REVIEW: Citi Mobile is full-fledged banking on the go

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn’t in the mobile content industry. If you wish to submit your application or service for review, please contact us at rcrwebhelp@crain.com.
Application: Citi Mobile, Citibank’s mobile banking application
Running on: Research In Motion Blackberry 8100 Pearl on AT&T Mobility
Yay: Great extension of neo-banking-as in, please don’t make me write a check or wait in line at a bank ever again.
Nay: Is it a good thing to always have access to my financial status in my pocket? I’m undecided.
We say: Excellent, up-to-date access to finances, including bill payments and account transfers.
Citibank has a developed a simple, easy-to-use mobile banking application that gives customers nearly all the same features as its online banking alternative. The application leaves little to be desired; I’ve been using the application as a Citibank customer for more than two months and have yet to run into any problems.
The stripped-down application meets all my security concerns by requiring a login with the same password I had to set up for automated telephone banking. It already knows who I am. Applications are so smart like that.
The home menu has six items: account info, payments, transfers, Citi locations, service and sign off.
Account info gives me access to all my accounts, including interest checking (and line of credit for overdraft), money market savings and my linked Citibank credit cards. Account updates occur almost instantaneously. I’ve logged in after leaving a store and seen withdrawals and credit and debit purchases show up immediately.
The payments section allows me to see all my recurring payments, and enables me to quickly pay any of my pre-established payees. I can also edit or set up new payees. So whenever I have the urge to send money to someone (read: never), I can always do that with a few clicks of the thumb.
The transfers option lets me check out recent and future recurring transfers to things like my savings account and my Citibank credit cards. I can also set up a one-time transfer if I want to stash some money away in my savings, for example, before an impromptu trip to Vegas (just to make sure I don’t come home a complete loser).
The Citi locations option lets me quickly search for a nearby Citibank ATM or branch by entering a ZIP code or address, which is pretty handy when I’m in a place like Baker, Calif., desperately needing to deposit my winnings on a drive back from Vegas.
All in all, the application is just as easy, if not easier, than the online alternative. The Web site does offer more features, but nothing so important that I’d need to do it on the road or away from a computer. Also, security features seem rigid on both fronts. Both require a unique password to log in, and both automatically log me out when the system goes idle for too long.
So what’s the cost? Zilch. Banks aren’t just giving away free toasters and free checking accounts anymore, they’ve extended their plans to cover every financial aspect of our lives by embedding themselves into the platforms we use everyday. Pretty smart on their part, I think. I don’t use my Citi Mobile application all too often, but it’s nice to have access to my balances and bill payments when I need to see where I stand.