Mobile Banking Updates - Apr 18

ANZ Bank trials mobile ePOS for iPhones
"The bank is aiming the application at merchants with iPhones who are highly mobile and want to take payments quickly and securely, instead of lugging around portable EFTPOS machines. Dubbed ANZ ePOS Mobile, the application can process on-the-spot credit and debit card transactions at a customer location. Credit card details such as expiry date and card verification code are encrypted and no customer data is stored on the iPhone."

Why mobile is changing the banking planet
"Back in 2004, I asked a group of bankers when mobile would take off in banking. They all said: 'not in our lifetimes.'

In 2007, Bank of America launched their mobile banking applications and has seen a rapid uptake of users. In less than a year, they reached a million customers on mobile, and saw a further 300% growth in 2008. It took them over a year to get the first million customers; a pregnancy period of just nine months to get the second million; and a short six months to get the third."

ViVOtech Says Its Contactless PIN Pad Will Pave the Way for Mobile
"ViVOtech Inc., perhaps best known as a maker of readers that enable contactless card transactions, this week plunged further into the point-of-sale business with the introduction of a PIN pad capable of processing contactless payments.

The device, known as the ViVOpay 8100, brings the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company into closer competition with established terminal makers. It can handle routine mag-stripe card transactions but can be switched over to contactless card and mobile transactions based on near-field communication (NFC) at any time, the company says. It also paves the way for promotional and loyalty programs merchants may want to deliver on an NFC platform or on stickers or other mobile-payments media, such as micro Secure Digital cards."

Small Banks Eye Mobile Upgrades
"Community banks are planning to improve their mobile banking offerings, according to research by Banc Investment Group LLC. About 89% of banks in a survey said they were considering updates of their mobile banking platforms. Most were planning to add to their mobile banking systems an application that runs on smart phones; the remainder were planning to add other features to their current systems."

Asia telcos bet on banking to drive mobile money boom
"April 16 - Asian cellular carriers are charting new ground with a charge into e-commerce, spending billions on banks and credit card issuers as they hunt for better returns on their own multibillion-dollar networks. But the gambit could also take them down a hazardous road, extending them beyond their core business as mobile network operators into a fast moving and unfamiliar world of high finance they know little about."

Cleveland CU Broadens Mobile Service
"Eaton Family Credit Union of Euclid, Ohio, has expanded its mobile banking offering to include the ability to handle more kinds of phones and ways to use them. The $44 million, suburban Cleveland institution calls the new service Eaton Family CU Mobile and said it can now handle text messaging, Web browsers or downloadable applications on compatible iPhones and other smartphones."