Branches bough to mobile

Banks continue to invest millions in branch networks, but could this investment be ill-timed?

Could the mobile phone be the branch of the future? Brett King, the author of Bank 2.0 certainly thinks so, arguing in his book that mobile banking will be the final nail in the coffin of branch banking. It's perhaps no surprise then that King thinks Australia Post should embrace the direct channel ('Banking goes postal') if it chooses to offer a suite of financial services. King says Post should give its distribution network a simple supporting role in any banking strategy.

It's true the Australian market is light on direct plays, and it's an opportunity that's been overlooked for too long, particularly when many non-banks are exploring the evolving market for mobile payments. Gartner is predicting the number of mobile payment users worldwide will exceed 108.6 million in 2010, a 54.5 per cent increase from 2009, with Asia Pacific leading the way.

Looking more closely at the Australian numbers, our contributor Elton Cane paints a frightening picture in 'Wither the branch'. Despite the number of ATMs and branches increasing in recent years, cash use continues to decline at the same time as mobile banking use grows exponentially. Australia's major banks continue to invest millions of dollars in branch networks, but could this investment be ill-timed?...

JulAug 2010

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