Running treasury operations through mobile devices hardly swept through the industry like wildfire when it was introduced four years ago by banks like Wells Fargo. But the number of banks with mobile offerings has now reached critical mass, and strategies are shifting.

“The initial focus of banks and treasury management systems was transaction review and approval by mobile device,” says Laurie McCulley, a managing director at consultancy Treasury Strategies who regularly works with corporate technology installations. “But what treasury users really want and what the vendors are now introducing is reporting from the treasury management system—a dashboard that is readable on a mobile device and shows liquidity positions and risk exposures.”

Bank of America Merrill Lynch makes its mobile debut this year with select features that fit mobile devices and the executives who use them, rather than opening a mobile connection to its online banking platform, reports Cindy Murray, B of A's head of global treasury product infrastructure, platforms and ecommerce. The bank plans three 2011 releases, which will all be compatible with Apple, Google and BlackBerry tablets and smaller mobile devices. Users want a select menu that is tailored to workflows, Murray says. B of A's program is organized around the decisions that mobile users make—such as unlocking users, resetting passwords, changing entitlements and receiving positive pay alerts—and exactly what they need to execute those decisions with just a couple of clicks, she explains.