International Mobile Banking Updates - June 4

Visa likely to launch mobile financial services next year
"Visa Inc, a global payments technology provider, is expected to launch its own mobile financial services (MFS) platform in Pakistan next year, according to Kamil Khan, Visa’s Country Manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan. The players already operating in the mobile banking segment will be attached to Visa card, Khan told a group of journalists at a lunch at Sheraton Hotel on Wednesday."

RBI asks banks to expand internet, mobile banking reach
"The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked commercial banks to expand the reach of internet and mobile banking services. 'We are going through an era of technological revolution,' said RBI Deputy Governor H R Khan at a workshop on e-Banking organised by Bank of India here on Thursday. 'And mobile and internet penetration is on the rise in the country. Therefore, banks need to formulate strategies to popularize mobile and internet based banking services.' Khan asked banks to also focus on elderly and pensioners besides urban clientele."

Ethiopia to sign mobile network deals with ZTE, Huawei
"Ethiopia will sign agreements with China's ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd in a "few weeks" to expand its mobile phone infrastructure and double subscribers to 40 million, a senior Ethiopian official said on Thursday. ZTE Corp, China's second-largest telecoms equipment maker, has already been involved in developing phone and internet services in the Horn of Africa nation for several years."

Third world leads first in mobile banking
"Australia may be inching its way towards mobile money via phones and smart cards, but the world leader in this new technology is, of all places, Kenya. According to The Economist magazine, two thirds of the adult population - more than 17 million Kenyans - siphon 1.1 trillion shillings ($A13 billion) - more than a quarter of the East African country's gross domestic product - through what is the world's leading mobile money network."

Self-service banking can kill intimacy with customers: ANZ
"With in-branch banking on a decline, many financial institutions are focusing on their mobile and self-service strategies. But neglecting face-to-face banking reduces these companies' chances of building meaningful relationships with customers, according to ANZ CTO, Patrick Maes. In the US, banks have been on a drive to cut down the number of retail branches as a way to cut costs and respond to the growing mobile banking trend. Australian banks have also been on the same path in recent years, albeit at a slower pace."

VN set to embrace mobile banking
"Tam, who is also CEO of IDG Global Solutions Vietnam and MRD Joint-stock Company, told the Vietnam Financial Times that Internet banking services will rank second behind mobile banking, while transactions using Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) will reduce significantly in the coming years. Wikipedia describes mobile banking as a system that allows customers of financial institutions to conduct a number of transactions through devices like mobile phones or personal digital assistants."

Mashreq increases focus on mobile banking with the launch of Mashreq Max
"Mashreq has launched a new service, called Mashreq Max, which equips salary transfer account holders with a dedicated Samsung tablet filled with dedicated apps that give users access to banking features previously available only at the bank’s branches. It is available to any UAE residents with salaries of at least AED 15,000 per month."

Opinion: Why banking must change its game
"You have 15 minutes to kill. Time to bank. After logging in on your smartphone, you check that your pay has come in, you settle your credit card dues, pay your rent by bank cheque and move money into your savings account. Before you reach home on your way back from work, there is just enough time to locate the nearest cash point and check for discount offers at your favourite lunch spot. This is a far cry from banking of old, and this is only the beginning of what the internet and mobile technology can offer. As device sophistication and network speed increase, so will consumers’ expectations of usability and service. Next generation customers want banking that fits into their lives, not the other way around."

LajanCash: Haiti National Credit Bank incorporates mobile banking
"The National Credit Bank (BNC) launched on Friday, May 24, 2013, at the Royal Oasis, a new product in the banking market, the electronic wallet, "LajanCash." This product will allow any user of a mobile phone to easily and safely make online purchases, receive wages, transfer money, make deposits and withdrawals through ATM machines in the BNC."

Commonwealth Bank of Australia : Introducing new mobile banking innovations in Australia’s most popular digital wallet - CommBank Kaching
"Commonwealth Bank today unveiled two new mobile banking innovations to its two million mobile customers with the introduction of a BPAY QR code reader and card PIN and activation functionality - now available on CommBank Kaching for iPhone. The ability to set and change a card PIN through a mobile banking app marks the first of any of the major Australian banks."

Emirates NBD wins 'eBanking 2013 Excellence Award' for best mobile banking application
"Emirates NBD , a leading bank in the region, announced today that it has won the "eBanking 2013 Excellence Award" at the 18th Middle East e-Government and e-Services Excellence Awards for demonstrating the best mobile applications in the market that helped drive better efficiencies in technology, marketing and entertainment. The award was received by Ahmed Al Marzouqi, General Manager - Retail Distribution, Emirates NBD , at the award ceremony that took place recently at Ritz Carlton, DIFC."

Rapid growth in internet banking usage expected in UAE
"While use of internet banking is relatively low in the region, HSBC sees a rising trend in adoption of technology in the UAE which is expected to grow further, Francesca McDonagh, Regional Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Mena, HSBC, told Gulf News in an interview."

SCB unveils digital banking vision in Pakistan
"Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) announced its digital banking vision aimed at enhancing the customer banking experience in Pakistan. This is part of the Bank’s global focus on ‘Digitisation’-socialising personal banking and extending customers’ digital lifestyle into banking. Bank launched ‘Breeze’, its award-winning Mobile Banking application, making Pakistan the second market in the MEPA region where this application is available."

Brazil to foster mobile banking thanks to central bank's increased powers
"The Brazilian central bank's recent announcement that it will become the official regulator of the country's payment industry also sets the basis for the legal framework for mobile banking in the country, which will benefit banks and telephone operators as it facilitates and expands payment alternatives. The provisional measure introduces the concept of 'payment institution,' a new legal entity that will be recognized as a participant in the Brazilian payment system."

M-banking on USSD likely to get delayed as operators spar
"Full-scale mobile banking services over the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform, a text message-based interactive backbone could hit a roadblock with both GSM and CDMA operators at loggerheads with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on the revenue-sharing model."