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So Far, Online Banking Is Mostly Wishful Thinking - 1996

msf
edited April 2012 in Off-Topic
Rummaging through old papers and notes, ran across this article from the LA Times.

A few of the highlights (or low lights):

- Objections were high fees (no longer), lack of security and privacy (probably worse now than then), fear of technology ('cept for privacy/security, not a big factor), and difficulty of use (sadly, still a problem, though somewhat less so).
- Some banks saying they expect online banking to remain a niche business.
- Citicorp Chairman John S. Reed told bankers that widespread, full-scale electronic banking would not take hold for 50-70 years.
- Dial-up (800), Prodigy/AOL, even Internet (wow!).
- Home banking penetration in 1996: 1%

Comments

  • scott
    edited April 2012
    I think I've been a skeptic of the whole push to mobile, but I certainly think at this point and after trying more Apple devices lately, it's certainly difficult to deny (and further after Apple's quarter yesterday.) I suppose my curiosity in terms of investing is not Apple in particular, but the "trickle down" in terms of other elements of the food chain. It's clear from the performance that payment processors and point-of-sale system companies (see PAY/Verifone) are going to see growth as mobile payments start to evolve.

    The traditional video game industry is going to suffer, as while the games found in the app store aren't as epic in scope and size as the $60 games found on consoles, people are going to find 99 cent games (and in-app purchases) a lot more appealing value proposition than $60 at once. You can see this in the performance of Electronic Arts and game sales in general.

    I think what's unfortunate is that the camera industry is going to suffer. Dedicated cameras just take much better pictures than mobile devices so far, but if people don't care about quality that much....

    I guess the overall theme is that there are going to be industries that see tremendous growth out of now having all these mobile devices out there, but I think there are going to be industries where the players have to evolve (Electronic Arts being an example above.) Additionally, it becomes a matter of looking beyond just Apple as to how having all of these devices out there will encourage changes in other things (how people pay for things, etc.)

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