Remember that unfinished series about the 12 Reasons Why Canadian Banks Should Really Offer Mobile Financial Services? I don’t have a reason to finish it anymore (even though I may still do so). I wanted mobile banking in Canada… now I have mobile banking in Canada!
Canada your wait is over! CIBC has officially won the race and is the first of the Canadian Banks to offer a full-featured mobile banking application… (H/T to Mobile Manifesto).
From the Press Release:
With the launch of the new iPhone app, CIBC provides its clients with among the most extensive choice for banking across Canada with more than 1,070 branches including 7-day a week branch banking, 3,800 ABMS, 24-hour access through telephone banking, and online banking through www.cibc.com.
We have mentioned it here before – the first Canadian Bank to come out with true Mobile Banking would enjoy a competitive advantage in this market. CIBC has moved up as the new innovator in the Canadian marketplace. Often seen as the more conservative of the Canadian Banks this move may very well change that perception and instead be the bank that the others follow. Of course this needs to go beyond this one release: they will have to move from mobile banking to mobile financial services… I assume that will be in the future.
Scotiabank thought they had first mover advantage when they announced back in November that they would offer mobile banking in the Spring of 2010. CIBC instead surprised us with the announcement yesterday!
So … which one works better from a PR standpoint?
- A press release announcing a future release?
- Or the actual release 3 months ahead of the competition?
I think the answer is found in the quote below from Sonia Baxendale, President, CIBC Retail Markets:
“CIBC is proud to be the first major bank in Canada to offer our clients a Mobile Banking App to make banking with CIBC even more flexible on their iPhone. Whether waiting for the bus, sitting in the bleachers at their child’s minor hockey game, or having a coffee at their local coffee shop, our clients can perform their day-to-day banking transactions conveniently and securely, anytime and from anywhere they can access the internet on their phones.”
The operative phrase being – “first major bank in Canada.”
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