Research and Markets: Personal Finance Management Tools: Consumer Behavior Fuels Battle for Supremacy Between Banks and PFM Sites

DUBLIN-(Business Wire)-September 29, 2009 - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7de02c/personal_finance_m) has announced the addition of Javelin Strategy & Research's new report "Personal Finance Management Tools: Consumer Behavior Fuels Battle for Supremacy Between Banks and PFM Sites" to their offering.

Consumers have long desired greater control over their finances - and the extended pain of the global recession has only heightened the need for better online tools to help them monitor and manage their money. Although websites such as Quicken Online and Mint have captured headlines for their innovative tools, a Javelin survey of more than 2,000 consumers in August underscores that banks and credit unions are in an ideal position to use online banking to provide a financial portal that can help customers see all their accounts in one place in real time, track and analyze their spending, and achieve their financial goals.

However, financial institutions and online-banking vendors generally have been slow to keep pace with their non-bank rivals, forcing customers to look elsewhere for PFM tools - potentially squandering their significant trust advantage with consumers. And Intuit's announced acquisition of Mint gives Quicken a smooth one-two combination that just may be a knock-out punch in the competition among consumer PFM websites.

Primary Questions;

What methods do consumers typically use to manage their finances today?
What methods would they prefer to use?
What benefits and features do they value most when it comes to picking a money-management system?
Who is winning the battle for consumers: banks or PFM websites?
How will Intuit's acquisition of Mint reshape the PFM landscape?
Which consumers are most likely to use PFM tools at their banks?
What features will distinguish "PFM Lite" from "PFM Deluxe" and PFM of the future?
What is the return on investment for PFM tools?

Methodology

This report is mainly based on data collected online from a random-sample panel of 2,019 respondents in August 2009. The survey targeted respondents based on representative proportions of gender, age and income compared to the overall U.S. online population. Overall margin of sampling error is 2.18% percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Key Topics Covered:

1: Recession Heightens Need for Better Money-Management Systems

2: The Need for Better Money-Management Tools Creates Opportunity for Banks, Credit Unions - and Websites and Software

3: What Consumers Like Most About Their Current Money-Management System

4: The Quest for a Better Way to Manage Our Money

5: The ROI from PFM

Companies Mentioned: