Mobile Technology Changing Banking

After many years of being forced to communicate with banks in a way that suits them, technological advances are finally forcing banks to introduce new lines of communication. Inadvertently, some of these changes dramatically improve how deaf people are able to manage their accounts.

Press Release - Mobile phone technology is quickly changing the manner in which we pay our bills, monitor our accounts and communicate with our bank. What's more, most high street banks are currently investing a great deal of money in development of new technologies to make banking on the move even more rapid and convenient.

According to recent figures published by the Office for National Statistics, around 50% of all UK adults and over 75% of 25-34 year olds manage their funds over the Internet.

About one in five adults admits to having made at least one payment via their phone; while a quarter of us use our phones to check bank balances. Only last month, the Payments Council stated it believed mobiles would be used to complete a total of 1.5 billion transactions per year by 2022, up from the current 356 million.

A vast majority of banks now offer free, secure apps that provide the same services as their online banking equivalents. Currently, all five of the most well-known high street banks offer apps for Androids and iPhones. These include Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS and Santander.

"With the market growing, now is the right time for us to take stock and ensure that consumers are appropriately protected," said Clive Adamson, Director of Supervision at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

For security reasons, the Payments Council advises mobile users to always protect their device with a password and to only use the official app provided by your bank. It is also advisable to install antivirus software on your smartphone.

A Firstnumber spokesperson commented: "Mobile phone technology is quickly changing the manner in which we pay our bills, monitor our accounts and communicate with our bank. Users should always double check the payment information before sending and always remember to log out of an app or online banking website."