Inuit recently released a free consumer mobile banking application (still in beta) under the product name Quicken Beam. The service sends text-messaged balance and activity alerts from most U.S. bank, credit card, and credit union accounts based on criteria you define. You can also text BAL to 636363 and it will let you know what your balance is for all your checking and credit card accounts for those of you addicted to SMS.Currently, Quicken Beam runs independently of Quiken or any online banking relationship they have with an FI through their Digital Insight products. Additional information on the product is available in the press announcement released on August 19th.
Beam Aboard and Features
New users can sign up at Quicken Beam's website by simply creating a user profile. Set up is an easy three step process of linking Beam to your financial institution through a very friendly user interface . Quicken Beam aggregates your registered account data (yes, multifactor authentication is supported) and then beams you your financial status directly to your mobile phone. Here's what you can sign up to get:
- Daily or weekly text message with all your balances and your last five transactions.
- Alerts if you accidentally spend a little too much.
- Warnings if you drop below a low balance that you set.
- Alerts when a larger expense goes through.
- More alert types are on the way from reading the community forum.
Quicken has taken a web 2.0 approach to the user interface, marketing and community development. The Beam site is very minimal, maybe due to the beta status, and has some FAQ's up but very little about security or advantages of this service over what my primary FI provides. You can also follow the Beam product team on Twitter - we'll see if that sustains and how many non-Quicken employees subscribe.
Offering this service highlights the complexity in balancing Quicken's direct consumer business and direct online banking services that they partner or sell directly to finanical institutions through Digital Insight. So, while Beam is bound to be a hit with consumers, it is doubtful it will get the same reaction from their banks and credit unions customers or mobile partner, mShift.
In a FinanceTech article, Glenn Tom, SVP consumer segment leader at Digital Insight, said that Quicken Beam is in no way meant to replace the financial institution as the repository of consumers' account information. "It simply enables consumers to see this information on the go, anytime, from anywhere," he explains. "For years, thousands of financial institutions have provided connectivity to Quicken and Quicken Online, enabling millions of consumers to see their personal finance balance and account activity on their desktop and on the Web. Quicken Beam uses the same data feed to simply show consumers their transaction and account balances on their mobile devices."
Let's be honest, Quicken isn't doing this out of the goodness of their heart. And, since this is coming out of Intuit Labs, it is probably a dip of the toe in the mobile pool before jumping in with an integrated offering through FinancialWorks or QuickenOnline (liken it to Google Labs Goog411 service and voice recognition). Of course, now that they have my mobile phone number, I am expecting to get an SMS cross sell either around tax season or some other promotion for the online software. In the meantime, since my primary bank doesn't offer mobile alerts - I'm beaming to use it.
Let's be honest, Quicken isn't doing this out of the goodness of their heart. And, since this is coming out of Intuit Labs, it is probably a dip of the toe in the mobile pool before jumping in with an integrated offering through FinancialWorks or QuickenOnline (liken it to Google Labs Goog411 service and voice recognition). Of course, now that they have my mobile phone number, I am expecting to get an SMS cross sell either around tax season or some other promotion for the online software. In the meantime, since my primary bank doesn't offer mobile alerts - I'm beaming to use it.
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