June 10, 2013 - NGDATA today shared the results of their survey executed by Finextra in co-operation with Clear2Pay – sharing insights from 183 global bankers around issues like the monetization of mobile payments and the value and revenue that could be generated with the support of Big Data.

The survey was executed in Q1 of 2013 and respondents were primarily (76 percent) employed by large banks with more than 2500 employees and ranged from C-level executives to business development, IT and marketing strategy management – with a nearly even split between national and international banks.

Banks and the Mobile Wallet

There continues to be growing awareness among banking executives as it pertains to mobile wallet strategies. More than half of respondents said they understood the mobile wallet’s role in the overall mobile banking ecosystem.

In terms of the biggest mobile wallet drivers and strategies, the survey found that:

• 81 percent of banks would like to add value beyond the transaction by making relevant commercial offers at the Point of Sale (POS);

• 67 percent of banks said they would like to capture and be the full custodian of their customers’ value (money, coupons, air miles, etc.);

• 43 percent said they have plans to deploy a mobile wallet offering within the next six to 12 months;

• 60 percent believe that the natural home for mobile wallet is within the trusted banking environment, rather than a third party application; and

• 49 percent said they would co-operate if there was an open industry wallet initiative to drive the future of a customer-centric mobile wallet offering.

Big Data is a Big Priority

Customer churn and engagement has become one of the top issues for most banks. In fact, several empirical studies and models have proven that churn remains one of the biggest destructors of enterprise value. Yet, while most banks are aware how important a Big Data strategy is when it comes to understanding customers, many are still unsure of how to effectively assess and use their data to improve customer loyalty and lower attrition. Approximately 44 percent of banks claim they do not have the right resources in place to take advantage of Big Data. Additionally, 68 percent say that one-to-one targeting and personalized product offers are or will be an important business driver for their Big Data initiative.

Other findings from the survey include:

• 76 percent of banks say that the business driver for embracing Big Data is to enhance customer engagement, retention and loyalty;

• 71 percent acknowledged that in order to increase their top line, banks need to better understand customers and Big Data will help them do so; and

• 55 percent of banks feel that having a real-time view of data provides a significant competitive advantage and believe that batch mode data is ineffective.

“We truly believe that banks are best positioned to deliver the ultimate customer experience to their clients and move beyond the payment into the heart of the transaction, thereby adding value and meaning to clients and merchants alike. This way people can use the bank’s infrastructure from any device for any value: real or virtual or loyalty points with the same security and ease of use they are already accustomed to. This way, the wallet becomes a ‘brand wrapper’ for the bank instead of a disintermediator,” said Mark Hartley, Chief Innovation Officer at Clear2Pay.

“Banks are in a vulnerable stage when it comes to losing customers to outside businesses. This survey is a clear indicator that there is a lot of confusion about how to effectively use Big Data to increase customer loyalty by offering personalized and convenient methods of banking,” said Luc Burgelman, co-founder and CEO of NGDATA. “These banks are sitting on a goldmine of data that will help them better understand what their customers want and what they are interested in. By quickly finding a way to access and use this data to their benefit, as well as working with the customer on how they can better control its use, through opt in programs, banks will greatly improve customer retention rates and therefore be uniquely positioned to win on the mobile wallet and mobile banking fronts.”

The survey is part of an on-going relationship between the two companies on the issue of mobile payments and Big Data.