Quick Look At Official Indian Banking Apps On Android

The main list of banks to track has been sourced from the BANK-NIFTY and it throws up an interesting set of results
Axis Bank Ltd.
No official Android app, supported in NGpay. There is a Java mobile app for it.
Update (13th, August, 2012. Thanks, Rajashri Ray in the comments): There is an official Android app now: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.csam.axis.activity
Install base: 100,000 – 500,000
Bank of Baroda
Official App: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.fss.bob
Install base: 1,000 – 5,000
Bank of India
No official Android app. There is a Java mobile app for it.
Canara Bank
No official Android app. There is a Java mobile app for it.
HDFC Bank Ltd.
No official Android app, supported in NGpay. There is a Java mobile app for it.
Update (13th, August, 2012. Thanks, Pankaj Batra in the comments): There is an official Android app now:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snapwork.hdfc
Install Base: 100,000 – 500,000
ICICI Bank Ltd.
Official App: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.csam.icici.bank.imobile
Install Base: 100,000 – 500,000
IDBI Bank Ltd.
No official Android app. There is a Java mobile app for it.
IndusInd Bank Ltd. 
Official App: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.fss.indus
Install Base: 100 – 500
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
No official Android app. There is a Java mobile app for it.
Punjab National Bank
No official Android app. There is a Java mobile app for it.
State Bank of India
Official App: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.sgs.sbi.mbanking
Install Base: 50,000 – 100,000
Union Bank of India (FSS)
Official App: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.fss.ubi
Install Base: NA
Other Notables:
Citibank India:
Official App: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.citiuat
Install Base: 10,000 – 50,000
Stanchart India
Official App: https://market.android.com/details?id=air.app.scb.breeze.android.main.in.prod
Install Base: 1000-5000
Notes:

  • Interestingly, only five of the twelve banks from the list have official applications on the Android platform.
  • Pretty much every bank on that list has a J2ME app for mobile banking, which makes a lot of sense in a country like ours.
  • Even the banks with Android apps don’t feature it prominently on their websites.
  • Only exception to (3) is ICICI Bank, who are a bit overenthusiastic in promoting iMobile.
  • HDFC Bank is a notable absentee in the list, even though they are supported through NGpay.
  • The apps mostly have the same feature set. Understandable, as the backend service providers tend to be the same few across banks, which makes feature-based differentiation a hard one to pull off.
  • Citibank India and Stanchart India have a reasonable install base.
  • nGpay supports both Axis Bank and HDFC, which should be the cheapest route for banks to integrate with an Android or mobile app.
  • FSS powers the services of Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India. Looks like they are using a white-label application.
  • SBI’s install numbers are a pleasant surprise. Shows a level of awareness in the market I had, honestly, not expected.
  • Quite revealing that both SBI and the FSS-based apps have a minimum requirement of Android 1.5 and up, while most of the others are 2.x.
  • These numbers can be quite misleading. It is nearly impossible to track the install base of the J2ME apps. So, usage could be a different matter altogether.
  • Install base leader board
    1. ICICI Bank
    2. SBI
    3. NGpay
    4. Citibank India
    5. Bank of Baroda
    6. Stanchart India
    7. Indusind Bank
Never mind.