Citi is set to roll out Tablet Banking to customers in Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, China, Malaysia and Indonesia in the first quarter of next year, as predictions grow that mobile technology has taken over as the banking of the future.

The US bank is set to launch the new service off the back of a successful take-up of mobile banking. Yesterday Citi announced it has passed the 1 million mobile client mark, four years after launching. 

Mobile banking is spreading quickly. According to a report from research consultancy, Juniper, Mobile Banking adoption is expected to reach about 530 million users worldwide by 2013. In addition to North America and Western Europe, the report expects that China and Southeast Asia will have the highest penetration of users.

At the end of September, Citi had 1.1 million active mobile banking users – clients who use Citi Mobile to conduct their banking transactions – in the region and is adding between 60,000 to 70,000 new mobile users every month, the Wall Street bank said in a statement. Data shows that 95 per cent of all transactions for Citi in Asia now occur outside a branch.

“We are working to make Citi Mobile more than a tool for bills payments, transfers, locating ATMs and merchants and rewards redemptions. Our pipeline of mobile capabilities will make it possible for clients to trade stocks, apply for credit cards, purchase goods and services and even make person to person transfers anytime they choose,” said global head of mobile banking and Asia-Pacific head of eBusiness & direct banking, Rajesh Yohannan.

The news comes after a report published yesterday by technology provider Sungard and consultant Scorpio Partnership, revealed that on average, HNW individuals spend 5.3 hours online per week regarding financial matters. When investors predict their usage patterns in five years' time, they expect the largest increase to be their online interaction directly with their financial institution on matters related to their wealth.

However most institutions are not investing enough in technology, failing to keep pace with both clients and advisors, half of whom now use iPads and other tablets in their wealth management presentations.

Edward Lopez, executive vice president, SunGard's wealth and private banking business unit, said in the report: "The key finding from this research is that the region's wealth management institutions are not investing enough in services and channels that are a vital part of the industry's future. There is a significant opportunity for these firms to implement strategies to help enhance the customer experience, attract and retain clients and boost advisor productivity that can help them compete more effectively and safeguard future profitability."

Citibank has over 32 million retail accounts and over 20 million card accounts. The bank is also the largest wealth manager in the region, with US$200 billion in assets under management.