Why Banks Need to Clamber Aboard the Mobile Finance Bandwagon

History will remember 2008 as the year Steve Jobs revolutionized personal finance. Well, maybe not quite. But the iPhone is so darned cool that it really could define a whole new philosophy of personal financial management for the 20-something generation.

Driven by economic hard times and a loss of confidence in banks, millennials are already turning to social networking sites like Mint, Wesabe, and Geezeo for cutting-edge, peer-driven advice about how to handle their money. It’s not surprising that financial applications are becoming the most-downloaded offerings for the trendy iPhone, according to blogger Jim Bruene of Netbanker.

The appeal of mobile banking is still more about the boundless potential than any actual need. Is anyone really crying out for up-to-the-minute account balances by text message, or to pay bills while waiting for a stoplight to change? But someone had to define the industry for it to evolve into something more useful.

Driven by Apple’s marketing muscle, the number of U.S. subscribers wielding smart handsets grew 80 percent in 2008. Smart mobile offerings from major financial powerhouses Chase and Bank of America could ride the 3G wave to make mobile personal financial management into the mainstream.

Mobile PFM won’t ever be the killer app that entices consumers to change banks, but with the growing ubiquity of mobile broadband, consumers will come to expect financial companies to offer dedicated, free, and useful services for their handsets.