Tag Archives: chase

September 9, 2014

Apple Pay is great but I will still need to carry my wallet

By ericdunstan

Screen Shot 2014-09-09 at 4.25.21 PM

I have to admit that I was GLUED to my computer screen this morning during the Apple announcement. It still blows my mind that technology and bandwidth can’t deliver a smooth online feed to a live event. What was up with the live translation feeds being clearly audible to online viewers? ANNOYING! Fortunately the live stream technical team saw the multiple tweets and fixed the problem.   Unfortunately my viewing experience was very choppy and I got word of the announcement in real time more from Twitter.

As predicted, Apple entered BIG into payments with Apple Pay and into wearables too with Apple Watch too.  Apple’s recent announcements around partnerships with Visa, Amex, MasterCard etc were clear leading indicators of the entry into payments. I am very excited about Apple’s payment system and how it will help drive mass consumer adoption of a true mobile wallet. Yean! However, we are a ways away from Apple driving mass adoption of their wallet.

Screen Shot 2014-09-09 at 4.14.30 PMApple Pay will be available on the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch devices for it requires technology included only in this hardware. Yes, the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch will set sales records and proliferation will be fast across the globe. However, Apple Pay will not be available on legacy devices that will slow down the adoption rate. Additionally, Apple Pay will be limited to major retailers including Whole Foods, Macy’s and Toys R Us. Yes, over 200,000 stores will be accepting contactless payments through Apple Pay. I’m sure Apple is busy negotiating partnerships with several other major retailers as well and the footprint will grow even more.

Apple Pay will not be available to stores outside of this Apple negotiated big box retailer network. Consumers will not be able to truly leave their wallet at home. Apple’s partnership with IBM, though, will help Apple Pay expand its footprint to more business….but it will take time. As I mentioned in a previous post, the IBM partnership provides Apple access to many banks and financial institutions. These FIs have business banking customers and frequently provide merchants with POS payment systems. Now that the iPhone 6 includes the NFC chip, Apple will be hot to engage IBM on pushing the distribution of NFC enabled payment terminals to their banking customers. Only until NFC enabled payment terminals are more widely distributed will Apple gain ownership of the mobile wallet.

Clearly Apple has the hardware, technology and strategic partnerships to create the closed loop necessary to build a ubiquitous payment system. It’s a matter of time before this happens. However, NFC technology and devices are not Apple technology and can be easily licensed by competitors. Yes, Apple has leap fogged into the lead on building a mobile wallet, but the competition did see this coming. Apple must continue adding nationwide retailers to their network to enable consumers to use Apple Pay. The first mover advantage will be key and the network affects will take hold. If a competitor is to provide another offering for consumers and merchants, they better act FAST. Samsung and Loopt I’m sure are having lunch right now.

On a side note, I am amazed by the level of talent Apple employs for their advertising and marketing efforts; JT, Jimmie Fallon and U2. A list talent meets A + list company. I’m sure Apple pays a large portion of the marketing budget for these names. Or maybe it’s vice versa! Let this be a reminder of the high margins Apple receives on every product they sell. Impressive.

 

 

 

 

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January 7, 2014

Mobile must remain a priority for large banks to retain customers

By ericdunstan

My family and I received several checks from family members as gifts and as payback for gifts purchased.  My wife typically handles the day-to-day checking account and generally handles making deposits at the nearest Wells Fargo ATM.  I suggested that she try using the mobile deposit feature on the Wells Fargo mobile application.  Being the wife of someone who works in FinTech, she agreed to try out the feature….despite all the negative feedback about the application. Unfortunately,  she successfully validated the negative comments splattered across iTunes.

The biggest disappointment came through the application crashing after each attempt to deposit a check using the mobile deposit feature. What I found most interesting were my wife’s comments after the 3rd attempt. “Well, Wells Fargo, I guess you REALLY don’t want me to use this feature,” was the first comment.  The second comment was “What happened to the pics of the checks I took before the app crashed? Are they stuck in the app or are they with Wells?  Can someone steal the money?”

Three interesting thoughts came to mind as I digested her valid complains.  One, when it comes to getting customers to try new features that involve their money, banks better be sure the feature works for the customer the first time.  Yes, app crashes can happen for many reasons.  Unfortunately, several reviews reflected the same frustration and experience my wife had…which implies that improvements need to be made to the application. From my wife’s point of view, Wells Fargo implicitly told her mobile deposit is not ready for prime time and to keep using the ATM.  Wells needs to track that these customers are and target them with a “mea culpa” CRM program to win back their trust with new technology. After all, according to a recent study, 49% of consumers will change banks for a better mobile experience.

Secondly, I think my wife’s concerns about where the check pictures have gone after the application crashes point to an engrained reaction that stems from frequent e-commerce transactions.  I think similar “where’s my money now?” concerns come up when a consumer enters in a credit card number online, presses submit and the site crashes. “Did my credit card go through? Do I need to re-enter my credit card? If I do, will I get double charged?  Is my card number safe?”  All are common questions following an e-commerce site crash.  I think it’s only natural for my wife to ask similar questions after a mobile banking application fails.  In-application messaging must be delivered immediately to consumers to quell their anxiety when things don’t go as planned.

Lastly, the low application star rating and poor review indicate that mobile is NOT a big priority for Wells Fargo. In an effort to win customers, I would imagine that the mobile team would quickly iterate and redeploy an application as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Wells Fargo is not the only major bank that appears less focused on winning customers through mobile.  Chase and Bank of America have similarly low rated mobile applications. If these major banks do not step up their focus on mobile, the door will remain WIDE OPEN for innovative mobile banks like GoBank and Simple to entice customers through compelling mobile banking experiences.

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