Banking from your cellphone

Bank of America announced today that more than 1 million of its customers have signed up to bank by cell phone. The Charlotte bank's mobile banking program, launched about a year ago, lets customers check balances and recent transactions, pay bills, transfer funds and find the nearest branch. Bank of America and other banks - including Wachovia Corp., BB&T Corp., and the smaller Bank of Granite Corp. - have marketed mobile banking as a way for consumers to catch up on banking tasks even if they're away from a computer. Bank of America's mobile banking is free and compatible with most cell phones that can connect to the Internet. Almost all mobile banking users check their account balances via cell phone, the bank reported. About 40 percent also transfer funds and pay bills. About 80 percent are under 45.