Mobile Banking Updates - July 29

Black Hat: Android, iPhone App Data Risks Overlooked
"At the Black Hat USA 2010 conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, mobile security company Lookout revealed that smartphones present more of a risk of data leakage than most users realize.
CEO John Hering and CTO Kevin Mahaffey presented the "App Genome Project," a survey of how Android and iPhone apps handle security and sensitive data.

The issue for Lookout isn't so much that Android devices or the iPhone may have vulnerabilities. It's that developers fail to appreciate the risks presented by third-party code and device users fail to consider the implications of granting permission to an app to access their data.
In one particular case, a wallpaper app for Android devices that had been downloaded several million times was found to be sending user data -- phone number, subscriber identifier, and currently programmed voicemail phone number -- to a server in China."

How will the iPad impact mobile banking?
"Recently for Juniper’s Mobile Banking report, I conducted a global survey of banks looking at their mobile banking strategies. The aim was simple: to identify first how many banks offer any form of mobile channel access and then to discover the relative popularity of SMS, mobile web and apps as means of providing services. The result was very conclusive. Over 80% of banks currently offer some form of mobile banking.

The survey was conducted from the viewpoint of a prospective customer, simply by approaching the bank website and determining if said bank offered mobile, bearing in mind that this could be anything from a simple SMS balance alert right up to a fully fledged web based or smartphone app based transactional service with super features and usability."

Does Citi's iPhone Glitch Mean All Banks Should Review Their Mobile Banking Code?
"Citi's confession this week that a glitch in its iPhone application was saving customers' personal information on their phones was a wake-up call for other banks who customize or develop their own mobile banking code, according to Alex Kwiatkowski, principal analyst - financial services technology at Ovum, who spoke to us this morning.

The Citi event was not the crisis the media made it out to be, we agreed. The bank immediately created an upgrade to the software that fixed the problem and sent out letters advising customers to download the new version, with an explanation of why. 'In the grand scheme of things, Citi's reaction was exemplary,' Kwiatkowski says. 'It's a good example of what to do when something goes wrong. Their actions leading up to that, not so much,' he says, referring to the fact that, naturally, it would have been better if the bank had tested the application enough to see the problem before releasing it."

Scotiabank launches Mobile Banking in the British Virgin Islands
"Scotiabank launched today their Mobile Banking service in the British Virgin Islands. Customers can now easily check their balance, transfer funds and pay bills from the convenience of their mobile phone.

'We are thrilled to offer this innovative service. It allows our customers to manage one part of their busy lives with the touch of a button, from wherever they are,' said Joycelyn Murraine, Managing Director Scotiabank (British Virgin Islands) Limited. 'With Scotia Mobile Banking, our customers will be able to do their day-to-day banking quickly, efficiently and securely from their phones.'"

Citibank iPhone App 'Accidentally Saved Personal Information'

"Citibank said its U.S. iPhone app accidentally saved personal information, including account numbers. The company publicly acknowledged the security flaw Monday, explaining that it had already released an updated iPhone app that patches the leak.

'During a recent review, we discovered that our U.S. Citi Mobile iPhone banking app was accidentally saving information related to customer accounts in a hidden file on their iPhones,' said Citibank spokeswoman Natalie Riper. 'This information may also have been saved on their computer if they had been synchronizing their iPhone with their computer via iTunes.'" >> Continue Reading

Mobile Banking Updates - July 25

Where's the Love for Android?
"With the large public debacle that was Steve Jobs' and Apple Inc.'s "Antennagate," a growing number of smart phones and connected devices on America's other wireless carriers and an ever-maturing mobile OS and app marketplace, Android is looking more attractive all the time. And while mobile banking apps and features seemingly pop up everyday on iOS, the same can't be said for Android.

While the public uptake of mobile banking might be slow to develop, it would seem that with a growing number of Americans choosing Android devices over iPhones, banks and providers would at least try to offer parallel services in the Android Marketplace. And the openness of app development and deployment on Google's mobile OS seem like a good opportunity to get on board."

KPMG Survey: Mobile Banking Steadily Gaining Acceptance Among U.S. Consumers
"Mobile banking and the use of mobile devices such as cell phones, smartphones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) for financial transactions and payments are increasingly gaining acceptance among U.S. consumers, according to results of a survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm.

The results of KPMG's fourth annual Global Consumers and Convergence survey show that 19 percent of U.S. consumers have conducted banking transactions on a mobile device, compared to only 9 percent when KPMG last completed this survey 18 months ago. More than 5,600 people in 22 countries worldwide participated in the survey, which examines trends in the use of mobile technology."

Mobile Remote Deposit Capture by the Numbers (thanks USAA)
"USAA is now doing the same for the fledgling consumer-remote-check-deposit market. USAA was the first major financial institution to introduce the service a year ago. Earlier this month, Chase Bank became the second major bank to offer mobile capture.

In a press release last week, the direct banking giant said that more than 1.5 million checks, worth $930 million (an average of $620 per item), had been deposited through its mobile remote deposit app released last summer. Mobile accounts for about one-third of the bank’s consumer remote capture volume. The online version, introduced in late 2006, still outnumbers mobile volume 2 to 1."

Mobile Banking Sees Success in Senegal
"Thanks to a mobile banking system launched last month in Senegal, people with no previous access to bank accounts were able to watch the World Cup via satellite services that they paid for electronically with a few taps on a mobile phone. The service is a clear sign that mobile banking is taking off in Africa, giving some of the world's poorest people a way to access financial services.

The system, which is called Yoban'tel by Obopay and was launched on June 24 by Obopay and Société Générale de Banques au Sénégal, lets customers use text messages to transfer money to satellite and cell-phone providers. Users walk into a participating store and make a deposit into their Yoban'tel account. They can then use that money to pay bills. "

TOP 5 MOBILE COMMERCE TRENDS FOR 2010
"Mobile commerce, or m-commerce, is simply the ability to conduct business transactions through a mobile device. With smartphone sales rising 49% in the first quarter of 2010, never before has it been so easy to shop, anywhere, anytime from the palm of your hand. There is an enormous amount of ongoing market research, and though there has been a variety of numbers estimated and reported, they all conclude that mobile commerce is a profitable and rapidly growing market.

By 2015, it’s estimated that shoppers from around the world will spend about $119 billion on goods and services bought via their mobile phones, according to a study by ABI Research released this past February. In the United States alone, mobile shopping rose from $396 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2009, and mobile campaign spending also increased by 25 to 30% over the past year, with companies shelling out just under $313 million according to the same study. Senior Analyst Mark Beccue, said that he’s forecasting U.S. sales to reach about $2.2 billion in 2010."

Maybank Targets To Increase Mobile Banking Customer Base By 53 Per Cent
"Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is targeting to increase its mobile banking customer base by 53 per cent to over 290,000 by July 2011 with launch of its enhanced Mobile Banking Service or M2U Mobile.

The enhanced M2U Mobile enabled customers to access the bank's portal Maybank2u.com using any phone model or telco operator for their banking, bill payment or e-commerce transactions, Maybank said in a statement Tuesday."

150 Credit Unions Choose Mobile Money(TM) From Fiserv
"Fiserv, Inc., the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions and the largest provider of business-driven technology solutions for credit unions, today announced that 150 credit unions have chosen to implement Mobile Money(TM) from Fiserv to date, including 84 that are already live.

Mobile Money gives credit union members the flexibility to use any mobile device to check account balances and history, transfer funds, pay bills, and track account activity. Mobile Money is the industry's most complete mobile banking and payments offering, supporting all three mobile access modes: SMS (text messaging), mobile browser, and downloadable applications. Mobile Money is available as an in-house solution or hosted by Fiserv through an application service provider (ASP) model."

Fiserv brings mobile banking person-to-person with ZashPay
"Fiserv is a big financial services provider, and also what you might call a mobile payments “enabler”. For months, we’ve reported as Fiserv provides mobile banking services to smaller, regional banks and credit unions. Today, it’s aiming even smaller – with a person-to-person mobile payment system called ZashPay."

Cambodia's Biggest Bank goes Live with M-Com Technology for Mobile Banking, Alerting and Payments

"International mobile banking solution provider, M-Com, announced today that ACLEDA Bank Plc has launched its market-leading mobile financial services powered by M-Com's flagship product, BankAnywhere.

'ACLEDA has now taken a solid market leadership position. We now offer the most comprehensive and compelling mobile financial services in Cambodia,' said Mr. In Channy, President & CEO of ACLEDA Bank Plc. 'We have effectively leapfrogged the Internet channel and gone straight to mobile.'

The deployed services enable ACLEDA customers to make person-to-person payments, pre-paid top up, utility bill payments and manage their finances in both Khmer and English scripts. These services are now available through text messaging, mobile browser and downloadable application interfaces and support multiple currencies and language scripts as required by ACLEDA's customers." >> Continue Reading

Mobile Banking Updates - July 18

Mobile-Banking Use Up, But Still Mainstream
"The use of mobile-banking services is increasing, but many consumers still prefer to bank online or at branches for more-complex transactions, new study data suggest. IDC Financial Insights, a Boston-based advisory research and consulting company, conducted the research in November, polling 1,008 U.S. adults ages 18 to 75 by phone. Of the participants, only 660 had mobile devices, and just 113 had used a mobile-banking service. However, 21% of total participants noted they used mobile banking to interact with their financial institution, up from 10% who did so in a similar survey IDC conducted in 2008."

Mobile Banking Use Rising, But Customers Say No to Paying More
"While the use of mobile banking is going up, smartphone users don't want to pay extra to do their banking from their devices, and banks aren't making money yet from the mobile services, says a new survey from IDC. Banks that do offer mobile banking saw almost double the use of these services from 2008 to 2009, according to IDC Financial Services' "2009 Consumer Mobile Banking Preferences Survey Results - Waiting for Takeoff." Use of mobile banking also showed an overall gain throughout the banking industry. Similarly, a recent study by comScore found that 13.2 million people accessed bank accounts from mobile sites during the month of April, 2010, a 70 percent increase over a year ago."

Mobile banking set for rapid adoption in SA
"Consulting services and outsourcing group Accenture South Africa said on Tuesday that the stage was set for the rapid adoption of mobile banking in South Africa, with more than 60 percent of the local adult population owning a mobile phone, the highest on the continent. Simon Russell, managing executive financial services, Accenture South Africa noted extensive positioning in the local mobile banking market with some innovative products including FNB's Send Money and Standard Bank's Mimoney."

Banks urged to invest in mobile banking
"Banks must think about severing the link between online banking and mobile banking if they are to meet the needs of an increasingly dissatisfied micro business market, according to Telstra-commissioned research from Roy Morgan. The research, conducted as part of a study sponsored by Telstra into how banks can better serve micro-sized businesses, found that 45 percent of micro business people don't see a role for a PC in their workplace, yet 60 percent have access to 3G enabled phones."

Smartphone, 3G Growth Creates Mobile Banking Opportunity in Latin America, Pyramid Finds
"The growth of smartphones in Latin America will provide the perfect ecosystem for the growth of mobile banking, enabling operators to offer new value-added services to their clients, reduce churn, and increase revenues, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com)."

UPDATE 1-Monitise to raise 32 mln stg, bolster ties with Visa
"Mobile banking specialist Monitise (MONI.L) said it would raise 32.4 million pounds ($48.68 million) through a share placing and subscription, and extended its partnership with credit card giant Visa Inc (V.N) by a year, sending Monitise's shares up as much as 12 percent. The company said it would raise 23.6 million pounds by placing about 114 million shares at 20.75 pence a share, which is a 1.2 percent discount to the stock's Monday close."

Tyfone Powers Explosive Adoption of Multi-Mode Mobile Banking Service to OnPoint Community Credit Union Members
"Six months after launching a mobile banking service based on Tyfone’s financial services infrastructure, OnPoint Community Credit Union reports that usage among its members of the new mobile payments capabilities have exceeded expectations and continue to grow at a rapid pace. Each month more OnPoint credit union members are discovering the convenience of performing secure banking transactions via their mobile phones, while the number of monthly mobile banking transactions continues to soar at an average of 33 percent per month."

No bank? No problem. Phone apps let you deposit checks

"Busy people who use their smartphones to check their bank balances, transfer funds and pay bills have a new reason to bypass banks and ATMs: They can use their phones to deposit checks. Earlier this month, JPMorgan Chase updated its iPhone app to allow customers to electronically deposit checks. To make a deposit, customers photograph the front and back of the check with the phone's built-in camera, then transmit the image to their account.

USAA has offered a deposit app since last August. Customers have used it to deposit 1.5 million checks worth more than $900 million, spokesman Paul Berry says.

Bank of America has tested a mobile deposit app but hasn't set a launch date, spokeswoman Tara Burke says." >> Continue Reading

Mobile Banking Updates - July 11

Usably Secure, Low-Cost Authentication for Mobile Banking
"This paper explores user authentication schemes for banking systems implemented over mobile phone networks in the developing world. We analyze an authentication scheme currently deployed by an Indian mobile banking service provider which uses a combination of PINs and printed codebooks for authenticating users. As a first step, we report security weaknesses in that scheme and show that it is susceptible to easy and efficient PIN recovery attacks. We then propose a new scheme which offers better secrecy of PINs, while still maintaining the simplicity and scalability advantages of the original scheme. Finally, we investigate the usability of the two schemes with a sample of 34 current and potential customers of the banking system. Our findings suggest that the new scheme is more efficient, less susceptible to human error and better preferred by the target consumers."

AT&T Enters Mobile Payment Acceptance Market
"AT&T recently announced that it has joined forces with Apriva to turn smartphones into point-of-sale devices that accept credit and debit card transactions. 'Sales increase when small businesses accept payment cards,' said Michael Antieri, president, advanced enterprise mobility solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. 'And given that an overwhelming majority of small businesses use smartphones, offering a mobile application that ties together payment cards and smartphones makes perfect sense.'"

PayPal head of mobile on the future of money
"PayPal has been doing its bit this week to raise awareness of the growing online retail opportunity in Australia. It seems overseas competitors are currently taking around 40 per cent of Australia’s online spend – it’s the kind of statistic that should have Aussie online entrepreneurs rubbing their hands together. Of course PayPal wants to see more online sales since its business is primarily concerned with how people will pay for the stuff we’re increasingly likely to buy online."

Are Mobile RDC Concerns Overblown?
"I like mobile banking. It's convenient, real-time and makes me feel savvy. So I appreciate, from a consumer perspective, JPMorgan Chase's announcement this week to move into the mobile remote deposit capture space. With Apple's iPhone application for remote deposits, Chase is stepping out ahead of the curve, trailing only a handful of other U.S. financial institutions. The most notable competitor in the space, USAA, last August launched its iPhone option for check-image deposits."

RaboDirect moves towards mobile banking
"RaboDirect has started development on a mobile internet banking platform for its customers, but general manager Greg McAweeney has flagged customer security as a primary concern in the mobile banking space. "The rise in mobile banking is definitely [a trend in Australian IT]. All of the major banks and even some of the second tier banks are now offering transactional mobile banking services. Clearly, the rise of smartphones are helping to drive that," he said. McAweeney said that RaboDirect is in the planning stages of developing a mobile platform, in tandem with a revamp of its public website."

Using your cellphone can make banking easier and faster
"Adrian Vermooten, Absa's head of mobile banking and messaging, says the bank has more than six million clients who are registered to receive notifications on their cellphones of bank transactions, more than two million active cellphone banking customers and more than 1.2 million internet banking customers. Christo Vrey, the managing executive of Absa's digital channels, says the bank has more than 1.7 million log-ons to its SMS banking service each month. Since it launched absa.mobi just over six weeks ago, more than 500,000 users have accessed the mobile portal, Vrey says."

A Boost in Mobile Banking
"The percentage of mobile users in the United States that utilize mobile banking via their mobile devices is not currently very big, but the practice looks to be picking up steam as consumers become more comfortable utilizing their cell phones in transacting business. About a month ago, ComScore released some data that showed in the month of April of 2010, 13.2 million people accessed bank accounts through a mobile site, which is almost a 70% increase from a year ago."

StanChart starts mobile banking in Oman
"Standard Chartered Bank has recently launched its mobile-phone banking service, 'm-banking', in Oman. m-banking will provide Standard Chartered Bank's customers with access to banking 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anywhere in the world all through their mobile phone. This service offers customers greater flexibility and convenience while the ability to receive sms alerts on every activity or movement within their bank account or credit cards provides enhanced security."

Bluepoint Solutions Launches Mobile Remote Deposit Capture
"Bluepoint Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and innovator in remote deposit capture (RDC), image-based item processing and enterprise content management software technology for financial institutions, announced the release of QwikDeposit To Go, a sophisticated mobile remote deposit capture application. Powered by Mitek Systems patented IMagePROVE technology, Bluepoint Solutions QwikDeposit Mobile Capture application completes Bluepoint’s existing suite of Check 21 capture points."

Banks must wake up to mobile virus threat - Ovum

"Ovum argues that mobile banking is inherently vulnerable because handsets are liable to be lost, stolen or hacked and are used in situations that are less secure than sitting in an office or at a home computer.

Graham Titterington, principal analyst, Ovum, says: 'Mobile networks may be intercepted either by breaking the wireless encryption mechanism or by hacking into the wired backbone of the network where encryption is not mandatory under telecommunications standards. IT malware that compromises back-end servers, but is harmless in the wireless environment, may be passed through the mobile banking interface.'" >> Continue Reading

Bank of Hawaii. 4th iPhone App from MShift

Over the weekend I learned that Bank of Hawaii launched its iPhone Application. This gives MShift a total of four iPhone applications in the App Store. The other MShift clients are M&I Bank, Golden 1, and Fairwinds.

Mobile Banking Updates - Jul 5

Chase Mobile Adds Check Deposits [iPhone App]
"Want to deposit money into your Chase account via check, but don’t have the time to head to your local branch? You might want to give the companies newest application a try. Using Chase Mobile for the iPhone users can now deposit checks into their accounts right from their phone."

Zions Bank Launches Free Mobile Banking Services
"Zions Bank, a subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation, announced the launch of its Mobile Banking service today, adding to the already comprehensive array of banking and financial services it offers. The free Mobile Banking service, available at www.zionsbank.com, allows consumer banking clients to use their mobile phones to access their Zions Bank accounts, view balances, and transfer funds."

Companies Compete for 2010 Prizes for Technological Advances in Asia
"And wireless applications continued to make inroads. WING, a mobile banking service developed by Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., launched in Cambodia, where many of its customers don't have banking accounts."