Banks must focus on service as mobile banking increases

... so says a recent report by Forrester entitled, "The State of US Mobile Banking." Forrester also predicts that mobile banking will grow by an average of 20 percent per year over the next five years to reach 50 million U.S. adults by 2015. The growth is being driven by smartphone adoption as well as by banks efforts to support a wide variety of mobile device platforms.

As I wrote last year , Hispanics are rapidly adapting to mobile banking and now account for 30% of the mobile banking industry.

For Hispanics, perhaps more than non-Hispanic Whites, customer service is paramount in establishing brand preference, and building trust. With a large number of Hispanics being unbanked or underbanked, it's important for traditional financial service institutions to provide trustworthy services, that now must extend to mobile. Otherwise, retail outlets like Wal-Mart that are entering the industry will earn the Hispanic market share because of the relationships they've built with other services and products.