The numbers released last month by Bank of America looked impressive: the financial giant’s mobile banking service had reached 500,000 active customers in the seven months since it had been rolled out....

...Some analysts predict an explosion in the use of cell phones in banking in this country –Boston consulting firm Celent forecasts that by 2010, 35 percent of U.S. household that conduct online banking will also be using mobile banking.

Others aren’t so sure...A 2006 survey conducted by Forrester Research Inc., a Boston-based technology and market research firm, indicated that only 5 percent of online consumers in the U.S. were interested in accessing their bank account by mobile devices....

...Last month, North Kingstown-based startup Ocean State Solutions LLC announced it’s preparing to launch a system that will enable cell phone subscribers to use their phones to immediately pay for goods and services.

None of the U.S. banks offer that capability, and it’s not clear when they will. Bank of America spokeswoman Betty Reiss said the bank is researching additional mobile banking technology, but she wouldn’t give details.