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."