Device-focused security company iovation has announced that it has tracked a six-fold increasein financial services transactions that originate on mobile devicesfrom 2011 to 2012.

The Portland, Ore.-based company elaborated that in 2011, just2% of the financial transactions it tracked originated on mobiledevices. In 2012 that percentage has spiked up to 12%.

“The interest in mobile banking is overwhelming,” said MaxAnhoury, vice president, global sales at iovation.

In an interview, Anhoury elaborated that for the purpose ofthese metrics iovation defined “financial services” fairly narrowlyto include retail banking, credit card services, payday lending,money transfer services and prepaid cards.

Connie Gougler, iovation's director of marketing, added thatdevices tracked show a strong predominance of Apple. TheiPhone represented 45.6% of transactions. The iPad was22.2%. Android was 29.5%. All others – Windows, BlackBerry –fought over the remaining scraps.

Anhoury said that a trend iovation has spotted among itsfinancial services clients is that they have rushed to roll outmobile apps but they have stalled when it came to adding powerfulfeatures (such as not allowing new payees to be added to billpayment via a mobile device).

But that has triggered another trend, said Anhoury, wherefinancial institutions find themselves under more pressure to beefup their mobile apps – and a result is that the mobile securityconversation seems to be intensifying in at least someinstitutions.