Release Date

2Q 2009

Product Code

VM-MBANK-101

Price

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ABI Research evaluates vendors on the basis of Innovation and Implementation by selecting multiple criteria related to product/company characteristics that serve as proxies for the vendors' performance in these two areas. Vendors are assigned numerical scores that are aggregated and analyzed to provide overall rankings for each vendor on the Innovation and Implementation axes. For the evaluation of mobile banking vendors, relevant criteria included seven categories under implementation and four categories under innovation.

Implementation:
The seven categories are: Bank relationships (both the relative size and number of banks they have relationships with), MNO relationships (both the relative size and number they have relationships with), solution breadth (does the vendor offer solutions by SMS, mobile Internet, and mobile application [higher weighting goes to SMS solutions because of potential reach]?), complementary products (products related to mobile banking that a prospect might be interested in, such as domestic p-to-p, mobile top-up, mobile international remittance , bill pay, mobile commerce, etc.), partnerships (distribution partners beyond banks or MNOs, such as device manufacturers, IT companies, etc.), financial and organizational health, and supporting products and services (products and services that facilitate mobile banking so the company does not need to partner [provides some cost and information advantage such as an SMS gateway, GRX, or integration services]).

Innovation:
The three categories are: SMS -- Functionality and Security, Mobile Internet -- Functionality and Security, and Mobile Applications – Functionality and Security. The solutions are evaluated based on their breadth of mobile banking features and functionality, including any knowledge about ease of activation.

Vendors receive a “rating score” for each ABI Research–defined criterion under Implementation and Innovation. These scores range from 0-100 and are based on available information as well as ABI Research assumptions. The number of criteria for Implementation and Innovation may vary; however, this does not impact vendor ranking.

The rating scores assigned for each criterion are added to determine a “raw total score” for Implementation and Innovation. A mathematical formula is then applied to adjust for the 0-9 rating system and the number of criteria, so vendors can be positioned along the x- and y-axes (with a maximum score of 100 for Implementation and Innovation). The mathematical formula does not impact vendor ranking. There is also a weighting system used, so different criteria carry different weightings.