UBS Twint Brings UBS Into Mobile Payment Era
The phrase “Swiss bank” usually brings to mind images of espionage, intrigue, top-notch security and balances that make your phone number look small by comparison, even with area code.
Now, Swiss banks should bring one more thing to mind—mobile payments—as UBS recently launched its UBS Twint mobile payment app.
The app is available on both Apple and Google’s app stores, and for anyone with a UBS account or any credit card issued in Switzerland, free of fees. Payments that are made with Twint are either directly debited from the bank account linked therein or added to the credit card tab.
Several Twint apps will be available for banks from BCV TWINT to Credit Suisse TWINT, among others.
Banks have been getting in on the mobile payment from, albeit slowly, for the last couple of years now, and UBS is just one of the latest. BMO Harris Bank recently connected with Masterpass, along with Android Pay and Samsung Pay, reports note, and that’s just the start of the list as banks seek a new way to connect with customers regardless of media desired for use.
It’s a point that banks have, simply, had to come to grips with. Customers want access to mobile payment tools, as evidenced by the growing numbers of mobile payment, mobile ordering and mobile reservation tools we’ve seen throughout a string of industries lately. When businesses—banks included—don’t give customers what they want, they go where they can get it.
Given that banks are suffering from the common maladies of brick-and-mortar operations, banks need a way to keep customers coming in the door. Having an all-in-one mobile payment solution is a great way to do it, and the fees derived from payment processing—especially in any number—would likely be sound enough that said businesses don’t need to stoop to the customer-morale-killing low of charging for the existence of a checking account or similar methods.
Mobile payments is, granted, still a young industry. Slow-moving major corporations like banks can only move so fast in response. However, it’s clear that movement is necessary just to keep up with the encroaching demand. Banks have a clear advantage in their name recognition and reputation for security, an advantage that could be put to use well in mobile payments.