For now, however, the bank-by-watch apps will only provide financial snapshots, rather than a full suite of banking options. The apps will allow users to peek quickly at their balance and recent activity. But users will not be able to pay bills or deposit checks, as they can with smartphone banking apps.
Citibank says Citi Mobile Lite, a version of its mobile banking app, will be ready to use when the Apple Watch becomes available on April 24. The app will let customers use their watch to check account balances and recent transactions, and receive notification of transactions from their Citi credit card.
Heather Cox, who oversees digital initiatives for Citi’s global consumer bank, said wearable gadgets like the new Apple Watch can give customers fast access to the information they check the most.
In addition, customers can get rapid notification of Citi credit card transactions on the watch, as well as easily check a color indicator showing how much they have spent on the card relative to their credit limit. This feature adds security, she said. If you get a notification of a charge you didn’t authorize, for instance, you can react quickly. It also helps prevent “statement shock,” she said, since you can track your credit use as you spend.
Still, for the time being, “you can’t actually move money with the app,” Ms. Cox said. Depending on demand, the bank may add features in the future, like the ability to transfer funds between accounts. “We will be testing and learning, along with the customer,” she said.
(Consumers using Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile payment service that works with credit and debit cards issued by multiple banks, will be able to pay for merchandise using the Apple Watch.)
Viewing account balances is, according to banking consultants, one of the most popular banking uses of mobile apps — before making a purchase, for instance, to make sure there is enough money available. With the watch, the thinking goes, consumers will be able to this even more rapidly. “The ability to quickly access critical information is compelling,” said Peter Wannemacher, an analyst with Forrester Research.
Robb Gaynor, chief product officer of Malauzai Software in Austin, Tex., said eight of his company’s community banking and credit union clients will offer mobile watch apps that it has developed. “The watch is an awesome way of delivering that information” at a glance, he said.
Kevin Carson, chief technology officer of First United Bank, a community bank in Dimmitt, Tex., and a Malauzai client that will offer a watch app, said it was unclear yet whether wearable gadgets would catch on for banking. The watch app, though, may hold appeal for millennials, who “want the ability to see account information anytime, anywhere.” The bank’s service area includes several colleges, he said, with 20-something students who want banking “on the run, simple and easy.”
Here are some questions and answers about banking and the Apple Watch:
■ How many banks will have apps for the new watch?
About a dozen financial institutions have said they will offer apps for the watch. Citi is so far the only major bank that has formally announced it will have an app ready this month. Other money-related apps for the watch will include one from Fidelity Investments and another from the budgeting siteMint.com.
■ Will logging on to check balances be cumbersome on the smaller watch screen?
Users won’t have to log onto the watch to check their balance. Rather, they’ll authorize the watch app using their iPhone, and can then view their account information on the watch. (The watch must be paired with a companion iPhone that’s nearby for most watch functions to work.) The feature is similar to a mobile option that some banks already offer, which allows customers to check their balance quickly on their phone without logging into their account.
■ What security features do the watch banking apps offer?
The banks say their watch apps are safe, in part because they offer “view only” information. Ms. Cox also noted that financial data isn’t stored on the watch. What’s more, the apps, like many watch functions — with some exceptions, such as Apple Pay — won’t work, if the watch is not near its paired phone.
The New York Times
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