Firethorn Holdings LLC is offering consumers free access to their accounts at more than 3,700 financial institutions through a single mobile application, according to the Atlanta-based mobile-service provider.
Firethorn’s goal with the application is to expand the availability of mobile-banking services so more consumers may access their financial accounts using their mobile devices, says Ben Ackerman, Firethorn vice president of product strategy. “By using this service, consumers can access more financial institutions in one application, rather than going to several different mobile sites or accessing several different mobile apps,” he says.
Additionally, some financial institutions do not offer mobile-banking services, and consumers should not be restricted from accessing their accounts using mobile devices “because their financial institution has not yet determined its [mobile] strategy,” Ackerman says.
Consumers may visit www.mobilebanking.com to download the application to their mobile devices. They then search for and select the financial institutions with which they bank, enter the mobile-phone number for the device and enter log-in credentials for the institutions. Consumers then create a six-digit PIN to access the application in the future.
They may use the application to access their bank and card accounts, check account balances, view transaction histories and pay bills, according to Ackerman. The application is compatible with most smartphones.
Firethorn declined to disclose how it earns revenue from the application or whether financial institutions pay anything to participate.
The application is “unique” and “fairly well thought out,” says Nick Holland, a senior analyst at Boston-based consulting firm Aite Group LLC. “Certainly if you have a one-stop shop for everything, it’s preferable to separate applications,” he says.
Consumers “often work with multiple institutions,” and they have become accustomed to banking using their mobile devices, says Holland.