Dial M For Money: Western European banks are buying into wireless technology.(Industry Trend or...

Banks in Western Europe see mobile banking as a top priority, spending an estimated $43 million on wireless technology last year, says a new survey by IDC Corp.

Mobile banking accounts, or those accessed through mobile phones and other handheld devices, represent about 14% of the total online and Internet banking accounts in Western Europe. Mobile banking is expected to be the fastest growing sector of total IT spending on electronic banking, with a 1999 to 2003 compound annual growth rate of 129%, according to Framingham, MA-based IDC.

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