Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 2

Will the Apple Tablet be the ultimate portable netbook ever?
"Rumors about Apple Tablet device are everywhere last few days. Some say it will be released late this year, some say early 2010. But no one really knows other than few people at Apple.

But all in all Apple Tablet promises to be the ultimate device to consume the digital content on the go through a web-centric operating system. It is set to feature a 9.7-inch touchscreen, will include a camera and a microphone like the iSight on MacBook and MacBook Pro, and will have the anytime and anywhere Internet connection."

Javelin: U.S. Consumers’ Interest in Using Mobile Person-to-Person Payments Grows Rapidly, Threatening Slow-Moving Banks
"Javelin Strategy & Research today released a report that indicates financial institutions must act now to implement person-to-person mobile solutions before carriers capture the market. The report, Mobile Person-to-Person Payments: Mounting Telco Activity in a Mobile Channel Segment That Financial Institutions Can’t Afford to Lose, also reveals that conditions are growing ripe for potential widespread consumer use of mobile devices to send payments between one another: smartphones are now used by 17 percent of consumers, mobile banking is used by many, and use of the internet for banking and shopping has been common for years. These are just some of the conditions that have created an increased likelihood that consumers will soon begin to use mobile person-to-person (P2P) transfers."

Chinese Firm Writes First SMS Worm
"It’s a pretty cool concept, abusing the Symbian Express Signing procedure. It reminds me of the heydays of self-propagating e-mail worms when corporate e-mail servers were getting flooded because everyone in the company was sending the same attachment to everyone else in their address book."

Islamic Finance and Mobile Banking: Could, Would, Should
"Islamic Banking has developed rapidly over the last 30 years. Islamic Banks have proliferated in number and in geographic reach, with services now offered regularly on four continents. A number of innovative, successful financial products have also been developed, enabling Shariah compliant bonds, mortgages and savings accounts."

Traditional Texts Hang Tough in a Sea of Innovation
"Even in mobile banking, traditions die hard. While smart phones get exponentially smarter and app stores burst at the seams like FAO Schwartz in December, banks and consumers are not only still using basic text messaging-the mode is maturing to mainstream status."

ClairMail Sees Record 700% Year-Year Increase
"ClairMail, Inc., the leader in proactive mobile banking and payment solutions, today announced that its core product, the ClairMail Solution, has experienced over a 700 percent year-over-year increase in monthly mobile banking transactions. ClairMail's success continues to outpace the mobile banking industry, which experienced a six-fold usage increase in 2008, according to recent published reports."

Wells Fargo Introduces Online Same Day Payments
"Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - News) today announced the nationwide availability of its newest online bill pay feature, which allows customers to make “just in time” online bill payments to merchants, such as utility, auto finance and mortgage companies. The service helps customers avoid missing payments or making late payments. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, nearly three out of four consumers initiated expedited payments last year and use is expected to continue to rise in the next five years."

One in 63 Smartphones Infected by Mobile Spyware and Malware
"The study of 1,958 smartphones revealed infections by Spyware, Viruses Worms and Trojans, as well as hundreds of unlicensed software programs installed on the handsets reviewed. A comparison of these statistics to the worldwide smartphone population places the number of infected devices globally into the millions. Because the vast majority of these infections are designed to be stealthy and the fact that few smartphones posses Anti-Malware applications, most infected users are completely unaware their devices have been compromised."

Citibank Launches Citi Mobile(R) For Smartphones
"Checking your account balance or paying a bill used to involve a trip to the bank, and in recent years, logging on to your home PC. Today, Citibank is making banking easier than ever for its U.S. customers by expanding its mobile offering to smartphones, including most BlackBerry(R) smartphones, Palm(R) devices and iPhone(TM)( )mobile devices. Now, more Citibank customers can access and manage their bank accounts -- anytime and anywhere -- via their smartphone's mobile browser."