Back To The Future - Of Mobile Banking

James Van Dyke of Javelin Strategy and Research blogs about how it's feeling like we're back in 2000 again - what with the seeming renewed interest in mobile banking and mobile payments. Back then, he says "the technology didn’t match the way that people managed their finances" - and the banks eventually shut down their mobile-specific offerings. Here are two bookends on Wells Fargo's experience - a February 7, 2001 press release announcing Wells Fargo as the "first major bank to launch nationwide wireless banking" with the launch of Wells Wireless - and a CNET News.com story from August 2002 (only 18 months later) announcing the shutdown of the Wells Fargo wireless banking service after only 2,500 customers actually used it. Obviously, the big question is what's different today? You can stay tuned to the news about mobile banking and mobile commerce in the category archives for those topics here on Payments News.