Daniel ThomasResearch group IDC has estimated that Western European banks
will spend £30m on providing mobile services this year, with that
figure growing rapidly in the near future.
"Recent improvements to wireless technologies are paving the way
for further development in the distribution of financial services
through mobile phones and handheld devices," said Barbara Bleiso,
programme manager for IDC's European banking service.
"Many banks have been heavily investing in mobile services since
their first deployment. Investment in these new technologies is
also expected to be strong across the next few years," she
added.
The majority of mobile banking services currently available are
based on wireless application protocol (Wap) technology. IDC
forecasts there will be 1.8 million Wap mobile banking accounts by
the end of this year, but expects that both the delivery of mobile
banking services and the services themselves will change.
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