Mobile Banking Updates - Nov 18

PayAnywhere jumps into mobile-payment ring
"Square is on a roll, and PayPal's triangular device is gaining momentum. But a new national mobile-payment service thinks it has enough game to disrupt the fledgling market. In the past year, Detroit-based PayAnywhere has quietly amassed a formidable retail network — Walmart, Home Depot, Amazon, OfficeMax, Sam's Club, Sears and Kmart are among its partners — to sell its $9.95 mobile credit card readers to business merchants."

Bank of America, First Data unveil mobile credit-card processor
"A joint venture between Bank of America and Atlanta payment processor First Data is jumping into the game of turning smart phones and tablets into cashless pay stations. Atlanta-based Bank of America Merchant Services unveiled on Tuesday its Mobile Pay on Demand card readers and mobile applications, becoming the latest challenger in a crowded new niche for processing credit and debit cards for smaller businesses that want to be more mobile or ones that are new to electronic payments."

Visa Moves Banks To The Virtual Wallet
"Earlier this year we forecasted the need for big financial institutions to enter e-commerce as the credit card industry matures. Several tech companies had already entered into e-commerce as a challenge to traditional banking. Visa’s (V) mobile payment program, V.me, recently exited out of beta testing and has announced the cooperation of over 50 banks and credit unions with the service. V.me largely resembles Paypal (owned by eBay) by getting rid of the need to enter all those numbers on your credit card when you buy online. The program is entering an increasingly saturated “m-commerce market” that includes products from the Square, Mastercard (MA), Google (GOOG), eBay (EBAY), and American Express (AXP)."

Bank of America Mobilizes Merchants
"When it comes to mobile banking services, Bank of America has outrun its peers every time. While JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all offer a varied palette of mobile options, B of A consistently offers the most -- and updates these offerings regularly. Having excelled in the customer mobile offerings department, the bank is now moving into the retailer arena, offering a new way for merchants to turn their smartphones and tablets into roaming payment terminals. Though not a new idea, the dongle-based payment system will put B of A in the same space as payment giant Square, and tech biggie Apple."

Has Square Already Won America's Mobile Payments Race?
"Back in January 2011, Starbucks became the first national retailer to offer its own mobile payment technology combined with a loyalty program. It led to more than 100 million mobile transactions occurring in its U.S. stores since the launch. Now, in a move to push mobile commerce even further, Starbucks is accepting payments in some 7,000 retail locations via Square, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's mobile payment app for iOS and Android smartphones."

Mobile Banking – More Than Everyday Transactions
"You may have noticed that much of the recent industry news around mobile banking has focused on everyday banking transactions. The message we’re seemingly inundated with is that online banking is only the first step, and that truly anywhere/anytime processing of everyday transactions like balance statements, transfers, as well as credit, payment and cheque processing can more easily be accomplished with mobile banking. What’s been missing from the story, though, is mobile banking’s significance to high-value transactions, like mortgage openings and those accompanying investment and wealth management."