Mobile Banking Security - April 29

PNC Weathers Slowdown in Online, Mobile Banking
"PNC weathered a slowdown in its online and mobile services Friday that left some customers unable to access their accounts. The Pittsburgh-based company in the morning took to social media to tell customers it was investigating the problem and working to restore access for all customers. As of Friday afternoon, the bank continued to look for the cause of the disruption. "We do not have more information at this time," PNC said in a message posted on Facebook. PNC spokeswoman Marcy Zwiebel said that some customers continued to be able to log in to their accounts while others experienced difficulty."

Banking Trojans wreak havoc on mobiles
"Trojans continue to wreak havoc on mobiles, as banking transactions are increasingly being conducted on these devices. So said Ann Johnson, RSA Security’s VP for global identity protection and verification, in an interview with ITWeb yesterday. 'By and large, most of our customers today are talking about mobile banking security. The growth in mobile is expected to be about 76% this year, and mobile banking applications have started dominating the market. One of our biggest concerns in that area is Trojans,' Johnson said."

Mobile Banking on the Rise, but Security Concerns Linger
"Consumers are embracing the convenience of mobile banking solutions. A new survey by the Federal Reserve Board found that 28 percent of all mobile phone owners used their devices for banking at least once in the past 12 months. That’s an increase over 2012, when 21 percent used their mobile devices for banking. Naturally, smartphone users have a much higher mobile device banking rate than non-smartphone users. Forty-eight percent of all smartphone owners banked on their mobile phones at least once, up from 42 percent in 2012. The vast majority – 87 percent – of active mobile consumers use their devices for simple tasks like checking balances and reviewing recent transactions."

Mobile malware and your money
"According to the international software house for anti-virus security solutions, G Data Software AG, on average 6 915 new malware strains were created every day in the second half of 2012. According to the report, the number of new malware strains in the tools category, which includes online banking tools, has increased enormously in 2012. Malware is software that is intended to damage or disable computers and mobile devices and includes viruses and Trojans, for example. And the prevalence of malware on mobile devices is increasing rapidly. According to the mobile security company NQ Mobile’s latest security report malware on mobile increased 163% in 2012 compared to 2011."

Action Line Consumer Alert: The dangers of mobile banking
"It’s convenient to make banking decisions or move funds from the palm of your hands, but beware. 'So a couple of quick mobile banking tips in one, always password protect your phone. Two, always delete any text messages that a financial institution sends to you, if they do that,' says Timothy Caminos of the Hawaii Better Business Bureau Hawaii. Caminos says another thing you can do to stay safe, always log out or sign off from an application."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 28

Mobile Banking: The Next Big Thing Is Finally Here
"After years of over-promise, mobile banking has hit a tipping point. With streams of customers in developed and developing countries alike growing swiftly, new business opportunities are pitting banks against tech companies, retail giants and others for control of the electronic wallet. The Aite Group projects that, with rising smartphone use driving more consumers to mobile banking in the U.S., the number of people who will tap their bank account with a mobile device will rise from 33 million in 2012 to 96 million by 2016 – a 30% annual growth rate. The number of mobile bank customers will double over the next two years alone."

WHO LEADS IN MOBILE BANKING: FORRESTER RANKS 15 BANKS AROUND THE WORLD
"Mobile banking success is a moving target: Customers needs and expectations are changing rapidly, and eBusiness teams at banks are sprinting to get ahead of their customers’ expectations. To achieve this, firms are rolling out new features, optimizing existing services, and enhancing mobile experiences. To understand which firms are leading in mobile banking — and to better gauge the mobile banking landscape overall — we used our Mobile Banking Functionality Benchmark to evaluate and rank the mobile banking efforts of 15 of the largest banks in North America, Western Europe, and Australia."

Chase Crowned First Place for Mobile Banking (Again): Study
"JPMorgan Chase took first place for the second consecutive year in a mobile banking functionality ranking published by Forrester Thursday. The research firm evaluated and ranked 15 large banks' mobile banking services, including Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo in the U.S.; Barclays, Lloyds TSB, NatWest and HSBC in the UK; Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and TD Canada Trust; Commonwealth Bank of Australia; la Caixa in Spain, Postbank in Germany, Rabobank in the Netherlands, and Société Générale in France. Chase, which earned 71 out of 100 points, was particularly praised for its transaction functionality. Forrester highlighted how the New York bank offers useful contextual options such as the ability to add a payee for person-to-person (P2P) payments by importing the customer's contacts from his phone."

Access Softek integrates mobile banking tech with Geezeo PFM tools
"Access Softek, Inc. and Geezeo, two proven technology innovators, today announced their partnership. Integrating Access Softek's mobile banking with Geezeo's personal finance manager (PFM) launches the next generation of mobile banking. As a result of this partnership, users will have a single mobile product that combines complete day-today financial operations with planning and goal management. Access Softek's Mobile Finance Manager offers extensive functionality including true real-time deposit capture, bill pay, P2P transfers, and more. Incorporating Geezeo PFM capabilities like account aggregation, auto-categorization, and spending alerts gives users unprecedented personal finance power while on the go."

Mobile Remote Deposit Capture and More Convenient Banking
"Quick now, what is the one technology that presently is revolutionizing banking as we have known it - killing off branches, cutting down on accont opening frauds, and in general changing just about everything we do with our financial institutions? But the real answer is the camera - a mashup that dates back to 1997 when tech guerrilla Philippe Kahn is credited with marrying a Casio camera to a Motorola Startac so that he could snap the first ever cellphone picture which happened to be of his newborn daughter Sophie. And there started the revolution, with every smartphone we know of now featuring a powerful camera as a built-in freebie."

Chase and la Caixa top mobile banking study; HSBC bottom of the pile
"Chase has topped Forrester Research's mobile banking rankings, with Spain's la Caixa proving Europe's top dog and HSBC trailing badly at the bottom of the table. Forrester put the mobile services of 15 major banks from around the world through their paces, judging them on the range of touch-points for access; the enrolment and login process; money management services; transactional features; service features; cross-channel functionality; sales services; and usability. Out of 100, the banks scored an average of 56 points, with US giant Chase leading the pack on 71. Chase scored particularly well - 86 out of 100 - on transactional functionality, thanks to useful contextual options such as the ability to add a payee for P2P payments by importing the customer's contacts from their phone."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 25

Refi Party Is Over, Mobile Money Party Is Just Beginning
"Mobile Money: Anglocentric coverage in today's FT. "For prospective employees mobile banking could prove one bright spot for pay and prospects in the sector," says one story. "Retail banks are expecting mobile banking to be the area where the most roles will be created this year, ahead of branch and internet banking." Another article looks at the competitive threat to incumbent U.K. financial institutions from nonbanks selling phone apps, prepaid debit cards, etc. "Banks will have a hard time coming down and playing in this space because of their regulators," a payments industry lawyer tells the FT. Sound familiar?"

4 tips for finding the best mobile banking
"Mobile banking use is exploding, and banks are quickly adding new services. Last year, 10 million more people signed up for mobile banking, according to Javelin Strategy & Research in Pleasanton, Calif., driven by soaring smartphone and tablet use. And, one-third of the U.S. population is now tapping into mobile banking, versus one-fifth in 2010. But mobile services vary widely. Here's the mobile banking landscape you're likely to encounter and how to choose the best bank and apps for you. Big banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and Citi have led the charge, offering the most robust mobile banking technology, says Mary Monahan, Javelin's research director of mobile. And they consistently head the class in mobile banking service quality rankings, though regional banks are also quickly adding mobile services."

CO-OP Introduces Mobile App for iPad
"Credit union clients of CO-OP Financial Services are now able to offer their members a mobile banking app for the iPad tablet. The new app will let members account balances and cash flow charts that summarize debit and credit activity; account history; transfers; and GPS-enabled access to CO-OP Network ATM or CO-OP Shared Branching locations, the payment CUSO said. In addition, the app enables each credit union to customize with member access to their own hosted web pages for loan/account opening services, rates and promotions; or social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube."

Regions online banking goes down due to "network issue"
"Many Regions Bank customers were without online banking access Monday after what the company calls an 'intermittent network issue.' The bank said in a statement on their Facebook Monday they are experiencing a network issue which is impacting some customer's ability to access their website. Those wishing to access the company's website, Regions.com, were taken to a Network Solutions backorder domain website. 'I've been trying to log on off and on since this morning and it is a different page and says the domain no longer exists. I didn't type any info in because I was afraid I'd be hacked,' says Leanne Eldridge."

Wells Fargo's Big Idea: Shrinking Branch Office
"Can neighborhood bank branch offices works smarter, and not harder? Oh, and can they work smaller, too? Wells Fargo (WFC) aims to find out starting this month. The San Francisco banking giant opened a branch Monday in Washington, D.C., that is one-third the size of the usual and comes well-stocked with such features as mobile banking, new ATMs and image-based bank deposits."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 24

Better Authentication is Key to DDoS, Mobile Banking Protection: Jeff Carter
"'When you don't have trusted identities for accessing your online banking infrastructure, anyone in the wild can make a request, and you have to respond to it,' says Jeff Carter, who ran innovation for Bank of America and the Center for Future Banking, a joint venture between Bank of America, MIT and Harvard University, for six years and is currently chief strategy officer at EyeLock. He has a vested interest: his company's technology scans the human iris to create a "trusted identity" that can be used to authenticate users of anything, including a mobile banking app or online banking site."

Dr. Gavin Michael Joins JPMorgan Chase as Head of Digital for Consumer and Community Banking
"Chase announced today that Dr. Gavin Michael has joined the firm as Head of Digital for Chase's Consumer and Community Banking division. Michael served as the Chief Technology Innovation Officer at Accenture since 2010, where he was responsible for the innovation agenda, technology strategy, and research and development. He will report to Gordon Smith, CEO of Chase Consumer and Community Banking, and Guy Chiarello, Chief Information Officer for JPMorgan Chase. 'We are extremely pleased to have Gavin join the firm,' said Gordon Smith, CEO of Consumer & Community Banking. 'With over 31 million active Chase.com users and more than 12 million active mobile users, it's important that we continue to innovate and provide exceptional customer experience in our internet and mobile channels. Gavin has more than 20 years of experience across Retail Banking technology, including governance, organization, strategy, and innovation. His experience in running large, complex global projects across financial services and consulting makes him a great fit to lead Chase's mobile and digital channel.'"

Mobile banking: Increased acceptance equals greater opportunities for FIs
"Mobile devices have become a part of everyday life around the world, used for banking, entertainment, communication, payments, budgeting and even shopping. A recent survey by the U.S. Federal Reserve focused not only on the general growth in mobile usage but also on the increasing number of U.S. consumers turning to mobile for their financial service needs. Mobile phone and mobile Internet access have become much more widespread in the United States; 87 percent of the population now own mobile phones, 52 percent of which are smartphones. More surprisingly, the Federal Reserve found that 28 percent of mobile phone owners have used their phones for mobile banking in the last 12 months. An even larger proportion of smartphone owners (48 percent) have done the same. The most common uses of mobile banking are to check account balances or recent transactions (87 percent), and to transfer money (53 percent) and deposit checks (21 percent)."

IAB: 58 per cent of Americans use mobile banking apps
"But 52 per cent say they want a concrete guarantee their transactions are safe before using mobile banking more often. One billion people are expected to use mobile banking by 2017, while NatWest and RBS recently strengthened their mobile solutions with in-app customer service tools. IAB now finds that 58 per cent of Americans user their bank's mobile app, while 50 per cent use their bank's mobile website. Meanwhile, 25 per cent are aware of the app and 26 per cent are aware of the site, though they're yet to use them."

International Mobile Banking Updates - April 23

Mobile malware and your money
"You might have anti-virus software on your computer, but have you considered protecting your smartphone or device? According to the international software house for antivirus security solutions, G Data Software AG, on average 6 915 new malware strains were created every day in the second half of 2012. The report states the number of new malware strains in the tools category, which includes online banking tools, has increased enormously in 2012."

bKash Offers Mobile Banking for Bangladesh
"bKash's CEO Kamal Quadir made the case for the e-commerce company at D: Dive Into Mobile, during the last of three "Global Voices" sessions."

ICICI Bank & Vodafone launch new mobile application
"India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Wednesday launched a mobile banking application christened as 'M-Pesa' in association with Vodafone India, one of the leading telecommunication service providers. 'This launch is line with the bank's objective of achieving greater financial inclusion,' said Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director - ICICI Bank."

Mobile financial services: Visa to launch innovative product in expanding market
"Bullish about the mobile banking scene in Pakistan, Visa Inc – a global payments technology company – is soon going to launch its own mobile financial services (MFS) platform in Pakistan, The Express Tribune has learnt. The product will use VisaNet technology and function on ‘interoperability’ model – a first in Pakistan’s mobile banking market. VisaNet is the world’s largest retail electronic payments processing network, handling an average of 150 million transactions every day, according to the company’s website."

South Africa’s mobile money industry remains innovative and diverse
"Mobile Money Africa returns to Johannesburg in May. South Africa remains one of the most diverse regions in Africa for its proliferation of successful mobile money business models being championed by banks, MNOs (mobile network operators), third party providers and retailers. This is according to Emma Pearce, director of the upcoming, annual Mobile Money Africa conference and exhibition, which will again gather the continent’s leading industry experts in Johannesburg from 28-29 May."

INSIGHT: How tech has transformed banking services in East Africa
"In the past, for a customer to transact any business with their bank, they had to make a trip to a banking hall. Not so these days. Customers can carry out business with their bank using mobile phones or via the Internet. Technology has dramatically transformed banking beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar concept. Many Kenyan banks are now offering Internet and mobile banking services. In fact, local banks have been at the forefront (even by global standards) of adopting technology to drive business volumes and enhance customer service."

Are banking apps up to it?
"Do banking apps deliver a full banking experience? LIRON SEGEV rates and ranks the functionality of the big four South African banks as they go mobile. Mobile banking apps in South Africa have seen phenomenal uptake by customers. But are they all things to all bankers? And which financial institution has the best features on its app? I set out to find out by comparing the features of the various banking apps."

Credit union's Deposit Anywhere™: A Canadian first
"A first in the Canadian financial services market, Central 1 Credit Union and three Canadian credit unions - including Meridian, Ontario's largest credit union - are launching Deposit Anywhere™, a new mobile banking application that makes it easy to deposit a cheque using a smartphone."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 22

What Will the Next Generation of Corporate Mobile Banking Look Like?
"'Mobile banking is evolving quickly for companies. This evolution is being propelled by the phenomenal growth in personal smartphone usage. Our clients now want to take the convenience and mobility they have with their personal smartphone into the workplace,' says James Gifas, head of RBS Citizens Treasury Solutions. "Over one third of smartphone owners in the U.S. are using their devices for personal mobile banking, and consumers want their business banking to be just as convenient."

6 Mobile Banking Features on B of A's Drawing Board
"Bank of America isn't generally first to market with new mobile banking features, but when it does offer something new, it draws high adoption numbers and it strikes fear in the hearts of competing bankers, who know their customers will soon start asking why their bank doesn't offer it. Case in point: the bank launched mobile check deposit last August (USAA launched this feature in August 2009; Chase launched it in July 2010). Today, Bank of America has 1.9 million users of mobile deposit, it's processed 18 million check images captured this way, and on average it is handling 100,000 checks per day through mobile deposit."

Mobile banking spurs growth at Michigan First Credit Union
"Michigan First Credit Union is looking for a few good employees, 14 right now to be exact. The Lathrup Village-based financial institution is looking for everything from tellers to human resources professionals to add to its staff of 225 people. However, technology pros are in especially high demand for the credit union. About a third of its new positions have some sort of tech angle, such as software developer or IT professional."

Behold, the next gen of mobile banking
"Like nearly every other industry--entertainment, journalism, personal communications--banking is changing at an amazing rate. It's not a white shoe enterprise anymore, thanks to the nearly ubiquitous adoption of mobile phones and tablets. And banks have better get ready because these tech-savvy customers are already using their phones for checking balances and making payments, and they want to do even more. Those were the words of warning from a senior player in the mobile banking space in an address before mobile finance executives at Mobey Forum in San Francisco."

The Next Steps For Consumers And Mobile Banking
"Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of mobile financial apps and services, but there’s still more that banks and FIs can do to increase adoption. That’s one of the takeaways from a new survey by IAB, InMobi and Viggle, which poled more than 1,200 consumers on their various thoughts and feelings on mobile financial services. Over half of all respondents indicated that they use financial mobile apps, but how many remain unaware of their existence? PYMNTS.com takes a look in this Data Point."

The Nexus of Forces and Software Quality in Banking
"Financial sector software failures fill our news pages – from banks failing to make payments to cash machines giving away free money, these high profile crashes are just the tip of the iceberg. The challenge of ensuring quality of software and IT in the banking sector is nothing new. Banking IT is highly complex, with different systems for both retail and investment banks. A typical banking IT scenario may encompass several different systems from multiple vendors, developed independently and integrated over a period of twenty years. The business supported by the systems is so wide that no single team understands the entire IT infrastructure."

Wallet Wars - May 8th - New York

Wallet Wars
May 8-9th
The New Yorker Hotel

Never has there been so much to play for in the payments space, a revolution is just round the corner. With Square, Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft becoming major players in Wallet space MNOs, Banks and Payment Institutions need to innovate fast to make sure they’re not left behind... 

Click to Learn More

Click to Register Now

• Define your mobile wallet battle plan - Discover how to make a product appealing, accessible, reliable, and to ensure immediate uptake of your solution 
• Add value and bolster your arsenal - Integrating loyalty, coupons, offers and ticketing provides the convenience that will springboard your wallet’s mass adoption, turning it from a gimmick to an everyday essential 
• Discover allies and understand opponents - In this space you need to keep your partners close but your competitors closer. Get to grips with who can help you capitalise on a new market 
• Avoid the minefield of privacy - Realise the potential from a gold mine of new data, while making sure you don’t encroach on your customer’s privacy 
• Grab your share of the market - With the consumer unlikely to have more than one mobile wallet, ensure they choose yours

Mobile Banking Updates - April 18

Capital One, DBS Bank Win Kudos for Private Mobile Banking Apps
"Mobile banking apps from Capital One and DBS Bank of Singapore shared first place in a new study of 50 global banks’ smartphone offerings for private banking clients. MyPrivateBanking, a Swiss research firm, evaluated the offerings of 50 banks. Capital One and DBS received a score of 50 out of a possible 60. The firm awarded second place to Societe Generale of France (with a score of 49). Third place was shared by ABN AMRO of Amsterdam and Westpac of Australia (both earned 48 points). The top scorers’ apps went beyond providing basic account information and transaction features, according to the report."

Infographic: Consumers prefer mobile banking to mobile payments
"Proponents of mobile payment technology, which lets you link a payment card to an app and pay with your phone, tout the convenience of leaving your wallet at home. Yet a March 2013 Federal Reserve survey shows just how far apps like Square Wallet, Google Wallet and Isis have to go to make that a reality. Just 6 percent of smartphone users have made a point-of-sale payment with their phone, while more than a third of them don't see any benefit to mobile payments -- and would prefer to pay with another method. Concerns about security are the main barrier to mobile payment adoption, although they're becoming less of a concern, the survey found. Thirty-eight percent of respondents in this year's survey said they had security concerns, compared with 42 percent in 2011."

Mobile payments: The next great debate
"I find myself at the forefront of many debates these days. And I’m not talking about politics, but rather how we will pay for products or services in the future. A year ago, the topic of mobile payments circulated as mild Internet banter in terms of how money is exchanged across sources, rails and platforms. Today, this complex subject makes its way into daily conversations. When discussing the future of mobile payments, rarely do I observe people who ride the party line. You’re either for it or against it. There’s no such thing as a moderate. And the ever-important question: near field communication (NFC) or the cloud? Is there room for both? And are people actually ready to use something other than plastic to pay for stuff?"

More consumers banking by mobile app
"The explosive growth nationally in mobile-phone banking is giving consumers a critical new option in managing their money, so much so that some Colorado banks say they are scrambling to keep up with the demand. While increases in the use of smartphone technology for banking applications have ballooned by as much as 250 percent in two years in Colorado, some experts think a single security breach could chill some of the enthusiasm."

Liberty Bank offering mobile banking app
"Liberty Bank has launched mobile banking service which now allows consumer customers to bank via mobile app, mobile browser, and text message from a smart phone or tablet. 'The industry is seeing huge growth in the use of mobile devices to access information on the go and to execute banking transactions. Liberty Bank is capitalizing on this trend to make banking even more effortless and convenient for our customers,' says Liberty Bank president and CEO Chandler J. Howard."

Banks Add Card Controls to Their Mobile Banking Apps
"When the president of City Bank Texas asked his IT team about adding a feature that would allow customers to temporarily disable their debit cards through its mobile banking app, senior vice president and chief technology officer Jim Simpson recalls outwardly smiling at him while inwardly thinking, "Is it even possible?" But first, the bank wanted to figure out whether the feature would solve a customer pain point. "We listen to the call center first to [determine] how we build innovative solutions," Simpson says. After getting positive feedback more than a year ago from the unit, the $2 billion-asset bank began working with its mobile banking provider, Malauzai Software, to bring a card control tool to life."

International Mobile Banking Updates - April 16

MoneyGram and First National Bank launch mobile banking in South Africa
"MoneyGram and First National Bank (FNB) of South Africa have launched their first mobile money transfer service in Africa. The new mobile banking service enables FNB customers throughout South Africa provinces to send and receive international money transfers using their mobile devices. The service features data encryption system that protects account holder information. Transactions sent from a mobile device are available for collection within 10 minutes, subject to an agent’s hours of operation and local laws and regulations."

Australian banks need to embrace mobile application users: Study
"By the end of 2013, more Australians are predicted to be using their mobile phones to do banking than their desktop computers, but research released this week shows they are increasingly dissatisfied with the offerings from financial institutions. Mobile marketing firm BanterMob analysed ratings and reviews of Australian banking apps, and found nine of the 13 banks reviewed rated average or below average, and almost three-quarters of user app reviews were negative."

Buggy apps hurt customer experience in mobile banking
"Banks aren’t using online banking properly, Australian mobile marketing firm, BanterMob, has claimed. The group studied 42,000 ratings and about 2000 reviews of Australian banking applications available in the four major app stores. BanterMob director, Kelly Slessor, says the results show high levels of negativity and sub-optimal customer experience."

ABSA launch their mobile and tablet banking App
"ABSA proudly, if a little belatedly, revealed their on-line Banking App for Android and Apple iPhone devices today in Johannesburg. ABSA is the last of the South African big banks to launch their mobile App. The ABSA App will be of huge benefit to all the ABSA customers with smart devices. ABSA said the App would be the first real, native financial services App for smartphones and tablets in South Africa available for both retail and business customers."

ING Direct Canada Looks Forward On Mobile
"ING Direct Canada foresees a world where the mobile channel dominates consumers' interactions with their financial institution, and is preparing accordingly. The bank has been working with Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM on several mobile banking services using IBM's MobileFirst suite of solutions. 'People are using these devices for managing almost every part of their lives,' says ING Direct Canada's CIO Charaka Kithulegoda. 'The movement into managing the financial part of their lives has been a bit slower compared to retail, for example, but now they're starting to do it more and more in financial services as well.'"

Barclays Zimbabwe to launch mobile banking service, Hello Money (updated)
"Barclays will be launching its mobile banking application Hello Money, in Zimbabwe this month. The announcement was made as part of the launch of new ATMs by the company a few days ago. Hello Money will allow Barclays account holders to transfer money to a Barclays account or to an account at another banking institution, airtime top up, mini statements and balance enquiries."

Mobile banking transactions double, payments rise threefold
"Mobile banking seems to be gaining popularity among Indians with increasing number of people using this platform to buy tickets, pay bills, shop online, and transfer funds. The opportunity to expand reach, grow revenues and gain operating efficiencies have persuaded several banks to encourage their customers in using mobile banking. Consider this: The number of mobile banking transactions doubled to 5.6 million in January 2013 from 2.8 million a year ago. The value of these transactions increased threefold to Rs 625 crore during the month from Rs 191 crore in January 2012."

Stanbic IBTC Launches Mobile Money Application
"Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited has announced the introduction of the ‘Stanbic IBTC MobileMoney’ application for smart phones. The product is expected to run on blackberry and android operating systems. Stanbic IBTC’s Executive Director for Personal and Business Banking, Mr. Obinna Abajue, was quoted in a statement as saying that the move underscored the bank’s commitment to provide Nigerians with value-added products and services that suit their lifestyles, while giving them access to basic financial options via a secure mobile application wherever and whenever they want."

Banks in product development race
"AS competitive pressures mount in the banking sector, banks have to devise various safety valves, knowing that there is no single silver bullet for achieving sustainable competitiveness. Apart from diversifying sources of funding, enhancing liquidity profiles, fortifying balance sheets, growing deposit bases and enhancing access to lined of credit, banks are also actively pursuing a product and channel expansion strategy, if the recently released 2012 financial results are anything to go by. Most banks were unequivocal about their growth strategies and clearly articulated them in statements accompanying the results while others offered no clues. During the period under review, Agribank rolled out its first phase of e-Banking products; notably Internet and mobile banking, SMS alerts as well as e-statements. The bank also entered into a strategic partnership with EcoCash to facilitate roll out of mobile money transfer services. Going forward, Agribank intends to strengthen strategic alliances that grow non-funded income.

SA mobile banking fraud on the rise
"The Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS) has noted an increase in complaints as mobile and internet banking fraud increased, according to its 2012 annual report on banking services. In the report, advocate John Myburgh, chairman of the board of the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS), said that the growing mobile customer base has spurred banks to launch ever-more innovative mobile payment options. With an estimated 13-million unbanked South Africans, the potential for such products is immense, he said."

Indian uptake of mobile FS on rise as banks launch more m-payment options
"Mobile banking is gaining popularity in India, with the number of mobile banking transactions doubling to 5.6 million in January 2013 from 2.8 million a year ago. The value of transactions increased tripled to rupees (INR) 625 from INR 191 in January 2012. CICI Bank, which has the largest share of mobile banking payments in India, makes periodic offers to its customers to encourage them to use mobile banking services. The bank produced these figures and has partnered with several service providers to offer customers discounts on their products and services, as well as entered partnerships to allow them to make utility bill payments via mobiles."

Mobile-banking with 1.4 million accounts shows remarkable surge
"Mobile banking in Pakistan has witnessed a reasonable growth as the number of such accounts (M-Wallets) has reached 1.4 million by 2012, showing an increase of 156 % as compared to previous years. The current number of m-banking accounts is seven times higher than the numbers at the end of September 2010. Of the total 1.4 million m-banking accounts, 66 % are active accounts and the ratio of active accounts has increased from 54 % as of end December 2011. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in its report has revealed that this increase in the active accounts is mainly due to increase in the small transaction m-banking accounts by UBL Omni, facilitated by regulatory flexibility in account opening by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)."

Internet Banking to Grow 65% a Year in Latin America
"The number of Latin Americans who have access to their bank with mobile divices will grow by 65% annually in the coming years and reach 140 million people by 2015, according to a Deloitte report released by the Latin American Federation of Banks ( Felaban). The study indicates that the concept of “mobile money” will transform Latin America in the coming decades and remember that in some rural areas access to traditional banking services is still limited because of the high costs involved."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 14

BBB offers top 5 tips for mobile banking
"Gone are the days of waiting in line at the bank or even waiting for your computer to boot up. Now you can access your bank account from anywhere in the world via your smart phone or tablet. But consumers need to be more cautious than ever when banking through any device, as hackers can prey on the unsuspecting. The FINRA Investor Education Foundation, part of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, offers these five tips on how to keep your identity safe and your money in the bank:"

Mobile Banking Continues to Increase
"A late-November study, Consumers and Mobile Financial Services, showed that 28% of mobile-phone owners have used mobile banking in the past 12 months, an increase from the 21% found in a December 2011 study. Another 10% of the mobile owners who are not using mobile banking plan to do so in the next year. Smartphone owners are even more likely to use mobile banking: 48% of smartphone owners used mobile banking in the past year compared with 42% in 2011."

Century Federal Credit Union Launches Mobile Banking Application - Eagle Mobility
"Members of Century Federal Credit Union (CFCU), one of the largest credit unions in Northeastern Ohio, now have access to their accounts 24/7, via CFCU’s new Eagle Mobility – Mobile Banking Application. Eagle Mobility allows CFCU members to securely login to check balances, transfer funds, pay bills and find a nearby location/ATM all on their Smartphone. CFCU members can turn on this service via the Online Banking Portal at http://www.CenFedCU.org or download an Android or IOS/Apple version of the application from their phone’s App Store."

Regions Bank Embraces Mobile Banking
"Regions Bank has just confirmed plans to embrace mobile banking and a multitude of cutting edge mobile financial services in the coming weeks and months. Regions Bank customers can expect to enjoy everything from remote deposit capture to various prepaid features. A January 2013 report from Juniper Research finds that over one billion mobile phone users will have made use of their mobile devices for banking purposes by the end of 2017, compared to just over 590 million this year."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 11

Top Five Tips for Mobile Banking
"In our tech-savvy world, everything is readily accessible and convenient…even banking. Gone are the days of waiting in line at the bank or even waiting for your computer to boot up. Now you can access your bank account from anywhere in the world via your smart phone or tablet. But consumers need to be more cautious than ever when banking through any device, as hackers can prey on the unsuspecting. The FINRA Investor Education Foundation, part of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, offers these five tips on how to keep your identity safe and your money in the bank:"

 Five Star downloads mobile banking app
"Five Star Bank has launched its first-ever mobile banking app. The AirTeller Mobile Banking app allows customers of the Wyoming County community bank to check account balances, view recent transactions, pay bills, transfer funds and locate nearby Five Star ATMs and branches. The free app works on iPhones, iPads, iTouches and Android devices. It may be downloaded from the Apple App store and the Google Play store."

Mobile Banking and Branch Solution Provider Recognized for Innovation
"TRG Mobilearth Inc., a developer of mobile banking and mobile branch solutions for credit unions and banks, was recently recognized by BCBusiness magazine as one of the top 20 Most Innovative Companies in British Columbia. Ranked fourth, the award recognizes Mobilearth for their MobiBank™ mobile banking software as well as their new MobiBranch™ product, a tablet-based application that enables financial institution employees to bring the branch to their members and clients. Mobilearth clients include credit unions and banks across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America."

Swipe to See Your Account Balance with Groundbreaking Bank of the West Mobile Apps, Built on Mobiliti from Fiserv
"Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that Bank of the West, a $63 billion asset bank with locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states, has launched new apps for iPhone®, Android® and iPad®, each of which is built on the Mobiliti™ mobile banking and payments platform from Fiserv. Among the highlights of the iPhone and Android apps is the Quick Balance feature, which enables enrolled users to access their balances with the slide of a finger, without logging into their accounts. The feature is the first of its kind for a North American bank."

International Mobile Banking Updates - April 10

The mobile money space: Bdaily meets Monitise
"The mobile money sector has grown considerably over the last few years. Earlier this year, the UK Payments Council suggested that mobile payments could soon replace debit and credit cards. AIM-listed British firm, Monitise, have successfully built a reputation as worldwide providers of mobile banking, payments and commerce networks. Bdaily spoke with executive vice president, Lisa Stanton, about this exciting technology space."

Exploring the Mobile Banking Revolution in Tanzania
"In most developed economies, people can be forgiven for taking banks for granted. After all, an ATM machine is rarely more than a couple blocks away with easy access to funds. People can easily connect with their banks online to pay bills without ever handling cash, and loans and lines of credit are readily available. In much of the developing world, however, this infrastructure simply doesn’t exist. Thabiso Mochiko recently laid out the latest statistics on the issue at Business Day:"

Kenyans and poor Americans have this in common: mobile banking
"We’ve reported on how people in emerging markets residents are opening bank accounts and paying for things with their mobile phones, transforming business in those countries. But the US Federal Reserve would like you to know (pdf) that the changes aren’t all in other parts of the world. Poor people in the US are some of the most avid users of mobile banking and mobile payment systems. In fact, they’re likely to be the first adopters. And when you look at why, it turns out to be for similar reasons to why people in emerging markets have embraced mobile banking and payments: a lack of access to traditional banking."

Banks warned to keep up with developments in mobile banking or face losing customers
"ANZ, the country's biggest bank, is a laggard in the key growth area of mobile banking with ASB leading the way. This is a feature of research by Optimal Usability, a user research and design company. And Optimal Usability's CEO Kris Nygren told interest.co.nz in a Double Shot interview that another key finding of his company's research was that some customers may move their business to another bank for a better mobile banking experience."

StanChart launches mobile banking application and fifth EBU in UAE
"Standard Chartered has introduced its mobile banking application, Breeze, in the UAE, making it the first market in the region to offer the product. The lender also launched its fifth electronic banking unit (EBU), at new Dubai headquarters in Downtown Burj Khalifa, as part of its initiative in the digitalization of banking operations. Part of its global focus on socializing personal banking and extending customers' digital lifestyle into banking, the bank is considering launching various digital services and technologies in the market this year."

St George launches new smartphone banking services
"The St George Banking Group has released new mobile banking smartphone services with the launch of a live, account-balance Widget for Android phones and the ability to apply for a personal loan via iPhone or Android phone, with a response in just 60 seconds. St George says the new features are available for St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne customers and follow on from a number of other “Australian-first” innovations from its mobile banking team."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 9

U.S. Bancorp's Plans to Remove Friction from Mobile Banking
"U.S. Bancorp, which last month became the first large U.S. bank to offer mobile photo bill pay, hopes that letting people pay their bills with a tap of a smartphone camera will enable it to do three things. 'One is to take away some of the friction,' says Niti Badarinath, senior vice president and head of mobile banking and strategy at the $354 billion-asset Minneapolis bank. Over the next few quarters, the bank plans to further use imaging to save customers having to type their own details into their mobile banking app. 'We want to take away some of the more tedious manual data entry,' he says."

C and F Bank launches new I-Deposit24 mobile banking service
"C and F Bank has rolled out its latest offering in mobile banking, I-Deposit24, which will enable customers to deposit cheques directly to their bank account with their smartphone. The lender said that the new technology provides customers with updated products in electronic banking and a complete mobile banking product suite. Its mobile banking technology and services offer safe, simple, and secure mobile access to C&F Bank accounts. Using the new mobile banking suite, account holders can view their balances and recent transactions, transfer funds, pay bills, receive customized account activity alerts and find C&F Bank branch and ATM locations."

Mobile Banking Usage Rises, But So Do Security Concerns: Survey
"Consumers continue to move to mobile banking although security concerns may keep some bank customers from reaching for their devices. Twenty-eight percent of all mobile phone owners have used mobile banking in the past 12 months, up from 21% a year earlier, according to a survey released recently by the Federal Reserve Board that updates findings of a similar survey the Fed fielded in 2011."

River City launches new bilingual mobile-banking app
"River City Federal Credit Union has rolled out a multilingual app for the Apple iPad that customers can use to conduct mobile banking in English and Spanish. Malauzai Software Inc. in Austin completed development on the app in 17 business days. The company specializes in creating mobile-banking apps."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 7

RBS Group Endures Mobile Banking Outage
"Bank divisions of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group suffered from a mobile banking app glitch for a few hours late last week. The outage affected mobile banking customers at RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank. All three banking units took to Twitter to inform their customers about the technology issue."

Texas Trust Launches Mobile Deposit for Consumer Banking Applications
"Mobile banking has become more convenient at Texas Trust Credit Union with the introduction of mobile deposit. This new mobile banking service allows members to deposit checks in real time from anywhere, simply by taking a picture of the check with a smartphone or mobile device."

Mobile Commerce Market Shows Continued Growth, No Consensus on Mobile Payment Methods
"The report also provides a quick overview of mobile banking, which includes services such as balance inquiries, transfers, bill payments and applying for loans and credit. According to data from Forrester, by 2017 mobile banking’s user base will double to 108 million — 46 percent of all US bank account holders. Mobile automated clearinghouse rules were adopted in the US in January 2011, while a Vodafone-sponsored mobile banking service called M-Pesa helps govern mobile banking transactions in seven developing nations including India, Kenya and Tanzania."

Half of American smartphone owners use mobile banking
"Nearly half of American smartphone owners used their handsets to access financial accounts last year, according to research from the Federal Reserve Board. The FRB's poll of nearly 2600 people late last year shows that 48% of smartphone owners had used mobile banking in the previous 12 months, up from 42% in a December 2011 survey. Of all mobile phone owners, 28% had used their handsets to access a bank, credit card, or other financial accounts, up from 21%."

Regions Bank Rolls Out Innovative, New Mobile Apps That Let Customers Make Deposits, Load Pre-Paid Cards and Select Speed of Funds Availability
"Mobile Banking customers can now make deposits to their accounts using their mobile device. With the introduction of Regions Mobile Deposit, customers can now use their phone or iPad to take a photo of a check and place those funds in a consumer deposit account or load them to a Regions Now Card, a reloadable Visa® prepaid card. The Mobile Deposit service has three funds availability options – a standard option of two business days, an intermediate same day availability option, and an immediate availability option. Costs per Mobile Deposit transaction are as low as 50 cents."

Intuit Making Mint Available to Banks
"Intuit Financial Services announced today it is making popular PFM tool Mint available to financial institutions to integrate into their online and mobile banking services. Intuit, which acquired Mint in 2009, will offer the Mint integration on a limited basis in 2013, before rolling it out to its more than 1,200 financial institution clients in 2014."

Mobile Banking Updates - April 4

Misys introduces new online and mobile banking products
"Misys has launched a new innovative range of online and mobile banking products, Misys BankFusion Digital Channels, to enhance the way banks provide products and services via the internet or mobile devices. Misys BankFusion Digital Channels comprises a range of proven and mature modules covering online banking, mobile banking, personal financial management and internet brokerage, which enable banks to extend their services and add more value to their customers."

BII REPORT: The Mobile Banking Ecosystem Explained
"Over the years, retail banks have innovated to make personal banking more convenient and consumer-friendly. They've built sprawling branch networks, introduced credit cards, and developed automatic teller machines. In its latest evolution, banking is going mobile. With smartphones and tablets increasingly at the center of financial decisions — especially those of younger consumers — banks have to get their mobile strategies right. If they don't, they risk losing business to more mobile-savvy competitors, as well as tech companies like PayPal, that are developing their own payment and personal finance solutions."

HOW TO BUILD A WORLD-CLASS MOBILE BANKING STRATEGY
"Mobile has gotten a lot of attention at banks recently. In fact, other teams in a firm’s organization are starting to feel like Jan Brady, the voices in their heads chanting “Mobile Mobile Mobile!” But there’s good reason for the increased focus on mobile banking efforts: mobile is the most important strategic change in retail banking in over a decade. It is shifting your customers’ behavior, raising customers’ expectations, and opening up new opportunities for banks, their competitors, and new disruptors."

VIDEO: HOW TO PLAY THE MOBILE BANKING REVOLUTION
"I visited Fox Business Network on Thursday, March 21, to discuss my recent column on the “cashless craze” and some stocks that investors can buy to play the trend. We hop around a bit, but the stocks highlighted here include:"

Fed: Mobile banking on the rise
"Mobile banking is continuing to gain a foothold in the United States, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve. The percentage of mobile phone owners using that technology for banking and other financial purposes was on the rise at the end of 2012. Twenty-eight percent of all mobile phone users, and nearly half of smartphone users, reported they had used their devices for banking purposes in the last year. Those numbers represent a 33 percent increase from the last Fed survey on the issue at the end of 2011."

International Mobile Banking Updates - April 3

HDFC launches mobile banking app on Windows Phone
"Windows Phone users in India with HDFC Bank accounts will no longer have to use the browser version of HDFC Bank. HDFC has just launched the mobile banking app for its Indian customers at the Windows Phone Store. The app will allow users to handle their accounts and basically do everything as with any netbanking application."

‘Misconceptions’ stall mobile banking uptake in UAE
"Despite its promise of convenience, mobile banking remains unpopular among many residents in the UAE due to a number of misconceptions, a recent survey shows. In a recent poll conducted by Rakbank that gathered 2,500 responses, over a third of respondents said they don’t find mobile banking to be a secure way to bank, citing that handsets can easily be compromised."

IBM, ING DIRECT Canada team up in mobile banking initiative
"IBM Canada Ltd. recently announced that it is working with ING Direct Canada to deliver financial services designed to improve the bank’s online customer experience including simplified account access across mobile devices and social media channels, voice recognition, and security. The software and services support ING DIRECT's Orange Snapshot initiative, which the two organizations say are 'designed to provide its clients greater control to manage their accounts within their increasingly mobile and social lifestyle.'”

ASB tops mobile banking survey
"ASB Bank has come out best in a survey of mobile banking services by privately owned testing company Optimal Usability. Optimal Usability, which employs 20 staff in Auckland and Wellington, advises companies on customer-facing technology and said it consulted for all the banks whose services it reviewed, with the exception of TSB."

Is it a phone, is it a bank?
"SWAHILI continues to creep into the language of global finance. M-PESA, a thriving money-transfer system run by Safaricom, a Kenyan mobile-phone operator, and named after the word for “cash”, has already entered the lexicon. Having persuaded millions of Kenyans to send cash through an SMS network, Safaricom is now trying to tempt them into a savings-and-loans service called M-Shwari, after the Swahili for “cool” or “calm”."

Ulster Bank mobile banking glitch now resolved
"Ulster Bank has said it has resolved a technical problem that affected customers trying to use mobile banking. The bank is part of the RBS group and the glitch appeared to be group-wide. In a statement, the bank said: "For a short period of time earlier today customers were unable to log into our mobile banking applications."

OFW remittances via online, mobile banking growing
"Majority of the overseas Filipino workers (OFW) send funds home via traditional money transfer services, like banks, but a growing trend is brewing: cash transfers via online transactions using mobile devices, kiosks and automated teller machines. There has been a growing demand for bank account-to-account or purely online transactions, noted Grant Lines, senior vice president for South Asia and Middle East and MoneyGram International."

NatWest glitch leaves customers locked out of mobile banking app
"NatWest has been hit by its third IT glitch in nine months when a fault left customers locked out of its mobile banking app for hours. The problem, which prevented people from logging in, also affected customers of Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, and prompted some to take to Twitter to vent their anger. The three banks' mobile apps have well over two million active users, with at least 13m log-ins taking place each week."

Mobile Banking Security - April 2

Fed On Mobile Banking: Use Is Up, Confidence In Security Down
"The Credit Union National Association's Payments Subcommittee will review the Federal Reserve Board's new mobile financial services survey results, which note significant increases in how consumers use mobile phones and smartphones for banking and payments."

ATMIA Publishes Best Practices for Preventing Mobile Banking Fraud
"ATMIA today announced the publication of a new best practice manual for preventing mobile banking fraud, with special reference to applications linked to ATM systems. Due to the increasing popularity of mobile phones, and in particular smartphones and tablet computers which are capable of full internet access, mobile banking and related mobile commerce has become an important channel for the financial services industry, including the ATM industry."

CONSUMER AFFAIRS: Safer mobile banking
"The latest issue of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s FDIC Consumer News offers consumers tips for safer mobile banking. The FDIC urges consumers to be proactive and create strong passwords or pins and periodically change them. Don’t write down or give passwords or pins to others. Also, ensure that any “time-out” or “auto-lock” features on devices are enabled."