 1995 for an undisclosed sum,
Footprint's sales were at $100 million, having grown
from $4 million in five years.
Wolfond continued to manage Footprint, focusing on
IBM's network computing technology for the financial
services and securities industries. He left Footprint in
1997 to start 724 Solutions. Wolfond also owns Blue Sky
Capital and a major part of Baystone Capital.
724 Solutions' software resides on a server that serves as
the middleman between a user's device and a bank's
system using standard industry and financial interface
protocols. The software recognizes the type of device
calling and adapts the navigation and banking data to the
screen, whether it be a six-line or 12-line display on a cell
phone or a Palm screen that also can receive graphics,
according to Alistair Rennie, senior vice president of
marketing at 724 Solutions.
This strategy eliminates the need for the bank to change
its IT infrastructure for every new type of device. Also, a
customer's special setup is registered at the server level,
eliminating the need for customization for every type of
device customers may use. In addition, the server
monitors stock quotes, news and other services for the
user, Rennie adds.
The access device needs special software. Cell phone
manufacturers include a microbrowser on new digital cell
phones, while users of Palm devices have to install an
application, Rennie says.
The software includes security functions based on
Secure Socket Layer. If stronger security is needed, 724
Solutions uses special encryption software from a
partner.
The cell phones represent a challenge when it comes to
user friendliness. "We try to keep the need for keystrokes
down to an absolute minimum," Rennie says. Bills, for
example, are presented in a format that enables easy
scrolling for viewing them, she adds.
John Torkos, another Bank of Montreal customer who
also uses his PC heavily to bank online, is happy to have
the Palm screen at his disposal.
"I can't stand the lines in the banks, also I travel a lot,"
says Torkos, a network communication analyst at
Sterling Commerce.
But Torkos points out one disadvantage with the Veev
system: "I pay by the minute on the cell phone, and this
can be very expensive Bank of Montreal and its partner,
Bell Mobility, should reduce the cost by offering a
discount, he says.
Mang |
