WASHINGTON — Mobile banking will save you money. And it willmake you money.

Those are the two top-line messages from an opening day BAI RetailDelivery session at the Washington Convention Center on Tuesdaywith Zions Bancorporation senior vice president Matthew Wilcox and DrewSievers, CEO of mFoundry, a mobile banking apps developer.

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Wilcox and Sievers told a packed room that of course mobilebanking is the must have in financial services today, “but it's nolonger good enough to just save an institution money. It also hasto drive revenue,” said Sievers.

Sievers delivered a slice of bad news: “You can't expect to makemoney from mobile payments anytime soon.” Too many muscular players– wireless carriers, payments processors, non-banks such asPayPal – are circling the wagons and brawling over the scantfew percentage points of revenue in play there.

But there is plenty of good news and one sliver is that “mobilebanking is the lowest-cost channel in banking history,” saidWilcox, who said the average in-branch interaction with a tellercost his institution $4. The cost per mobile banking transaction: 8cents.

Mobile banking customers also are profitable. At Utah-basedZions, those who use mobile plus online banking generate $450 eachin annual profits. Online banking-only customers generate $350each.

Mobile banking customers also are stickier. Their attrition is1.5% per year, versus 4% for online banking only customers, saidWilcox.

That set the stage for California-based Sievers' pitch where heoutlined a new dawn in mobile banking apps where users will beoffered a panoply of upsell opportunities inside the apps,everything from impulse buys of credit reports through higher feesfor expedited payments, gift cards, and possibly retail servicesbuilt around barcodes.

With every new form transaction, Sievers envisions the cashregister ringing and, he suggested, revenues could very quicklybecome sizable.

“Mobile banking will bring new revenue to the institutions thatlook for it,” he said.