International Mobile Banking Updates - July 30

Fostering Financial Inclusion with Mobile Banking
"The annual growth rates of mobile phone penetration in the developing world have ranged between 30% and 50% or higher, and penetration has been rapidly increasing. In Africa, mobile phone penetration has exploded during the last ten years. Between 1998 and 2009, Africa witnessed an increase from 0.53 per 100 people to 42.82 per 100 people. At the same time, the average price of a 2G handset decreased from USD 150 in 2003 to USD 75 in 2008. Africa is now considered to be the fastest emergent continent for ICT sector growth."

Mobiles becoming dominant for banks
"The growing love affair smartphone-toting Kiwis have with mobile banking is starting to push the desktop PC into second place. ASB is the first bank to reach a "tipping point" where more than half of all customers' online sessions are now taking place on mobile devices. Head of digital experience and commerce Michael Ramsay said the behavioural shift was one of the biggest and fastest the bank had observed in its 160-year history."

CBN to review mobile banking framework to accommodate telcos
"The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said there may be need to review the mobile banking framework in order to accommodate the telecommunication operators. This is in response to analysts question over non inclusion of telecommunication companies in the mobile banking operational plan by the CBN. Kola Adeyemo, assistant director, payment system policy and oversight division - banking and payment system department, CBN, who said this at the BusinessDay Mobile Money Roundtable in Lagos, also said there was need for these telcos to register subsidiary companies, which would be regulated by the CBN."

M-commerce boom in Zimbabwe
"Online and mobile transactions have for the first time surpassed card payments in Zimbabwe after recording 28,3% growth in the month of May. According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s May 2013 monthly economic review, the value of mobile and Internet-based transactions rose from US$283,6m in April to $364m in May, while the total value of card-based transactions rose by 1,3% from $328,2m to $332,6m."

ACI Worldwide to power DBS’ IDEAL mobile banking platform in Asia
"Payment and banking system provider ACI Worldwide announced on Tuesday a partnership with DBS to deliver the IDEAL 3.0 regional internet and mobile banking platform to corporate customers in Asia."

IBM Extends Its Banking Tech Expertise Into Emerging Markets
"IBM is extending its expertise in laying the foundation for banking beyond the established world and into emerging countries. A modern, reliable, secure banking system is a basic requirement for economic growth. For emerging economies, developing such a banking system is both a challenge and opportunity; large portions of their populations may not have bank accounts or use banks regularly, creating an impediment to growth and development."

Online banking brings more customers to StanChart
"Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia experienced a tangible growth in the number of its active customers by over 700,000 over the last 12 months through its new digital strategy of online banking. According to its country head of Consumer Banking Sonia Wedrychowicz-Horbatowska, the growth is important for the bank to stay competitive."

Rise in mobile banking predicted
"Experts predict that mobile banking in the Middle East and Africa will jump from 19.8 million users to 82.1 million users by 2017. Over the last five years, the developing world has experienced substantial growth in the adoption of mobile technology. Emerging markets offer not only new possibilities for traditional banking but major potential for transformative banking, said a statement from Gemalto, a leader in digital security."

Westpac soliciting new ideas for mobile banking apps through a competition
"Westpac is spreading its net wide in the search for fresh mobile banking apps by soliciting ideas from outside the bank through a competition. The bank says it will "crowdsource" ideas for mobile banking apps from New Zealand developers and designers. In return they're being offered the carrots of cash and the chance to "take their app to the world." Westpac says the objective of "the Westpac App Challenge" is for developers and designers to use their experience as bank customers, alongside their professional skills, to make a process or service faster and easier via a mobile app."

Swedes snap up mobile banking
"'The number of people who download the mobile app is increasing and they are using it also once its installed. The app is very user friendly,' Handelsbanken press officer Henrik Westman told the TT news agency. With smartphones now the norm major Swedish banks like SEB, Handelsbanken, Nordea and Swedbank have reported that the number of mobile logins is more than online banking via a computer."