Mobile banking has become quite a standard in 2015, with many mobile and smartphone users opting to use their banks’ branded apps to access their accounts. What you might have missed, however, is the increasing use of SMS text messages by banking institutions for internal communications, as well as for customer service interactions. In fact, many experts claim that SMS is an excellent way to communicate with your bank for several reasons:

Fraud Detection.

The most important customer interaction for banks is fraud detection. Whenever someone attempts to make a large transaction on an account, the bank will notify the customer immediately of the transaction via text message, offering him or her a way to cancel the transaction as well. Text messages are ideal for fraud detection: SMS is immediate and simple, and customers are more likely to open a text message (as opposed to answering the phone or reading an email). As a first line of defense against fraud, text messages have been wholly effective in preventing a myriad of fraudulent transactions.

Customer Service.

While many consumers will tout the importance of their mobile banking or mobile payment app, SMS text messages have found an excellent niche in customer service. The most common customer service messages are account alerts, which range from a notification when a deposit is received to an SMS warning a customer when funds are low. In addition, financial institutions will text appropriate offers and short surveys to improve customer experience.

Internal Communication.

Within banking institutions, individuals and groups are using SMS text to increase the speed of business. Employees utilize text messages to ensure internal security, and management sends out company-wide SMS to facilitate secure notifications. Top businesses are driving investments in SMS as well by continuing to develop the standards of the technology (to keep up with newer ones, like apps).

Simplicity Meets Security.

Financial firms must have the best security in place for transactions, making certain that threats like identity theft and malware are reduced to a minimum. For those who prefer Internet banking, this has been a real problem: the bank can only do so much to ensure security in transactions. If a customer allows his password to be discovered, or a hacker gains access to personal info on a computer, there is little the bank can do. On the other hand, SMS has a spotless record in terms of security. The simple platform has never reported a major security breach, and due to the proliferation of different phone operating systems, malware for mobile is simply very uncommon.

All in all, SMS is here to stay in the financial industry. Although a recent article in The Financial Brand claims that mobile banking has reached a plateau, it is unlikely that the data matches reality. The mobile phone market has yet to reach full penetration, and the continuing growth of the smartphone owner demographic will translate into more mobile banking interactions. And while the use of banking apps may still have a few kinks to work out, SMS text messages for banking will continue to grow due to its simple, accessible, and safe platform.