Austin, Texas-based mobile and Internet banking provider Malauzai Software announced the launch of a new SmartwearApp is now live. The company completed the apps for eight financial institutions in just 40 days from inception to completion.
Malauzai is one of only a few U.S. financial organizations that have developed a banking app for the Apple Watch. The SmartwearApp is an extension of the watch's existing mobile banking application. Among the financial institutions launching the app were the $557 million Greater Texas Federal Credit Union in Austin; Aggieland Credit Union, a division of Greater Texas Federal Credit Union; and the $257 million Alabama Teachers Credit Union in Gadsden, Ala.
When end-users download the updated version of their institution's mobile banking app from the Apple App Store, they will have access to the watch app, and will simply need to sync the device with their iPhone. To date, eight community institutions are launching watch banking with Malauzai.
The first generation of SmartwearApps gives end-users the ability to check balances, view transaction history and access a branch locator, with plans to expand transactional and money movement capabilities as the watch functionality expands. Complete with customized branding, SmartwearApps also offer financial institutions the opportunity to share promotional and educational alerts via the watch screen.
"Our team, in partnership with our forward-thinking clients, has done an exceptional job developing an app for an entirely new device," Robb Gaynor, Malauzai's chief product officer, said. "The quickness of the project is evidence that the speed of mobile will become the norm for financial innovation. These eight institutions have beaten the nation's largest banks to the face of the Apple Watch. That is an unprecedented win and proves that community institutions can offer account holders better service and technology than they would find at a money center bank."
However, will people wear wearables? Future adoption depends on device attractiveness, alerts and payments functionality, according to findings from Charlotte, N.C.-based Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group.
"While wearables are a significant trend in technology, their utility to financial services remains to be seen," Byl Cameron, CG's digital practice lead, said. "But the fact that one third of consumers are comfortable making a payment from a wearable device, tells us that this technology is a 'must-watch' development in fintech."
Key CG Study Findings state that 82% of U.S. consumers would NOT purchase a wearable; 39% are interested in receiving notifications and alerts; 30% are comfortable making a payment with a wearable device; and 38% of consumers who plan to buy a wearable are habitual mobile banking users who access bank accounts via mobile device four or more times per week.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Roy Urrico
Roy W. Urrico specializes in articles about financial technology and services for Credit Union Times, as well as ghostwriting, copywriting, and case studies. Also: writer/editor of a semi-annual newsletter for Association for Financial Technology since 1997 and history projects funded by the U.S Interior Department, National Park Service and Warren County (N.Y.).
