Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 28

eMarketer: Mobile Payments Take Hold Around the World
"A sixfold increase in the volume of mobile payment transactions is on the way in the next four years, according to one research firm. A forecast from Yankee Group predicts the worldwide transaction value of mobile payments will total $984 billion by 2014, up from $162 billion last year. That includes transactions from mobile banking, international and domestic remittances, contactless cards, mobile coupons and near-field communications."

Chase Taps Mitek’s Image Innovation
"Mitek’s patented mobile remote deposit technology has found another taker in Chase, which will team with the tech firm to develop a series of new mobile RDC products that work across multiple smartphone operating systems.
Chase will expand its QuickDeposit feature—which enables consumers to deposit checks by clicking their mobile phone camera—by deploying Mitek’s mobile banking and image capture analytics. The deposit services will join other mobile financial services offered by Chase, including text banking, mobile banking apps for iPhone and Android and instant action alerts."

NFC: The Power to 'Touch and Transact'
"Ever-evolving mobile technology has demonstrated the ways in which it is changing lives by connecting friends and families around the globe, consistently introducing new handset-centric applications that simplify our everyday lives and delivering critical services such as mobile banking and mobile health. However, while both smartphones and traditional mobile phones offer basic voice and SMS, the divide begins to widen when you introduce capabilities for additional services such as ring tone, music, video, billing top-ups, etc."

Fifth Third Bank Selects ClairMail as Mobile Banking Provider
"ClairMail, Inc., the leader in mobile banking and payment solutions, today announced that Fifth Third Bank has selected ClairMail to power its new mobile banking technology and services. With the new support from ClairMail, Fifth Third Bank customers will enhance their mobile banking experience with better access to their accounts, bill paying capabilities and real time personalized text alerts, thereby gaining greater control over their accounts and overall finances. Using ClairMail's robust and scalable mobile platform, Fifth Third also has the flexibility to connect to multiple financial systems and future-proof their mobile powered offerings."

ePayments Week: More Androids banking
"As the number of Android users swells past the number of iPhone users, it should come as no surprise that as of December, 2010, there's more mobile banking on Android than on iPhones. However, Carlo Cardilli suggests that could change as the number of Verizon iPhones grows and those users take up mobile banking.

A recent Forrester survey says 12% of the US online population banks on their phones, up from 5% two years ago. Forrester says that's about 10 million users, and predicts that will grow to 50 million by 2015. That growth seems reasonable, given that users who discover mobile banking tend to, over time, use it more as they get used to it, especially for simple transactions like checking balances and transferring funds between accounts. Still, Penny Crosman with Bank Systems & Technology notes that 35% of online users shy away from mobile banking because they worry it's not safe and 24% don't see the point and would just as soon wait until they reach the ATM."

Mint Paves the Path – This Time in Mobile
"Think again if you ever wondered if Mint would lose its edge after its acquisition by giant Intuit. The “startup” once again is setting the benchmark, this time in the realm where personal finance management hits mobile.

Mint upgraded its iPhone app this month to enable consumers to register and add accounts from the mobile device – relieving consumers of the dual-channel hassle of logging online so that they can be mobile. The news is worth watching because it will provide a measure of whether banks and credit unions are short-sighted if they force customers to sign up for online banking even if they prefer mobile banking instead. But Mint also understands that it’s a mistake to think that mobile can simply mirror the online experience. The critical question is which personal finance tools work better online, and which ones work better in mobile."

Mobile Banking Updates International - Feb 27

World Bank selects Michael Joseph to expand m-banking
"The former CEO of Kenya’s Safaricom, Michael Joseph, has been appointed as the advisor for World Bank on mobile payment services. Safaricom effectively created the market for mobile banking services when it launched the hugely successful M-PESA platform, which has been imitated in many other countries since then. Michael Joseph is joining the bank under its new fellowship program, which was set up to tap new expertise into its development work and strengthens its knowledge network."

European Treasurers Demand Mobile Banking Services, If Banks Can Find a Way
"Mobile banking has a strong adoption rate among European treasurers and there is a clear demand for wider access according to Treasury Strategies, Inc. In a report issued this week, the treasury consulting firm indicated there is a clear vision for the capabilities and functionality demanded by European treasurers, however, mobile services are not widely available.
Treasury Strategies surveyed 160 treasury organisations across Europe and learned that 19 percent of them are using mobile offerings."

Technology boosts bill payment
"THE use of technology in settling utility bills is taking root, saving consumers time and money. The latest application is the partnership between utility operator, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and uganda telecom in which consumers will directly pay for their bills using utl’s M-Sente mobile money platform or instruct their banks to remit money to the NWSC accounts. The service also offered by MTN mobile money and Airtel’s cash is used for pay TV subscription and shopping in selected in retail stores."

Coming Soon to a Branch Near You
"Remember a few years back when they said that the bank branch was dead? Well, it turns out they were wide of the mark. Internet and mobile banking may have grown and evolved, but the branch is holding its own in the multichannel mix, though its role is changing rapidly. Unlike yesteryear, customers don’t need to come to the bank for routine transactions. Internet, mobile, ATMs and phone banking can take care of most basic banking needs. This has allowed bank branches to focus more on giving customer advice and selling a wider range of products."

Barclaycard launches new mobile Web banking service
"The service, available across hundreds of handset models, means Barclaycard customers can access their accounts, check their balance and view payment or transaction history at any time by simply accessing the site through their mobile browser. In addition, the site integrates with the Barclaycard Freedom loyalty scheme to provide access to the latest offers from nearby retailers, using the latest geo-location technology."

Govt to table bill on mobile banking regulations
"A new law to regulate mobile banking in Tanzania is in the pipeline as part of efforts by the government to enhance compliance in the business. Since the introduction of the mobile banking services in 2008 in the country there was no proper law to guide and regulate the m-banking despite its tremendous growth and dynamism. And analysts are questioning the strictness of the existing laws and regulations to prevent any possible illicit activity such as money laundering and terrorism financing that might engulf the mushrooming mobile phone-based transactions."

Nuru Int’l, M-PESA to promote Microfinance Mobile Banking in rural Kenya
"Microfinance Focus, February 25, 2011: US based social venture firm, Nuru International, is promoting innovative new technologies for mobile banking to increase access of basic financial services for rural households living in extreme poverty in Kuria, Kenya. The organization will work with Mifos cloud-based MIS and M-PESA mobile money transfer services to create a viable solution to some of the issues that persist in providing financial services in rural areas."

Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 24

Mobile Transactions Ready to Ramp
"Consumers are increasingly becoming more comfortable with mobile banking, payment and shopping to the point where the value of global transactions on the go will jump from $162 billion in 2010 to nearly a $1 trillion by 2014, according to research firm Yankee Group. The Yankee Group highlights a few interesting nuggets in its report about what consumers think about mobile transactions."

BankSimple Aims to Declutter Mobile, Online Banking
"A young and hip Brooklyn-based company called BankSimple has been developing a simple, clean, and easy-to-use interface to basic banking products such as checking accounts and prepaid cards. BankSimple is not a bank, but it will soon become a middleman of sorts between bank partners and their customers."

Two Opportunities to Encourage Mobile Banking Adoption
"Last month, Compete released the results of its Q3 2010 Smartphone Intelligence survey. One of the notable insights from the survey is that mobile banking usage is on the rise, with 40 percent of respondents reporting using mobile banking apps once a month or more. However, with only 6 percent of consumers using mobile banking apps daily, we also noted that mobile banking is not yet part of the consumer’s regular routine."

Drumbeat grows for mobile banking in the Caribbean
"WITH Haiti having embraced mobile financial services, there are increasing calls to see it implemented throughout the Caribbean where large swathes of populations remain unbanked. The liberalisation of the telecoms sector has seen practically every adult in the region in possession of a mobile telephone, thus providing an avenue for more transactions and bringing the region even closer to a cashless society."

Less than 10% of US consumers willing to pay for mobile payments
"Less than one in 10 consumers in the US are prepared to pay for mobile payment and banking services, despite a surge in use in the past year. Research from the Yankee Group has found mobile transaction volumes are expected to grow at a very high rate, with the estimated total value of global mobile transactions rising from US$162 billion in 2010 to US$984 billion in 2014. However, the group’s consumer survey results also indicate that less than 10% of respondents would be willing to pay extra for mobile transaction services such as mobile banking, mobile coupons and mobile payments."

Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 22

MWC: is three a magic number for banks?
"The Microsoft-Nokia partnership, which was announced last week, could represent a critical step towards reducing the complexity of mobile banking app development. In fact, yesterday Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft and Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia took to the stage at Mobile World Congress (MWC) to discuss the importance of creating a strong "third ecosystem” for mobile devices, platform and services."

Mobile Banking to Increase Five-Fold Over the Next Five Years
"Rapid consumer adoption of smartphones and increased use of the mobile Web will result in more customers using online banking to check balances, review transactions, or receive alerts, according to the latest Forrester research. Emmett Higdon, senior analyst at Forrester and author of the report, proposes banks should consider this trend now to create a more robust, sophisticated execution of online banking. Higdon chronicles the smartphone adoption through five major factors: enthusiastic smartphone adoption, greater mobile Web use, steady increase in supply, enhanced mobile usability, and generational shifts."

Chase Announces Strategic Agreement with Mitek Systems
"Chase today announced a strategic agreement with Mitek Systems, Inc. (OTC: MITK.OB), a developer of advanced-image analytics and mobile-document-capture applications, to develop a suite of innovative image-capture solutions across multiple smartphone operating systems. The agreement enables Chase to build on the success of its award-winning QuickDeposit feature by deploying Mitek’s mobile-banking and advanced image-capture and analytics products across a variety of smartphone operating systems. QuickDeposit allows customers to deposit checks anytime and anywhere with a click of their mobile phone camera."

Mobile Banking Devices Can Deliver Strong Returns for Banks That Measure Customers’ Usage Patterns and Target Consumers’ Needs, According to Accenture Research
"When banks enable their customers to use a mobile device to check balances, transfer money, pay bills, apply for credit or manage their personal finances, they can achieve returns on investment of as high as 300 percent, according to a new study commissioned by Accenture (NYSE:ACN).

Banks generating the highest returns on their mobile banking investments achieved ROI by emphasizing customer convenience, providing rich exchanges of information between bank and customer and accurately measuring how customers use their mobile phones to bank, according to the research which was conducted by TowerGroup on behalf of Accenture."

Mobile Banking Security

Start-Up 100: How to make money from fraud
"Internet banking has transformed the way we manage our money and brought banking to our desktops. Mobile banking and mobile payment apps are growing fast as banks and brands push mobile payments, or m-payments, to become more customer friendly. eBay has sold over 30million items via its mobile apps, Starbucks and other brands offer payment apps, Apple is releasing “wave and pay” and Google’s CEO has identified the development of mobile money platforms as a key strategic priority for the search engine giant in 2011."

Why smartphone users and developers should fear hackers
"Analysts predict an increase in malware – malicious software – and other security threats that hackers spread through mobile devices, especially as sales of smartphones continue to explode worldwide.

While mobile viruses have been uncommon to date, hackers do have the ability to exploit mobile security, per Frost & Sullivan. Given that mobile users are increasingly surfing the Web, as well as downloading and using applications, many in the industry are not surprised to see a growth in malicious activity."

Clairmail Brings Fraud Management To Mobile Banking Technology
"ClairMail, a company that creates a mobile banking and payments platform, is rolling out a new product for financial institutions today—a mobile fraud management solution.

ClairMail helps power mobile banking and payments for financial institutions (the company counts eight of the top 12 North American banks as customers). ClairMail processes millions of transactions per month for its customers across retail banks, credit unions and card service companies, allowing consumers to make payments and access banking information via SMS, the mobile web and client applications, across a variety of mobile devices."

Phones Becoming Frontline in Credit Card Fraud Battle
"Mobile phones are increasingly being tapped to serve as the first line of protection against credit card and banking fraud. Banks, credit card companies and start-ups are all looking to leverage the ubiquity of cell phones and their location capabilities to help combat fraudulent activity."

8 tips to stop banking app fraud
"Having an app from your bank on a smart phone or tablet computer is incredibly convenient, but is it safe? About a year ago, owners of Android smart phones began downloading mobile banking apps from Google's Android Market. The apps cost about $1.50 each and connected users with about 40 major banks, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo. There was only one problem: The banks hadn't put them there."

BitDefender Offers Users Tips on How to Avoid Falling Victim to Mobile Phishing Scams
"An easy target for cyber criminals is smartphone users who take advantage of mobile banking. BitDefender®, an award-winning provider of innovative internet security solutions, has identified a serious mobile banking phishing scam and is offering tips to help smartphone users avoid falling victim to this and to similar mobile phishing scams."

Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 16

Mobile Banking to Hit US$ 100 Bil., Showing Steady Growth
"More Koreans are using mobile phones for financial transactions and mobile banking is growing at a steady rate.
The year 2010 alone saw a more than 200 percent increase in mobile banking.
While "on-the-go" banking is available with regular cell phones, experts attribute the increasing popularity of smartphones, which make mobile banking easier to use since Korean banks offer iPhone and Android applications, as the cause of the rise."

Absa frees up cellphone banking
"Absa now offers free unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) access to its cellphone banking customers. The offer is specifically for the bank's Vodacom customers, who use the Absa Cellphone Banking Lite service. 'This means, even without airtime, Absa Cellphone Banking Lite customers can still access and perform a host of transactions from their mobile handsets via USSD if they are a Vodacom client,' explains Adrian Vermooten, head of mobile channels at Absa."

Mobile, P2P and Consumer Demand
"Demand for more mobile services is the catalyst for Fifth Third Bank's launch in mid-2011 of mobile peer-to-peer payment service available via the and online banking channels, says Fifth Third's Larry McClanahan, who's heading up the project. 'Initially, it's going to be more online P2P, rather than mobile. Customers are very comfortable with that online channel, but we definitely see the mobile component of it growing rapidly,' he says. 'It's all about what customers are looking for.'"

Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 15

Mobile Banking Can Deliver 300% Returns, Accenture Says
"A study of 20 financial institutions around the world that offer mobile banking, commissioned by Accenture and conducted by TowerGroup, has found a Middle Eastern bank that is getting an eye-popping 300% return on investment by letting its two million mobile banking customers pay bills on their mobile devices, including topping up their pay-as-you-go mobile phones, paying utility bills, or paying a fixed monthly fee for a premium services package."

Mobile...everybody's doing it?
"Mobile banking has been a ‘hot topic’ in the financial services industry for some time now, with much research pointing to growing customer demand and uptake of mobile services. In fact, I blogged late last year about some Forrester research showing that mobile banking provision in Europe is gathering pace, which one would assume reflects increasing demand..."

Wells Fargo Offers Online and Mobile Fraud Prevention Tips
"Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) offers tips to help people keep fraud prevention top-of-mind as encouraging findings are released in the new 2011 Identity Fraud Survey Report from Javelin Strategy & Research, an independent industry research firm. The study found that the number of reported identity fraud incidents in 2010 declined 28 percent over 2009."

Mobile Banking Will Be a Big Catalyst for These Companies
"Intuit announced Thursday its latest initiative, GoPayment, will be one of other first mobile payment apps available on the Android. Already available on the iPhone, the app offers flexibility for businesses to get paid right on the spot with the credit card swiping technology in the phone."

Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 13

Banks Launch Integrated Mobile Banking Solution from First Data
"American Bank of Texas, Marble Falls, Texas, and Waggoner National Bank, Vernon, Texas, have launched First Data’s Mobile Manager – mBanking solution. The offering is now available to their Internet banking customers following a successful internal pilot period. First Data Corporation is a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing.

With the First Data Mobile Manager – mBanking solution, financial institutions can rapidly implement mobile banking with robust functionality. This solution integrates seamlessly with First Data’s FundsXpress online banking platform, enabling a consistent experience with the same capabilities as online banking on a mobile device, and only one set of logon credentials to manage.

First Data offers the Mobile Manager – mBanking solution as a fully hosted and integrated service. This results in substantially lower costs for a financial institution than developing a solution in-house. Since launching Mobile Manager – mBanking at the beginning of 2011, First Data has signed 60 financial institutions for the service."

Tablets will change banking forever: analyst
"Led by Apple’s iPad, tablet computing is on an obvious growth trajectory, but how should banks and other financial institutions act on this trend? Tablets are already contributing to financial services channel delivery, both inside the branch network and as a viable self-service channel on its own, according to research and consulting firm Celent."

New Mobile Banking App Launched in Volunteer State
"First Tennessee Bank, with 180 branches in and around Tennessee, says the launch of its updated mobile banking app coincides nicely with the introduction of the Verizon iPhone. The app includes a new mobile pay feature for iPhones and other smartphones."

For Mobile Deposit, Banks Choose Speed-to-Market Over Simplicity
"Two apps are better than one — at least for now — when it comes to launching mobile check deposit services, some banks say. Smaller banks are seeking to capitalize on the attention bigger ones like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and USAA Federal Savings Bank have generated for mobile deposit, but to get the function out in a timely way, they are finding, an integrated experience may not be possible. Adding the capability to an existing mobile banking app that lets a customer check balances and pay bills can involve months of integration work, even if the services are all coming from the same vendor. The complexity is prompting some banks to release a separate app solely for remote deposit capture.

Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 9

Isis CEO: Mobile payments making 'good progress,' but no specifics yet
"Since November I'd say it's been evolving. It was important for us back in November to get the announcement out there so people knew that it was real. I think, as you're well aware, there can be a lot of rumors, different things can be happening out there. But if you're going to make payments work in the United States on a mobile phone, you're going to need a lot of players to come alive in the ecosystem to make that happen--everything from the merchants to the OEMs to the phone manufacturers. You have got to make sure that everybody comes together with a common standard and common protocol."

Will Your Wallet Soon Become a Historic Relic?
"Will the wallet soon be a thing of the past? At the rate mobile banking apps are being adopted, who knows. Intuit announced Thursday its latest initiative, GoPayment, will be one of other first mobile payment apps available on the Android. Already available on the iPhone, the app offers flexibility for businesses to get paid right on the spot with the credit card swiping technology in the phone."

US Operators Partner Up for M-Banking
"Wireless operators in the U.S. have an opportunity to help shape mobile banking (m-banking), a promising service that three fourths of the over 250 million mobile Americans would use if offered, according to a new report from Heavy Reading."

Beyond Mobile: Pitching Accounts via the iPad
"To many banks, the tablet is just another mobile device, but some are finding that the bigger screen gives the iPad and its peers bigger potential. BB&T Corp. is among the first to do so, offering an application designed specifically for Apple Inc.'s iPad that lets prospective and existing customers open accounts, a feature rare among mobile banking apps. It also lets customers perform standard functions like check account balances, pay bills and locate automated teller machines."

Rockland Trust Offers New Mobile Banking Services
"As part of its efforts to continue providing customers the latest in banking technology and convenience, Rockland Trust today announced the introduction of a full range of mobile banking services. One of the most exciting features of the mobile banking suite is a ground-breaking new capability called 'mDeposit'” With the free mDeposit app, Rockland Trust customers can deposit a check into their account directly from their mobile device. The app uses the device’s camera to scan and deposit the check. mDeposit is available on the iPhone® and iPod® Touch, with Blackberry® and Android™ devices expected to be added later this year."

Mobile banking will change your life
"Mobile banking is poised to change people’s lives in ways most of us never thought a bank could. No, it won’t bake a birthday cake, make a run to the dry cleaner or pick your kids up at soccer practice. But it does hold the promise to put your financial life on a more manageable path than even online banking has managed to do. It will help remind you when bills are due, how your checking-account balance is looking, and — if this is what you want — could eventually eliminate the need to set foot in a bank ever again."

Mobile Banking Vendor Updates

Yodlee Announces Global Adoption of Financial Services Platform
"Yodlee, Inc., the leading provider of online personal financial management (PFM) and revenue-generating payments solutions and services, announced details of the rapid adoption in Europeof its Yodlee 10 platform in conjunction with its presentation at FinovateEurope in London today."

Mobile Banking Pioneer Firethorn Shifts Gears
"In the mobile banking business, a one-size-fits-all approach just doesn't cut it, as Firethorn Holdings LLC found out. Now the Firethorn team is focusing on a new loyalty rewards technology. The Qualcomm subsidiary, once considered a mobile banking pioneer, attracted banks that wanted their service preloaded on basic feature phones before the days of the iPhone and other app-friendly devices. It eliminated a lot of the legwork for banks, forming agreements directly with wireless carriers to get apps that aggregated access to multiple financial institutions on their latest phones."

mFoundry Launches mDeposit Express Convertible Mobile Deposit Solution
"mFoundry announced it has launched mDeposit Express, a 'standalone mobile deposit capture solution that banks and credit unions can use to provide customers with an immediate mobile deposit solution, regardless of their current mobile banking platform.' In related mobile banking news, ClairMail announced an impressive 234% year-over-year revenue increase for 2010, along with other assorted growth statistics."

Ericsson launches mobile banking services
"L.M. Ericsson (ERIC) launched its own mobile financial services business today, offering mobile operators, financial institutions and others with a mobile money services that it said can be connected to a real-time, cross-border, cross-currency switching network."

Monitise adds to Visa deal
"Mobile banking services provider Monitise has signed a new deal with its major shareholder Visa, which could lead to forecast upgrades. Visa International owns 14.3% of AIM-quoted Monitise. The extended agreement with Visa announced last summer lasts until June 2015 and there are minimum fees of $16m over the period."

Mobile Banking International Updates - Feb 7

Mobile Banking Takes Off in Kenya
"A new paper by William Jack and Tavneet Suri looks at M-PESA, a mobile-money transfer service in Kenya. Mobile banking has become particularly popular in the developing world, where safe, reliable banking has historically been limited, and often available only to the wealthy. The authors conclude that M-PESA has been wildly successful in Kenya: 'We estimate that M‐PESA had reached nearly 40 percent of the adult population after a little more than 2 years of operation, and that now, approaching only the fourth anniversary of its launch, is used by more than two‐thirds of households.'”

Carol Realini: Davos Hot Topic — Inclusive Growth Through Mobile Banking
"A key theme at this World Economic Forum is inclusive growth. What does that really mean, and why is it important? It means that when developing countries and emerging markets experience growth, the poor people in those countries should participate and benefit. For example, India has 300 million people who are participating in the strong growth that is underway. Their incomes are growing; their wealth is increasing; and the environment they live in is improving. But, the lives of the remaining 700 million people in India are basically unchanged. Inclusive growth means the 700 million will also experience the benefits of growth versus being left out."

Mobile banking- not important to UK consumers - yet
"The UK is lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to the sophistication of its mobile banking services finds Datamonitor. Research by the independent market analyst has revealed that whilst consumers in markets like Africa, Asia, India and Russia have access to advanced mobile banking services, most UK consumers only have access to basic text-based functions like checking balances. As a result UK consumers don’t yet see the importance of the technology."

The mobile banking race begins in Nigeria
"In Nigeria, mobile payment systems weren’t licensed by the Nigerian Central Bank until December 2010 — 2 months ago. So, until this time, mobile payment and transaction entrepreneurs had to be highly creative in order to meet consumer demands – thus the use of mobile credits as cash."

Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 6

Mobile RDC First, Then Banking
"Mobile tech firm mFoundry’s looking to tap a niche’s niche—banks that are warming up to mobile financial services by offering remote deposit capture first, then rolling out full-fledged mobile banking later—by developing a new standalone mobile deposit solution that can seamlessly convert to full mobile. The product is aimed at banks that don’t have a mobile banking offering, enabling consumers to deposit checks via handsets. This app is pre-integrated with mobile banking capabilities, which can be rolled into the RDC app when the bank’s ready."

Mobile banking is primary channel for 13%
"Mobile banking is becoming the primary channel for interacting with the bank for a growing number of users. In May 2010 USAA reported that 38% of their mobile banking users considered mobile to be their primary interface with the bank. Now research firm Novarica has found that 13% of smartphone users consider mobile their primary means to check balances."

Forrester: Banks Must Innovate for Mobile Banking Growth to Continue
"Since 2007, mobile banking has more than doubled in use. According to analyst firm Forrester, this trend will continue, with usage again doubling by 2015, but analyst Emmet Higdon says that a few changes and realizations need to be made for mobile banking to really catch on.

According to Higdon, mobile banking lacks 'any clear differentiated functionality' and 'appeals most strongly to those consumers already inclined to use the mobile channel.' To really gain adoption, says Higdon, 'U.S. banks will need to enhance today's functionality significantly.'"

Finovate so far: the big themes in banking
"Some of the best minds in business are gathered at the London Business Design Centre today to witness cutting-edge financial and banking technology innovations at Finovate 2011. Chris Skinner kicked off the show by talking about what he sees as the top themes in innovation and the things he believes are having the biggest impact on banking."

Heartland Bank Launches iPhone App!
"G. Scott McComb, President and CEO of Heartland Bank is pleased to announce the launch of the iPhone App with Heartland Bank's Mobile Banking. Heartland Bank online banking customers can access their account information via SMS Texting, Web Browsing, or with the Heartland Mobile Banking App from the Apple Store!"

Comerica Unveils Mobile Banking Apps
"Comerica launched a Mobile Banking downloadable application (app) for the iPhone in the Apple App Store, and a downloadable app for the BlackBerry is also available. The downloadable apps for Comerica Mobile Banking allow customers to use their smart phones to securely view balances, check recent account activity, perform funds transfers, pay bills, and locate Comerica ATMs and banking centers, the Company said."

Banks Have Yet to Create the Killer App for Mobile Banking
"Although the use of mobile banking has grown from 5% of the U.S. online population in 2007 to 12% in the second quarter of 2010, according to a report released this week by Forrester senior analyst Emmett Higdon, such that 10 million Americans engage in mobile banking today, banks have yet to create the kind of 'killer app' that will make mobile banking truly appealing to bank customers."

Mobile Banking Updates International - Feb 2

Are you ready for M-banking?
"Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are rolling out mobile banking services, but it remains to be seen how the concept catches up with consumer interest in 2011. Mobile phone penetration is set to reach 60 per cent of India’s population in 2011, but banking touch points lag at about 0.07 touch points per 1,000 people, said a Deloitte-Assocham’s estimates."

Mobile Banking - A look into the future
"Dr Patrick Dixon is often described in the media as Europe's leading Futurist and has been ranked as one of the 20 most influential business thinkers alive today (Thinkers 50 - 2005). In this video Dr Dixon takes a look at where mobile banking could be heading and paints an interesting picture. Who is going to win the coming battle between banks and mobile phone operators?"

There's money in the mobile
"Subodh Mandal manages to make about Rs 200 a day, working hard as a rickshaw puller on Delhi roads. Today he doesn't have too many options to quickly reach the hard-earned money to his family of six back home in Jharkhand. But soon, Mandal will be able to use his cheap mobile phone for sending money to his family within minutes. This will be made possible because mobile operators and handset makers are now beginning to roll out mobile banking services in a big way."

Spanish bank Banco Sabadell debuts mobile remote deposit capture
"Banco Sabadell is enhancing its mobile banking platform with the launch of Instant Check, which the Spanish bank claims is the first mobile remote deposit capture service in Europe. Instant Check lets the bank’s customers make a deposit by taking a picture of a check with their mobile phone’s camera, eliminating the need to go to a bricks-and-mortar branch. The service is already available for several mobile platforms, including iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7."

2011 China Financial Technology Investment is set to be driven by Mobile Banking, Online Payments and Business Intelligence - says Kapronasia
"An increasingly sophisticated customer-base is pushing Chinese financial institutions to change the way they interact with their customers. In 2011, Chinese financial industry executives will be focused on developing more robust channels and customer insight to better interact with clients and understand their specific financial needs believes Kapronasia. These insights and more are detailed in the report entitled “China Financial Technology 2011 – Top 10 Trends shaping the Industry" which details Kapronasia’s predictions on the 10 key technology areas that Chinese financial institutions will be focused on in 2011."

eTranzact sets pace for improved mobile banking
"Considering that anywhere in the world where mobile banking or mobile money is to be launched, the major headache is always how to get all the users key into a compatible mobile phone to carry it on, Nigeria may also break another ground in mobile money when it is finally launched here. This is as a Nigerian electronic switching and payment processing platform, eTranzact International Plc has finally set that hurdle aside, introducing new global and interactive Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD)."

Mobile Payments - Feb 1

Disjointed Mobile Banking, Payments Strategies Present a Challenge
"The current state of the mobile banking payments marketplace can charitably be described as "confused," with at least nine distinct payment models and four banking platforms competing for attention, as shown in the table below. Even this list does not include trivial examples such as using a mobile phone to call a mail-order firm and place an order using voice communications or the use of a wireless modem and a laptop to order goods from an online retailer."

NFC-enabled iPhone 5 to take mobile payments to the next level
"Multiple reports are adding fuel to the fire of rumors that Apple’s iPhone 5 will be embedded with a near field communication chip, a move that could shoot mobile payments into the stratosphere.

The entire mobile payments ecosystem has been ready to go and waiting for a major event to happen to jolt it into the mainstream. With more than 750,000 contactless payments terminals already installed at retailers’ point-of-sale in the United States alone, the only missing component has been an NFC-enabled phone in consumers’ hands."

Card Issuers Face Huge Revenue Challenge: Mobile Payments, Banking Seen as Answer
"'From a bank perspective, here is why we care about mobile payments: debit, prepaid and credit products are predominantly dependent on interchange revenues that could become less profitable, with a huge negative impact on earnings,' says Philip Philliou, partner at the firm of Philliou Selwanes."

A Bubble in Mobile Payments?
"I’m sure you’ve seen it – there’s been so much “buzz” in the press over the last few weeks about mobile payments. Yet, in our partners’ meeting at Glenbrook earlier this week, I told my colleagues that if I knew of a way to short 'mobile payments', I’d be all over it. Follow along as I explain my thinking…and, you can decide whether you agree or disagree with me. Again, my focus in this conversation is on the U.S. market opportunity. I’m not addressing other aspects of “mobile payments” – such as bill to carrier, etc."