Will large banks license enterprise mobile banking solutions?

Citibank recently discontinue a pilot with a mobile banking vendor. The pilot was intended to show how the bank could utilise mobile banking platform as a service. Many offerings exist today (in most countries and on all continents) where banks can contract mobile banking as a service. This is attractive in many ways as it ensures that some-one else must focus on a the complexer operational issues. Also, this approach (while sharing downstream recurring revenue) requires less capital in the beginning.

Why would a bank then consider licensing their own enterprise solution? The reason for this is more control, more competitive advantage and more options. It is clear that the mobile channel (in most markets and for most sectors) will grow in importance. This will be the primary way that banks will interact with their customers. This will be their prime touchpoint, the way that their clients will experience the bank's brand. By embracing mobile banking, banks will be able to operate much closer to their clients.

It seems almost inconceivable that banks should outsource mobile banking.