International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 10

Leading lawyer on FCA interest in mobile banking
"The mobile banking market is expanding rapidly and Clive Anderson, Director of Supervision at the FCA, stated that it is right that the FCA now takes stock of recent developments and looks at how consumers can be ‘appropriately protected' in the future. Leon Deakin, senior associate at leading national law firm, Thomas Eggar LLP, comments: "Whilst these developments and the FCA's interest is welcome it does again demonstrate that the law and regulation so often lags behind technological developments. Indeed, this sort of technology and the ideas behind it are certainly not new so why has it taken so long to get to this point?"

RBC Mobile Banking app for BlackBerry 10 coming “by the end of September"
"RBC seems to be taking care of the thousands of BlackBerry 10 users in Canada. According to a reply on Twitter the financial institution will be making their mobile banking app available to BB10 users ‘by the end of September.”

BB issues instructions to stop breach of guidelines
"The Bangladesh Bank (BB) Sunday issued fresh instructions on mobile financial services, imposing some restrictions on money transactions to check irregularities and use of the service by non-account holders. The central bank asked all banks to strictly follow its instructions regarding use of know-your-customer (KYC) form in opening mobile accounts. No transaction can be made before the bank concerned scrutinises and approves application of the client/form."

Africa will Rule the World in Mobile Money, Expert Predicts
"African countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania have been predicted to rule the world in mobile money transactions, which include mobile banking and mobile wallet, in the next few years, going by the continent’s population and zeal for technology advancement. Head, Marketing and Strategy at Ericsson, Mr. Shiletsi Makhofane, who made the prediction in Sweden, while unveiling the company’s Digital Agenda for Africa, advised banks and tele-communications operators in Africa to see the opportunities and take advantage of them to boost African technology development."

Latin America Experiments with Mobile Banking
"Latin America has surpassed 100% mobile phone penetration, according to the latest data from World Bank. In reality, about 30% of the population still doesn’t have a phone. (Urbanites with more than one phone inflate the number.) Still, adoption is strong and growing. It follows that banks in Latin America have been embracing mobility: releasing feature-rich mobile apps primarily, and also updating online banking offerings and targeting the unbanked and underbanked."

Kenya: Are Bitcoins the Future of Mobile Money?
"Want to go to the market, pay for a taxi or send money back home? In Kenya, all you need is your mobile phone. Ever since Safaricom, Kenya's largest mobile-network operator, launched the mobile-payment system M-Pesa in 2007, some two-thirds of Kenya's adult population have subscribed, and an astonishing 31% of the country's GDP is now spent through mobile phones."

Western Union Expands Mobile Money Transfer Service to Nepal
"The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, today announced the launch of a new mobile money transfer service that enables consumers to send money into a mobile wallet in Nepal. The new mobile money transfer service to Nepal integrates directly with eSewa, one of the leading digital wallet platforms in Nepal with more than 200,000 registered users. The functionality was developed through the collaborative efforts of Western Union, its Agent Nabil Bank Limited, and FonePay Pvt. Ltd., the owner of eSewa."

Jaiz Bank Partners Teasy Mobile Money To Provide Mobile Banking
"Jaiz Bank, a Sharia-complaint Nigerian financial institution, has partnered Teasy Mobile Money to allow customers access to financial services using their mobile devices. According to Hassan Usman, the bank’s acting MD, the partnership with the mobile service company will extend its reach to citizens, who lack conventional banking services due to its high cost, thus increasing financial inclusions in West Africa’s largest economy."

Mobile credit card 'Swosti' launched
"A mobile credit card named 'Swosti' was launched Wednesday in the country for the first time to facilitate loans for the marginal people who are mainly involved with the non-government organisations (NGOs). Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the new service as the chief guest at a city hotel."

Monitise loss widens as operating costs double
"Mobile banking technology company Monitise Plc reported a wider loss as operating costs doubled due to investments in technology and services and the company's recent acquisition. Shares in the company fell as much as 9 percent to 48.75 pence on the London Stock Exchange, making it one of the top percentage losers in early trade. The stock touched a life high on Wednesday after the company announced two new contracts and Goldman Sachs raised its price target on the stock."

99wuxian joins China’s lucrative mobile market
"Transcription of Finance News Network Interview with 99wuxian Limited (ASX:NNW) Chairman, Ross Benson"

Banking on the value of USSD
"The most obvious option available to banks trying to roll out mobile financial services in emerging markets is to set up services directly with a mobile operator. Indeed, many banks in emerging markets have a mobile banking platform from one of the vendors present in the market. However, they still face the challenge of capturing the hearts and minds of consumers, as many potential customers do not see how mobile banking will affect their lives."

Australians Increasingly Using Tablets And Smartphones For Banking
"Over the next half decade, Australians will increasingly prefer to do online banking using their tablets and smartphones as opposed to the traditional PC says Jason Yetton wh runs retail and business banking for Westpac. Recently the lender revealed it had processed $3 billion of transactions made by its 270,000 iPad app users since the lender rolled out the app less than a year ago. Mr. Yetton added that the desktop computer still dominates followed by the smartphone, the number of tablet transactions is catching up."

Bank Audi awards multi-year service contract to Capital Banking Solutions
"Bank Audi sal - Audi Saradar Group (Bank Audi) has inked a 5-year agreement with Capital Banking Solutions, to deliver software programs to support the bank's complete range of products and services. The lender has been provided with an enterprise license agreement to use Capital Banking Solutions product portfolio for core banking, business intelligence, compliance, customer relationship management, portfolio management, and multi-channel support including internet and mobile banking. Based on the terms of the agreement, the financial technology company will also act as the outsourced technology partner for the lender."