You get on Facebook to catch up with friends, check the news or gossip, and play games. But would you like to access your bank account from within the social media platform?
Most big US banks (which have plenty of “likes” on the social network) haven’t made the leap to offer customers direct access to accounts from within Facebook. But this week one of the largest banks in India, ICICI, launched its Your Bank Account Facebook application, which allows users to check their account balances, apply for debit cards, and other tasks without leaving Facebook. The app even offers users exclusive deals on merchandise like 74% off Ed Hardy T-shirts.
ICICI bank, which has more than 2,500 branches in India and a presence in about 20 other countries (including the US), is looking to lure in and service more customers. Offering new ways to access banking services is nothing new for ICICI. It was the first bank in India to begin offering mobile banking services in 2008.
So if Mumbai-based ICICI is a pioneer in reaching bank customers on Facebook, will others follow? One US company, KeyPoint Credit Union, began offering Facebook access to accounts in 2007. But no other US banks have stepped up to offer similar services. That is likely because few people are interested. Many still are leery of using Facebook to make important transactions and worry about the privacy and security of their actions on the site. ICICI assures its Facebook users that the app is hosted on separate ICICI bank servers and no data is transferred to Facebook.
The technology and security is available, but US banks still aren’t eager to offer access via Facebook. Maybe the global financial crisis crippled big banks’ focus on innovation? Or maybe big banks aren’t necessarily interested in offering yet another way for customers to access their accounts. Meanwhile, demand for such services is increasing in places such as India, where mobile phone usage is growing. Businesses in India and other emerging countries are using social media platforms more than companies in developed markets as a way to reach customers. Social media offers a relatively low-cost way to market services and manage customers.
While there is some hesitation regarding Facebook, banks as a whole are clamoring to offer more mobile banking services. And as more people use their phones or mobile devices to make payments or other banking transactions, it makes sense that financial institutions will eventually begin offering services directly through one of the most popular sites on the Internet.
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