In the latest example of how banks have been focusing on streamline mobile experiences this year, U.S. Bank has launched a new mobile application for corporate users that provides real-time access to account information, recent transactions and upcoming due dates.

Access Online Mobile mirrors other major banking apps by providing entire account summaries on one page and featuring a simple layout. The move furthers the trend of banks’ involvements with mobile to appeal to today’s tech-savvy audience.

“Feedback from our clients primarily sparked our move to mobile,” said Bill Brady, assistant vice president and communications manager at U.S. Bank, Minneapolis. “We have found that mobile devices are blurring the line between corporate and consumer need.

“Customers want a consistent, familiar experience, whether they’re paying their mortgage at home or managing invoices at work,” he said. “We were one of the first banks to introduce mobile check deposit for iPhone in March 2011.

“Adapting it for business-to-business customers was a logical next step.”

Simple banking
U.S. Bank Corporate Travel and Purchasing card clients can view the status of all of their accounts, including purchasing cards, corporate cards, executive cards, One cards, event planner cards and Managed Spend Card accounts. Users can also view payment due dates, available credit, credit limits, account balances and activity summaries.

Transaction histories for the past 90 days can be viewed as well as the past 99 transactions. Transactions are presented by post date and amount on one page.

Users can view their card account number, security code and expiration date securely to enable users to make online purchases.

The app was created to compliment Access Online, which is the bank’s data management and reporting tool. Now on mobile, the app provides real-time access no matter where customers are and at any time.

The app is available for free download on iOS and Android devices.

Banks getting mobile
Earlier this year, Western Union and Twentieth Century Fox’s campaign for the film “Rio 2” highlighted a shift in how financial services were turning to mobile promotions to acquire new customers in addition to promoting their services.

While many consumers may have been familiar with Western Union’s money transfer services, some may not have known about the company’s bill pay options, which the campaign hoped to address. Western Union worked with Google to create a mobile microsite and game for the promotion at http://wu.com/rio2 (see story).

Bank of America recently saw the number of customers banking on mobile in the second quarter jump 15 percent from a year ago, which followed the introduction of application features aimed at driving convenience for users.

The number of mobile banking customers increased to 16.1 million users in the quarter, and 11 percent of deposit transactions by consumers were done through mobile compared to 8 percent in the year-ago period. The results underscore how consumer banks need to revamp mobile sites and applications to increase convenience for customers who feel increasingly comfortable banking on mobile devices (see story).

Banks are doubling their chances of staying relevant to today’s consumers by venturing through mobile capabilities.

“It’s going to make account management much more convenient and easier to manage, especially for clients who are frequent business travelers or who spend substantial amounts of time away from their desks,” Mr. Brady said. “Empowering our clients’ cardholders in this way will greatly reduce their need to spend time on service calls with their program administrators and with the bank.

“Putting the power of account management in the hands of the end user enables program administrators to focus on managing their card programs,” he said.

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York