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Bank of America nets 500,000 mobile customers

Already the national leader in online banking, Bank of America has now attracted a record 500,000 active mobile customers only six months after introducing a mobile banking service to consumers nationwide.

The bank, which claims 23 million active online customers, introduced mobile banking in March to consumers in selected markets and expanded the service across the United States in May.

"Mobile banking gives our customers the freedom, control and security to bank anywhere, anytime," said Lance Drummond, e-commerce and ATM executive for Bank of America, in a statement.

Bank of America has more mobile customers than all other U.S. banks combined, market researcher TowerGroup said.

With mobile banking, consumers can use phones that have Internet access to check balances on their checking, savings and credit card accounts, as well as mortgages and home equity lines held with Bank of America.

Individuals may also pay their bills and e-bills, and transfer money between accounts and to other Bank of America customers.

Also, mobile customers can view transactions for checking and savings accounts, mortgages and home equity lines, including posted and pending transactions, as well as access directions to ATMs and banking centers.

To access mobile banking, customers simply go to the Web browser on their mobile phone and enter http://www.bofa.mobi. Once on the site, customers enter their online banking ID and passcode to access their accounts.

Customers are protected with the bank's SiteKey security service, in addition to its Zero Liability Online Banking Guarantee product.

To help protect customer information, the bank has developed an end-to-end security feature that encrypts information when sent between the mobile phone and the bank.

The Web-based service is accessible through most major carriers that have mobile Internet access. It doesn't require a software download.