Its primary function was to make calls, but the mobile phone has evolved to include another prime title: e-wallet.

We’ve come a long way since the brick-like portable phones of the 1990s, and the emergence of savvy mobile technology from the likes of Apple, Nokia, HTC and Samsung has helped thin our wallets by saving our credit card and billing information in “clouds.” Suddenly, it’s easy to purchase or pay off items with a few button clicks – known as engaging in “mCommerce” – be it while grocery shopping, waiting for a movie to start, or on the train commuting to work. 

Recognising the momentum of this simple convenience valued at AU$155 million last year, Australian banks and merchants are capitalising on this growing trend.

Consider the numbers: according to Oliver Weidlich, co-founder and director of design and innovation at Mobile Experience, almost one in two Australians have a smartphone, and four million people are actively using mobile banking services around the country. A report released by PayPal Australia in late September noted that there are 1,000 mobile transactions completed each hour throughout the country. PayPal processed $42 million worth of transactions in 2010, and the company expects that number to quadruple this year.

“Mobile provides a win-win opportunity,” said PayPal Australia’s managing director Frerk-Malte Feller in an interview with iTWire. “Consumers have the tools to make smarter more convenient purchasing decisions, whilst retailers have the opportunity to take advantage of phones’ features to deeply engage customers and drive incremental sales.”

Google tallies the numbers

The trendiness of owning a smartphone is a new phenomenon in Australia, however.

A study conducted between March and July of this year by Google and IPSOS Research called “Our Mobile Planet” surveyed 30,000 smartphone users across 30 countries and found that four out of five Australians who had a smartphone said it was their first. One in three respondents had purchased theirs within the last six months.

"These numbers show that Australia went from lagging to leading the worldwide smartphone revolution in just one year," Google said.

In terms of mobile banking, Australians were found to be 65 per cent more likely to conduct transactions via smartphone than the British and 14 per cent more than Americans.

“My iPhone has changed the way I do business,” said Colin Manners, director of a US-based private investment fund manager who sources deals with the Pacific Rim region. “I have access to our portfolio, trading accounts, investor accounts, world market [and] currency news...  I also like the ability to instantly transfer money between bank accounts no matter where I am around the world.”

Banks respond to the boom

National banks have for years promoted the simplicity of online account management, but the mobile features are relatively new. Below, we break down some of their mobile banking strategies:

• Commonwealth Bank

The seventh largest bank in the world, Commonwealth works with 5.5 million online bankers throughout Australia. In late October, Commonwealth launched Kaching, an iPhone mobile app that allows users to transfer funds and make online payments via their mobile or Facebook account. (An Android app is expected to be released in the coming months.) The app utilises GPS and near field communication (NFC) technology to allow users to access their bank from anywhere in Australia – or overseas.

• Westpac

In Australia, Westpac’s app directs registered users to monitor their accounts, set up bill pay schedules, transfer money between accounts, and access trading and investment tools. Having successfully launched its mobile banking strategy in Fiji earlier this year, Westpac plans to expand into six more Pacific regions over the next few months. Simple transactions such as money transferring, checking account balances, requesting a cheque book, or reporting a lost card may be completed via SMS technology anywhere within mobile coverage.

• ANZ

With goMoney, ANZ bankers can transfer money to anyone who is registered with goMoney, even if they bank elsewhere. BPay allows you to pay bills whenever – and from wherever. Accessible by PIN, logging into an account is quick, and the webpage may be spruced up with personal photos.

• HSBC

Recognising the intrepid tendencies of many Australians, HSBC Australia launched a 24-hour foreign exchange pricing and trading service between linked accounts, accessible online by any smartphone. The bank’s head of savings and investments, Michael Danby, called this strategy – in conjunction with instant transfers – “a first for the Australian retail banking market.”

Prosperous businesses

So who benefits the most from banking and transactions completed by mobile? According to the Google study, one in three smartphone searches were for local businesses.

 “Somewhere between two in five and one in two people are doing a local search weekly, and one in five doing it every day,” said Ryan Hayward, mobile product marketing manager for Google in the Asia/Pacific region, in an interview with small business website NNET.

The most common purchase type surveyed was entertainment items, followed by clothing, cosmetics and electronics.

Myer, the nation’s largest department store, has an app compatible with the iPhone that allows users to find their nearest store, check out the latest catalogue, browse for gifts, and receive mobile-only discount offers, but a growing trend noted by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is smaller retailers’ presence on Facebook, where shop owners post photos of new apparel and footwear to entice shoppers to visit the brick-and-mortar store.

We’ve found that “consumers prefer to buy from a retailer with an ABN (Australian Business Number) and a physical presence in Australia,” said Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the ARA.

More businesses are expected to adopt mobile-compatible services to better position themselves for the holiday shopping season, as shoppers are likely to start posing the question: is there an app for that?