Financial institution M&T Bank Corp. has rolled out a line of mobile services to help its business clients conveniently manage their finances while on the go.

M&T is rolling out the new business-focused initiatives after offering mobile banking to consumers for the past two years. The new mobile tools available for M&T business clients includes a SMS program, a mobile Web portal and a mobile application.

“Providing mobile banking for consumers and small business customers is simply good business,” said Mike Shryne, senior vice president for alternative banking at M&T, Buffalo, NY.

“It enables consumers and business customers to bank 24/7 from the only channel they carry with them all the time,” he said.

“M&T customers are increasingly using this channel for many things beyond their financial needs, and we believe this will increasingly be a vital way our customers choose to conduct their financial business.”

M&T claims to hold $78 million in assets and is one of the top twenty commercial bank holding companies with 776 branches along the eastern coast of the United States.

Bank on mobile
M&T’s mobile banking has been previously available for commercial and personal banking, and with the new announcements, the technology has been adapted for business clients.

The financial institution is making the move to mobile after seeing a high mobile adoption rate.

Two years ago, approximately one percent of M&T’s users had mobile banking set up. Today, more than 40 percent of online bankers use a mobile channel to bank.

M&T business clients can log-in to their account by typing www.m.mtb.com into their mobile browsers.

Consumers who want to manage their accounts via SMS can text the keyword MTBBIZ to the short code 62638. Users can then sign-up for the service via the mobile site.

Using specific keywords, users can check their finances. For example, by texting the keyword DEP to a short code, business clients can view the last five deposits to their accounts.

Additionally, the M&T mobile app is available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices.

Using the app, consumers can check their account balances, view transactions, move funds around in accounts and find the nearest M&T ATM and branch.

Mobile shift
Mobile banking is becoming a crucial part of digital offerings for both large and small financial institutions.

According to a recent study from Javelin Strategy and Research, mobile banking grew 63 percent year-to-year.

Additionally, the study found that although mobile banking has become more prevalent, smaller institutions are still weary about including mobile as a resource for consumers (see story).

By using a three-pronged strategy that cuts across apps, mobile Web and SMS, M&T is showing that mobile plays an important role for its clients.

Although SMS still remains the most widespread mobile marketing channel, mobile banking sites and apps are also growing in popularity and are being used more by consumers as an extension of their online banking.

“Mobile is part of M&T’s regular marketing campaign,” Mr. Shryne said.

“The channel is part of a broader initiative to provide compelling products meeting our customer needs through the bank’s digital channels,” he said.

“M&T offers multiple ways to bank through mobile banking, allowing flexibility depending on the customer’s lifestyle and mobile device.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York