An interesting bit of news over at Phones Review - a major UK bank is allowing you to now manage your account via mobile Internet:

Lloyds TSB announced today that they have a facility for customers to transfer between their accounts via their mobile phones. Not only that the service will also keep your security in check by alerting you if your debit or credit cards are used abroad. Not forgetting that Lloyds already notify their customers by mobile when their bank account does not have sufficient funds to cover a standing or direct debit or if their account falls within £50 of their limit.

More on the BBC. Mobile banking has had a sluggish beginning in Europe but Lloyds TSB are certainly taking a leap forward here, and it’s only a matter of time before mobile banking becomes as powerful and useful as fixed-line Internet banking. But what about the problems? Over at Gaj-It I spotted this post which was initially unrelated in my mind:

A survey by Credant Technologies has found that over the last six months, 55,843 mobile phones and 6,193 other devices including laptops were forgotten by London black cab passengers. Thankfully, about 80 per cent of surveyed taxi drivers claimed that owners were reunited with their missing item once found, but having your hand-held device in someone else’s hands still poses a huge security threat for the owner.
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Another survey by credit reference agency Equifax found that 16% of its customers saved PIN numbers on their mobile devices while 24% kept birthday dates. Probably not good practice if you take a London cab everywhere.

Mobile banking could be a real boon but it also means making sure it is secure - a phone with mobile banking password saved on it could mean a near-instant emptying of your bank account if it fell in the wrong hands. We might need to rethink security on phones - making sure if a phone is reported stolen, there is an easy way of stopping your mobile banking at the same time to reduce hassle. Or possibly using voice and face recognition instead of passwords, making it harder for thieves to assume your identity (though of course no system is perfect). Or maybe I am just being too paranoid. What do you think?