Research published by Monitise Americas, the mobile money people, demonstrates that Americans are increasingly demanding "always on" information about their money, with 77% saying that it was important for them to have real-time and immediate information regarding their bank and credit card accounts.

The research which was undertaken by Monitise Americas, working with MaCorr Research, polled 1,367 adults across North America to get their views on money management and cell-phone banking during late 2008. As well as showing that Americans are increasingly concerned with managing their money, the research also showed that 53% of Americans said that this need for 'always on' information had increased in the past few months as the economic outlook has become less certain.

Information and basic money transfer services hold the most interest for consumers. Over 90% of those polled who stated that they wanted mobile money services said that they would like to check account balances, view latest transactions and receive fraud alerts. 93% of consumers said they would use the service at least once a week, while 76% of consumers said that they would use the service more often.

Transactional services are also in demand, with 90% also wanting to transfer money between checking and savings accounts and 80% saying that they would like to be able to pay bills and receive notification when they are due. However, when asked about their appetite for more advanced services, such as trading stocks using their cell-phone, only just over a third, 37%, expressed any interest in performing these services on the go.

However, the evidence shows that consumers want the service on their primary bank account, with 82% saying that they would prefer not to set up a new or secondary account in order to be able to manage their money on the move. A slightly fewer number, 61%, said that they would prefer to have their choice of mobile carrier.

Lisa Stanton, Chief Executive, Monitise Americas commented: "Today is all about the 'always on' approach to information, with consumers connected in ways that we never thought possible some years ago. It is therefore no surprise to me that 77% of Americans now expect real time information regarding their money. However, what was more interesting is that it's the simple services that consumers currently desire, with the ability to check balances, view latest transactions and move money between account polling as the services most of interest. Other, more advanced services like stock trading were only relevant to about a third of all those we spoke to. This is as we would expect for any new banking channel, consumers want the simple services first and in time will adopt the more advanced ones in line with their needs.

"One thing that consumers have told us loud and clear is that they want the service on their main, existing account rather than setting up one specifically to take advantage of mobile money services. People see mobile as a way of really helping them to manage their overall finances, not a gimmick for a special 'mobile' account and I think it's fair to say that 2009 is the year that mobile money will become one of those things that every American expects as part of their overall account package."