Central Pacific Bank is still developing its mobile banking options and Kirihara says standardization is key. “It’s a great tool to have, it’s a great convenience for the customer, but it’s not as universally practical in terms of functionality,” he says. He sees the industry evolving its mobile banking focus to mobile payments. “The phone will actually get rid of the check register. After you make the purchase, and with a quick speed dial button, you can access your bank and they’ll send you a text message to tell you what your balance is.”

BOH is already using text messaging, “because some information customers want to be notified about immediately. They want to be told this is an official debit card transaction,” says Ohtani. Mass acceptance and use of mobile banking is still a ways off because banks and mobile operators such as AT&T still do not see eye-to-eye on how to best collaborate on the technology and the fees.

As the Gartner study found, banks must keep customers informed. Communication is critical. Financial service providers are now leveraging all online banking services, including e-mail, mobile banking, text messaging, and resources such as webcasting and podcasting, to serve their clients and strengthen relations. Ohtani adds the challenge is “determining which channel to use for the different market segment as well as the type of content; going back to the customer and saying what is your preference. It may come down to the customer saying ‘I want it all.’” If that is the challenge, technology will be a vital part of the solution.