Mobile Computing and Networking

Mobile Banking

Mobile banking is growing exponentially each year as customers become more familiar and less threatened. Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, defines mobile banking as “enabling secure access to banking services on the mobile device (“Mobile Banking”).” Due to the surge of alternative technologies and the expanding marketplace that is mobile commerce, consumer usage is increasing. Gemalto also explains the benefits of mobile banking from a bank’s point of view; “Mobile banking helps banks create a compelling and satisfying online customer experience, driving increased interaction and sales over the mobile phone, and reducing operational costs (“Mobile Banking”).” Now that technology and consumer confidence in mobile banking has increased, it seems mobile banking is here to stay. Mobile banking is a significant advance in the banking industry, but how does it work?
Banks’ classify their mobile financial services based on how the information flows. A pull transaction is when a mobile user actively requests something from a bank, and a push transaction is when a bank will send information based on a specific set of rules (Harris 2). Examples of pull transactions are bill payments, funds transfers, account balance inquiries and transaction history. Examples of push transactions are minimum balance alerts, bill payment alerts, and credit/debit alerts. These information flows are the foundation of device communication within mobile banking (Harris 2).