Stuttgart, 31 January 2012 – Secure and user-friendly mobile banking solutions are already a key factor for a growing number of customers when deciding which bank to choose. At the CeBIT 2012, GFT Technologies AG will be presenting new, modular mobile banking apps which meet the needs of both banks and their customers. “This year’s motto for the world’s biggest IT fair, ‘Managing Trust’, is particularly significant for financial service providers,” says Ulrich Dietz, founder and CEO of GFT. “Attractive and secure applications will give them an edge over the competition and strengthen their customer retention efforts.”

Market observers expect that in the coming year around one fifth of all banking transactions will already be made using mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablet computers. It is therefore essential that banks address such important customer criteria as security and user-friendliness. And this is exactly what the GFT apps deliver. The product range includes tools for mobile payments, such as the photographic verification of transfers, as well as safe transactions via SMS. A further product enables customers to authorize transactions using biometric methods, such as voice recognition – a solution which may make PIN and TAN numbers redundant in future.

The apps showcased by GFT are based on a multi-platform architecture – important for protecting the future viability of mobile applications. After all, it is still not certain which hardware or software platforms for the mobile internet stand the best chance of establishing themselves in the long run. It also means they can be easily integrated into a general app with a modular structure. “The ease with which an app can be integrated into the existing IT infrastructure is often decisive for banks, as this can easily cost three times the actual development expense,” says Bernd-Josef Kohl, Head of International Business Consulting at GFT.

GFT will also be showing an application for mobile finance consulting at the CeBIT 2012: the new touch-banking solution a-touch is a screen-based tool for private banking and wealth management. Complex financial products can be clearly illustrated and any changes in the existing investment strategy correspondingly documented to comply with legal requirements. “Modern bank customers are increasingly using all available sales channels offered by their banks,” explains Kohl. “Both they and the customer adviser therefore need to have all the relevant information at their fingertips – at the bank, at the customer’s home, or on the road.”

GFT will be presenting its solutions in Hall 16 of the CeBIT fair in Hanover, Germany, from
6 to 10 March 2012. The spectacular design of the hall was specially created by leading artists as a backdrop for the finalists of CODE_n – an innovation contest initiated by GFT. Over 400 start-ups, budding entrepreneurs and IT pioneers from 42 countries entered their business ideas on the topic “Shaping Mobile Life”. The best 50 entries now have an opportunity to present their concepts to industry experts at the CeBIT. The winner will receive the CODE_n Award worth EUR 25,000.