"Brandon McGee, Industry Insider, Mobile Banking Guru...He is not only the real deal, a genuine industry insider, but also knows exactly what's on the minds of financial service pros as they contemplate the various mobile options." - Jim Bruene, Publisher & Founder, Online Financial Innovations

"Going Mobile. Local executive carves niche as national expert on fast-growing banking-industry technology trend" - Scott Olson, Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ)

"Brandon McGee, the industry's unofficial ambassador for mobile banking" 

Monday, September 30, 2013

Turkish Bank Lets Customers Build Their Own Apps

"Garanti Bank, Turkey's second-largest private bank, has introduced a mobile dashboard called iGaranti that lets users cherry pick the features of their mobile banking apps. The customization capability is similar to the way people pick which apps appear on their smartphones' home screens. 

Garanti partnered with Fjord, an Accenture Interactive-owned service design agency that also counts Citi as a client, to build iGaranti. The platform, rolled out in May, comes with a set of more than 15 apps, some of which are preloaded onto the dashboard, while others are added by the user." Continue Reading

NZ smartphone users ahead of Aussies in mobile banking uptake

"New Zealanders have been slower to take up smartphones than their Trans-Tasman counterparts-but once they get one, they are more likely to bank on them, the latest Digital Universe report from Roy Morgan Research shows. Just 38.6% of New Zealanders 14+ have a smartphone, compared with 59.7% of Australians 14+. But while Australia may be home to over eight times as many smartphone users overall, New Zealand's 1.4 million are more likely to use them for mobile banking activities.

In the first half of 2013, 33.5% of New Zealand's smartphone users did one or more banking and finance activity on their phone in an average four weeks, compared with 30.6% of Australian smartphone users." Continue Reading

A bank in a shipping container: CommBank's new mobile offering

"Mobile banking. It's a must-have in the modern world. Banks are piling in and consumers are lapping apping it up. But CommBank has given new meaning to the term with two fully-functioning portable banks built in shipping containers.

The thinking is that the pop-up banks can be deployed to areas affected by natural disasters and provide cash and insurance advice to families to help them rebuild, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph. It stemmed from CommBank's experiences during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009." Continue Reading

Sub-Saharan Africa to have 160 M mobile broadband connections by 2016

"According to the report, mobile broadband connections are expected to increase almost four times from 2012 to 2016 to over 160 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding that mobile broadband has been driving financial inclusion through mobile banking and mobile money across the continent while supporting new ways of delivering healthcare in many countries.

The Broadband Commission for Digital Development is a joint initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The task force which delivered the report was led by Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson." Continue Reading

FICO Asia Pacific Fraud Forum Calls Bankers' Attention to Growing Problem of Enterprise Fraud

"FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, alerted chiefs of leading Asian banks to the growing threat of enterprise fraud at its annual Fraud Forum in Manila this month. FICO urged the bankers to adopt the latest operational and analytic techniques to fight fraud across such emerging threat vectors as demand deposit accounts, mobile channels, application fraud and merchant fraud, as the region shifts to a post-EMV chip landscape.

The conference attracted nearly 30 of the leading banking fraud and risk executives from nine countries across Asia Pacific, who met for three days to address the growing sophistication of criminals who commit fraud, and the latest approaches to thwarting them." Continue Reading

Success of mobile payments dependent on significant infrastructure investment

"Financial services institutions must gain a better understanding of the mobile payments market, according to Ovum. New research from the global analysts indicates that there is still confusion about how to proceed in the rapidly shifting mobile payments space.

The research highlights that without a clear understanding of the relationship between mobile payments and the existing payments infrastructure, industry players will significantly miss out on the long-term potential of the market." Continue Reading

Geography, Collaboration and Innovation in Canada’s Mobile Payments Market

"MasterCard ranked Canada the second most well prepared market in the world for mobile payments adoption last year (Singapore was no. 1). A big reason for that is the density of mobile payments players located here in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, where I am touring the ongoing development of the mobile payments ecosystem.

Simply put all the companies in the mobile payments industry here are neighbors, and seemingly friends. Toronto is the headquarters of all five of Canada’s big banks, as well as its three major telcos, Rogers, Bell and Telus. It is also the epicenter of Canada’s IT industry; Ontario is home to 50% of the industry’s GDP." Continue Reading

Westpac launches device-agnostic ‘central platform’ for mobile, online banking

"Westpac unveiled today its new digital and mobile strategy, which aims to offer a full-featured banking experience across smartphones, tablets and PCs.

'Our strategy is to be different from our peers, but only to be different from our peers because we believe that’s the way that our customers are interacting with us more and more, and to deliver the best digital solutions for our customers,' says general manager retail bank Ian Blair.

According to Blair, Westpac is making an investment of over $15 million over next 18 months in order to realise its new online and mobile banking strategy." Continue Reading

Mobile banking a key to financial inclusion

"Financial services have become essential for everyone in the vibrant and technology-driven economic and social makeup. About 30 per cent people of the country live below the poverty line to whom having a bank account is a luxury. And about 70 per cent of the population is from rural areas where minimum living standard is hardly maintained, let alone banking and financial services.

Although some branches of state-owned as well as private commercial banks are available in district towns and in some upazilas, it takes time and money to visit those branches from villages." Continue Reading

Tap NAB’s app and bump to transfer funds

"National Australia Bank has become the latest bank to take on peer-to-peer payments, with a new mobile app that will allow its customers to transfer money using a mobile number, email or Facebook message. After more than six months of internal trials, NAB will this week release Flik, letting customers bypass the convoluted process of entering bank-state-branch (BSB) and account numbers to transfer money.

Instead, customers can transfer money using an email address, SMS message, or through Facebook. It also allows customers with compatible Android smartphones to bump phones together using near-field communications technology." Continue Reading

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Chase Keeps Lead in Keynote's Mobile App Scorecard

"Keynote has ranked Chase's mobile banking app the top in its class for the fourth time in a row. The bank's leadership is based on the fact that it offers robust functionality, a strong user experience, and streamlined navigation, according to Susan Foulds, manager of the Keynote Mobile Banking Scorecard.

That said, scoring among the top-tier banks - Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and newcomer U.S. Bank -- is tightening, Foulds says." Continue Reading

New core account must evolve to maintain relevance

"While the core bank account has long been a cornerstone of banks’ relationships with their customers, Celent asserts in a new report that the core bank account must evolve to maintain its relevance in the digital world.

 The report poses a crucial question: In the not too distant future, will the “new bank account” need to have the following capabilities?" Continue Reading

Banking On Mobile Content - With A Personal Touch

"When it comes to online or mobile banking, there is a presumption that most Boomers would just as soon step up to a teller window or go through the drive-through. Reasons range from security and privacy issues to lack of wireless access, to simply having a higher comfort level with traditional, brick-and-mortar banking. In other words, “talking to a person.”

The rapid evolution of technology has led to tremendous differences in channel preferences among the generations. Millennials and, to a slightly lesser degree, Gen X have grown up with technology. The youngest of them can’t remember a time when there weren’t PCs or laptops in everyone’s house and mobile phones in everyone’s pocket. Boomers, on the other hand, are somewhat less comfortable with technology and, though they may utilize it more than ever, still often prefer person-to-person contact, especially when dealing with questions involving money." Continue Reading

Mobility Matters: Fingerprints Coming to Mobile Banking?

"When Apple talks, who doesn’t listen? In mid-September the Cupertino, Calif., tech behemoth announced it would make fingerprint authentication available on its new iPhone 5S and immediately, across financial services, the question was raised: Will this impact mobile banking logins?

At the crux is the realization that the traditional username/password login is broken. There are way too many compromised logins and thus a rush to perfect other forms of authentication, often biometric." Continue Reading

Mobile Channels Are Turning Financial Marketing Upside Down

"How will financial marketers promote banking products when the shopping experience starts and stops purely in the mobile channel? Because that day is just around the corner.

Not long ago, when financial marketers needed to promote a banking product, they knew exactly what to do. They would simply run some ads in the newspaper and sent out a few postcards. The campaign ran, the numbers came in, and voilĂ … success!

But in the next few years, consumers are going to shop for financial services in completely new ways. What will financial institutions do when the shopping experience is 100% mobile — from start to finish? How will banks get people to take out loans using nothing but their iPhone? How can credit unions get new members to open checking accounts purely on a tablet device?" Continue Reading

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Convergence of mobile banking, ATM channels is a given

"It doesn't take a deep examination to realize that the mobile banking and ATM channels are heading toward convergence. And when the fusion of these dominant channels occurs, the consumer should be at the heart of it.

Auriga, Diebold, NCR and Wincor Nixdorf International have all demonstrated their mobile phone-based cardless cash withdrawal solutions. It is interesting to note that all of these vendors have embraced the QR code technology — a clear endorsement for a technology that is secure, low-cost, and readily available." Continue Reading

The Unlikely Leader of Mobile Banking

"It's no secret that banks that fail to embrace online and mobile distribution platforms aren't long for this world. 'There is a broad consensus within the banking industry that digital channels are a crucial way forward,' observed a recent report on mobile banking by financial services consulting company Celent.

What's less obvious, however, is the answer to the question of who is winning the mobile race." Continue Reading

Mobile malware to have doubled in 2013, says McAfee

"The Internet security firm McAfee Labs said it identified 17,000 new unique forms of mobile malware targeting Android-based devices in the second quarter of 2013, a 21-percent rise on the 14,000 new unique strains it identified in the first quarter.

 In the document, 'McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2013,' the Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm said it expects malware strains to double this year from 2012. A key driver in the growth is the proliferation of backdoor Trojans that steal personal data without the victim's knowledge, along with banking malware that attacks user log-in information." Continue Reading

TD Bank Introduces its Mobile Deposit Feature for Android and iPhone Devices

"TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank(R) , recently launched mobile deposit through the TD Bank mobile app for Android(TM) and iPhone(R) , providing customers with a simple, safe and convenient option for depositing checks into their accounts.

Available to all TD Bank customers of at least 90 days with an active checking, savings, or money market account, TD Bank Mobile Deposit offers the capability to deposit a check from anywhere at any time." Continue Reading

Citi Launches Mobile Innovations: CitiDirect BE Payment Advisor and Payments Directory Mobile

"Citi has launched two new efficiency applications for financial institutions that are available on mobile devices – CitiDirect BE Payment Advisor and Payments Directory Mobile.

CitiDirect BE Mobile Payment Advisor is a mobile-enabled application that allows banks, their customers, or third parties to track the status of a payment at any time and from any mobile device, similar to tracking the status of a package." Continue Reading

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Newsbyte: SAP Research Shows Mobile Consumers Demand Mobile Banking 2.0 as They Embrace More Complex Transactions

"SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced the findings of a global study across 17 countries on cultural, economic and technology trends impacting consumer mobile appetite and how addressing consumer concerns can expand the opportunity and motivate greater use of mobile commerce services.

The research shows that globally consumers are increasingly utilizing mobile devices for banking transactions and account management. Half of the respondents surveyed turn to their devices to pay a bill (55 percent), make a bank transfer (52 percent) and set up a new account (48 percent). The announcement was made at the SAP Financial Services Forum North America, being held on September 18-19 in New York City." Continue Reading

New banking opportunities arise to address mobile-only users

"While traditional banking is not going anywhere anytime soon, mobile is creeping up as a primary choice for banking, with some banks even going branchless in favor of the new medium.

Two banks, Simple and ING Direct, offer consumers branchless banking that emphasizes the consumer need for transacting at any time and from any place. Mobile has opened up new possibilities in the realm of banking and is pushing to the forefront of the vertical." Continue Reading

Barclays Gets Into the Mobile Payments Game

"Barclays has launched a mobile checkout feature that allows users to make purchases from a mobile web or checkout page, as well as a "buy" feature that allows consumers to purchase from as advertisement via QR code for their Barclays Pingit mobile application.

The mobile checkout feature allows consumers to pay without entering a large amount of personal details often difficult to type in on a mobile device, the bank said." Continue Reading

Clear majority of Canadians banking by mobile - BMO

"According to the BMO Mobile Banking Survey released today, the majority of mobile owners in Canada take advantage of financial apps with two-thirds (69 per cent) of respondents saying they began using them within the past year. The survey, conducted by Pollara, revealed:

In total, 68 per cent of Canadians own a mobile device, with 70 per cent of those saying they use mobile banking apps Those who use mobile apps for banking use them frequently, with nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) saying they use them on a weekly or daily basis." Continue Reading

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Omnichannel banking requires retooling digital architectures

"Much has already been written about the transition between multichannel to omnichannel strategies of offering products and services to customers. As a result, more is starting to be written about exactly how to effect that transition. To recap: Multichannel banking generally is seen as the ability to offer certain banking functions through a number of different access points.

These can include the traditional branch, call center, online banking, ATMs, and mobile banking. In most applications, some consideration is given to making sure the customer’s perception of the bank is consistent in each channel. In the advanced applications, some consideration is given to making customer data commonly available from one channel to the next." Continue Reading

American Banker Mobile Banking Index Shows Steady Growth

"American Banker’s Mobile Banking Intensity Index (MBII), a monthly measure of mobile banking deployment and adoption in the U.S., revealed a continued expansion in the June reading of 72.5, although at a slower pace than the growth experienced in May at 73.8.

The index was developed by the Research unit of SourceMedia, a diversified provider of B2B news, analysis and marketing services and owner of American Banker, in partnership with Verizon." Continue Reading

U.S. Bank Enhances Mobile Experience with Western Union in First-of-Its Kind Offering

"U.S. Bank and Western Union are collaborating to expand Western Union Money Transfer(R) services to U.S. Bank customers via online banking and, for the first time, through mobile banking. This makes U.S. Bank the first bank in the United States to seamlessly integrate the Western Union(R) global money transfer capability directly into its mobile banking application ("app").

 U.S. Bank has offered Western Union Money Transfer services through its branches since 2009 providing its customers the ability to send money to more than 500,000 Agent locations in 200 countries and territories. Now, customers can take advantage of the same services from their mobile app, and, over time, through their online banking portal." Continue Reading

FreedomPay Showcases Payments Platform as a Service to Banking Industry at Sibos

"FreedomPay®, creators of the world’s most innovative commerce platform, joins Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) at SIBOS 2013 to introduce Payments Platform as a Service. This cloud-based payments and incentives solution takes advantage of the FreedomPay Commerce Platform™ to deliver mobile payments, offers, digital wallet and commerce solutions with banking-grade security through an alliance with Microsoft." Continue Reading

Monday, September 23, 2013

Banks outsource IT to improve operating efficiency, reduce cost

"With increasing competition, emerging customer demands, regulatory interventions, technology-led disruptions and higher shareholder expectations, Indian banks are being forced to constantly review and revisit their operating models and constantly optimising the use of technology and other alternate channels as the change agent.

For instance, the number of mobile banking transactions doubled to 5.6 million in January this year, from 2.8 million in January 2012. The value of these transactions increased three-fold to Rs 625 crore during in Juanuary, from Rs 191 crore in January 2012. Banks have either centralised mid/back office processes through a shared services centre or have outsourced their technology requirements to a third party. Going forward also, banks are expected to continue with this focus, gaining thereby huge cost advantages, said the latest CII-KPMG banking report." Continue Reading

Avoid These 10 Biggest Risks Of Mobile Banking

"Bangalore: The pace of life is increasing, so is the need of people to adjust with it. ‘The quicker the better’ is the latest slogan and as such people rely a lot in technology to make their life better. The major influence of technology can be seen in banking sector that evolved over the years.

Gone are the days when people used to queue in front of banks to deposit a check or fulfill a mere banking formality. But now the trend is of mobile banking. But like most of the stories have a flip side, so thus mobile banking, reports Sienna Kossman of U.S. News." Continue Reading

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." Continue Reading

Consumers set to Zapp mobile payments

"Consumers will be able to use their mobile smartphones to pay for goods at thousands of stores across Britain from next year. A deal between mobile phone app company Zapp and payments firm Worldpay, which provides card machines at tills and payment software for online retailers, will allow retailers to accept payments from your mobile.

Among the first stores which have signed up to the scheme are WH Smith, Lidl, Superdrug and McDonald's. Due for launch in summer 2014, the app will work by using a code sent to a customer's smartphone when they are at the till or online checkout. Alternatively, customers will be able to scan a code into the handset from a bill in a restaurant or the screen on a modern card machine." Continue Reading

Life more mobile with mobile banking

"Initiatives taken by the Bangladesh Bank to ensure financial inclusion deserve mention. In the financial sector, the concept of mobile banking is being applied impressively to bring a large number of people under the umbrella of banking and to let them enjoy the ease of modern technology." Continue Reading

Sunday, September 22, 2013

5 Ways Mobile Banking Is Evolving: Finovate

"The financial technology industry gathered this past week in New York City for Finovate Fall this week, and, as one would expect, mobile was a dominant theme among the new solutions unveiled.

A number of solutions on display were aimed at simplifying and optimizing the mobile experience for both bank employees and customers." Continue Reading

Study breaks down mobile banking demographics

"A recent study by the Pew Research Center indicates that more consumers are taking advantage of the simplicity, ease, and convenience of online and mobile banking.

The report found that 51 percent of American adults and 61 percent of Internet users use online banking. It also discovered that 32 percent of adults have turned to their mobile devices for their banking needs.

 The number of Internet banking users saw a jump of 5 percent since the same survey was conducted by Pew in 2010. But the more remarkable increase occurred in mobile banking over the same time period. In 2011, only 18 percent of adults used mobile banking." Continue Reading

iPhone 5S's Powerful New Chip Could Spawn Next-Gen Apps

"The most significant aspect of Apple's forthcoming iPhone 5S smartphone, some say, is the powerful new processor it will contain. The A7 chip has a 64-bit architecture, which could allow applications to handle large data sets more efficiently.

This brings opportunity and challenge for mobile banking app developers, who could take better advantage of customers' location data, data gathered from nearby sensors and other data sources in real time. They will need to rewrite their programs in order to take advantage of the faster processor." Continue Reading

FirstMerit Bank introduces mobile banking for business customers

"If you’re a business customer with FirstMerit Bank – the bank that acquired the former Flint-based Citizens Bank in April 2013 – you can now handle most of your banking on your mobile device.

FirstMerit Corp. introduced mobile business banking for business customers on Friday, Sept. 13, through both downloadable mobile banking apps and Short Message Service text banking features." Continue Reading

Friday, September 20, 2013

Mobile Money Transfers to be Driven by Emerging Markets

"A report from Juniper Research has revealed that mobile money transfers will reach a total of 389 million users by 2018. The use of such services in Asian and African nations will drive this huge rise in usage, which initially sounds surprising until we dig deeper into the issue.

The key reason for this is that the banking systems in many of these nations are not highly developed or widely used. For example, in Tanzania only 17% of people have a bank account whilst more than 66% of the population own a mobile phone. Many networks are keen to exploit this, following the success of M-PESA’s mobile money transfer services in Kenya." Continue Reading

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 19

Citibank exec: Tablet moves beyond being a lean-back device
"A Citibank executive at the Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013 said that the company is adapting its mobile banking efforts to meet the evolving consumer relationship with tablets. In the session “How mobile and tablet banking is rapidly evolving customer relationships,” the exec explained how tablets are becoming more of an on-the-go device that drives the need for improved mobile banking offerings. Citibank views tablets and smartphones as part of a larger ecosystem that blends multiple channels to provide consumers with a seamless banking experience."

Banks May Soon Earn Ad Dollars from Mobile Platforms
"Millennials dominate mobile banking, according to a Nielsen study Telmetrics released this week, the xAd/Telmetrics U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study. (Millennials are people born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.) The report shows that nearly half of all mobile banking users are under the age of 35, and one-third indicated that smartphones were the most important device for their banking needs. Nielsen surveyed 2,000 smartphone and tablet users in the U.S. about their "path-to-purchase" behavior on mobile devices, as it did last year. This year for the first time, the company gathered information about consumers' use of mobile and online banking."

Mobile payments study kicks off 2013 research series on consumer payment, banking trends
"Mercator Advisory Group has released the first of eight studies in its CustomerMonitor Survey Series 2013 Insight reports — "Mobile Payments 2013: Young Adults and Minorities Take the Lead." Findings are based on primary research gauging consumer behavior and preferences in regard to various payment methods and banking channels. The survey included 3,003 consumers in a representative sampling of the U.S. census demographic profile of American adults. Surveys were conducted online between May 28 and June 6."

5 Ways Mobile Banking Is Evolving: Finovate
"The financial technology industry gathered this past week in New York City for Finovate Fall this week, and, as one would expect, mobile was a dominant theme among the new solutions unveiled. A number of solutions on display were aimed at simplifying and optimizing the mobile experience for both bank employees and customers. The notable prevalence of mobile-first solutions showed how quickly innovation occurring in the mobile channel, and pointed the way towards a future where consumers can conduct most of their financial lives on their tablets and smartphones. We take a look at a number of solutions from the conference that show new use cases for mobile and improve the customer experience."

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 18

HSBC customers hit by online banking outage
"Customers of HSBC were unable to access online banking for a period of time this morning due to an IT-related failure. Customers vented their frustrations on Twitter on Friday, complaining that they are unable to access their online and mobile banking accounts. Laura Harper ‏(@LauraJHarper24) tweeted: '@HSBC_UK_Help please can you sort out your online business banking. Going very slow this morning & I have people waiting to be paid!'"

Bank? What bank? Orange, Visa and the changing face of Africa's mobile money
"In a bid to expand its reach into Africa — in many ways the unexplored continent for financial services — US-based Visa has cut a deal with mobile giant Orange, bypassing the formal banking sector and taking advantage of a very African innovation. As of last month, subscribers to Orange's mobile money system, Orange Money, in Botswana have been able to link their mobile money accounts to the Visa network, opening up access to Visa's services even to those with no bank accounts at all."

Kiwibank Business wins top award with a 'stand-out' entry; planning SME mobile banking app for October launch
"Kiwibank has taken out the Supreme Award at the 2013 AUT Business School Excellence in Business Support Awards held last night in Auckland. It beat 41 finalists in the only national performance measure available to the business support sector. Winners were announced in 11 categories, with the Supreme winner chosen from amongst them."

Cosmos Bank launches mobile banking
"In yet another achievement, the fastest growing Urban Co-op Bank Cosmos launched mobile banking service for its customers on last Saturday at the hands of Shrinivas Patil, Governor of Sikkim. The Chairman, Krishnakumar Goyal, Vice-Chairman, Milind Kale, Managing Director, Vikrant Ponkshe, Jt. Managing Director, Suhas Gokhale, Directors of the Board, Members and Customers of the Bank were present for this function. In his inaugural speech, Governor Patil invited Cosmos Bank to open its branches in Sikkim. He also proposed that the bank should spread the web of its branches in North and North-East India too. Governor Patil alsohoped Cosmos Bank will reach the topmost position amongst the co-operative banks."

Kapital Bank launches a mobile banking application built on TranzWare Mobile Banking for Apple iOS smartphones
"WiKapital Bankth help from Compass Plus, Kapital Bank (Azerbaijan) has finished building their own mobile banking application for iOS, and successfully published it on the Apple App Store. The new application is built on TranzWare Mobile Banking and enhances the previously developed applications on the same platform for Android and Java. The application will increase the number of people using the mobile banking system, which can now be fully operated on all Apple mobile devices. This will result in improving the quality of provided services and expanding the remote banking capabilities for Kapital Bank’s customers."

Is Mobile Banking Safe And Cyber Secure In India?
"Mobile banking in India is moving towards an acceptance level. However, till now very few people and institutions are comfortable in using mobile banking in India. Mobile banking in India is still not popular according to RBI. There are certain shortcomings of mobile banking in India that are still left unaddressed. For instance, mobile governance in India is still not well established. M-governance in India is essential before mobile banking can be successfully implemented in India. We have no regulatory framework for m-governance in India."

Electronic, mobile fuels FNB growth
"FirstRand has reported its financial results for the year ended June 2013, noting 20% growth in normalised earnings to R15.3 billion, up from R12.7 billion in 2012. FirstRand’s main retail and commercial division, FNB, contributed the largest portion to the group’s earnings, reporting a 22% rise in normalised earnings to R8.16 billion, up from R6.67 billion in 2012. FirstRand’s other divisions – Rand Merchant Bank and WesBank – reported a 21% and 10% jump in earnings, respectively."

Top Image Systems Recognized as a "Sample Vendor" in Gartner Hype Cycle for Digital Banking 2013 
"Top Image Systems Ltd. TISA, a leading ECM (Enterprise Content Management) and BPM (Business Process Management) and mobile image processing solutions provider,announces that the Company was included as a sample vendor in the Mobile Commercial Remote Deposit Capture and Mobile Consumer Remote deposit categories listed in the "Hype Cycle for Digital Banking, 2013" by Alistair Newton published on July 31, 2013 by Gartner, Inc.. Top Image Systems develops and markets a broad portfolio of mobile content processing solutions, including MobiCHECK for mobile remote deposit capture, MobiPAY for bill payment via mobile devices and the MobiFLOW platform for capture, recognition and processing of structured and unstructured data in files of virtually any size and format. Top Image Systems' mobile content processing solutions are fully integrated with its industry-leading eFLOW(R) multichannel intelligent content capture, workflow and delivery platform."

Retailers to accept 'mobile' payments next year
"Shoppers will next year be able to use their mobile phone to pay in just 12 seconds at stores such as WH Smith, Lidl, Superdrug and McDonald's, The Telegraph can disclose. A major deal has been struck to allow thousands of retailers across Britain to support Zapp, a new mobile phone payment app backed by Britain’s biggest banks."

Banking on the move
"Mobile banking is a bridge that can connect unbanked and underbanked segments to a plethora of financial services. Research indicates that half the world is underbanked and uses informal channels to access financial services, whether it be saving or borrowing money or sending money home. In addition, a lack of formal tools and services drives the underbanked to carry and use physical cash to conduct all financial transactions. Contrary to conventional wisdom, ‘unbanked’ does not necessarily mean that they lack financial access. This is especially true for the population at the bottom of the pyramid, who at times prefer to use informal channels despite having access to formal services."

Why mobile banking is more on paper and less on mobile
"'There is substantial potential for mobile based payments,' said Raghuram Rajan in his first speech after taking over as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. True, there’s surely potential for mobile-based payments in India. But the question is how long will it take for us to fully use that potential? 'There are a large number of registrations, but if you see the number of transactions are not corresponding to the number of registrations. It’s mostly the urban immigrant workers who use mobile payments/banking most,' a head of transaction banking with a PSU bank told Firstpost on the condition of anonymity."

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 17

Are mobile banking apps secure?
"A recent experience with a credit card app has a Wake County man questioning if his account information is secure when using his cell phone. You can access these mobile banking apps on your smart phone and tablet. Justin Frechette wanted to check his Capital One credit card account, but instead he was able to see someone else's activity. 'Logged in made sure the payment I recently made posted to the account and that the account balance was zero,' Justin said. But he didn't see a zero balance. Instead, lots of charges that didn't belong to him."

BofA's Mobile User Gains Follow Xoom, Industry Shift
"Bank of America's (BAC) mobile user gains come amid an industry shift that is reducing the need for branches and ATMs and lifting mobile payment firms like Xoom Corp. (XOOM) and Western Union (WU). BofA saw its mobile users jump 28% to 13.2 million from the second quarter of 2012 to Q2 2013, according to a presentation Wednesday. Mobile transactions are up 4%. Meantime, the lender has reduced its banking centers by 5% to 5,328 nationwide, and direct-contact transactions have fallen 12%."

Hottest tech sector is all about money
"Finovate, the giant financial technology conference, blew into town yesterday, selling out the Manhattan Center on West 34th Street. Among the hottest trends this year were applications and products for banks, and—perhaps not surprisingly—fraud prevention systems. As more of the nation's banking system moves online, preventing fraud is an increasing concern for executives. 'All the thought leaders are here,' said Sunil Madhu, founder and CEO of Manhattan-based fraud prevention startup Socure, which sells its service to companies. Its service is aimed at allowing banks to verify consumers' identities."

Yalamanchili ships white-label mobile wallet app for banks
"Global payments solutions provider, Yalamanchili, has launched a white label mobile wallet application for global banking and financial institutions operating on its next generation payments platform. The wallet provides Yalamanchili's clients with a comprehensive and fully customisable mobile banking facility capable of supporting international money transfers, the management of multiple card accounts and a variety of mobile value added services, rewards and location based offers."

SIMPLE WILL START GRANTING VENMO USERS EARLY ACCESS TO ITS MOBILE BANKING APP
"Venmo, the popular payments app that lets friends pay each other via mobile for free, is offering its users early access to Simple, the mobile banking app that offers the same amenities big banks do, like checking accounts and debit cards, but without the traps of hidden fees and high interest rates. Simple and Venmo previously partnered in July, when Simple became the first banking service to offer its customers Venmo Touch, which allows you to make payments in third-party apps with a single tap."

Mobile banking expert Wolman to speak at ISU
"David Wolman, a contributing editor for Wired.com and author of "The End of Money," will speak about the impact of going cashless at a free lecture Sept. 19 at Iowa State University."

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 15

Digital strategies must pass the ROI test
"Large investments in emerging services like mobile and online do not always translate into higher customer satisfaction or even high financial performance, says Javelin Strategy and Research in a recent report. The firm also released a new competitive benchmark service, Outperform, which is a result of analyzing over 20 leading financial institutions. It provides insights to improve each banks’ return on investment on emerging bank services—mobile and online banking services."

Banking leads on-device conversion
"Banking and finance has the highest level of mobile conversions of any category at 54%, according to new research which also shows that half of US mobile banking and finance activity is transactional, and half search and browsing. The findings form part of the Annual US Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study, from xAd, the mobile advertising platform, and Telmetrics, the call measurement company. This is based on data from an online survey of 2,000 US smartphone and tablet users and observed consumer behaviors from Nielsen's Smartphone Analytics Panel of 6,000 Apple and Android users."

First Hawaiian Bank Now Offering "Mobile Deposit"
"First Hawaiian Bank will begin offering Mobile Deposit, an innovative service that allows customers to deposit checks using their smartphones or iPads, according to an announcement today by Bob Harrison, the bank’s president and chief executive officer. Mobile Deposit is yet another feature of FHB Mobile Banking and represents the latest addition to a long list of electronic banking convenience offerings by the bank. The easy-to-use Mobile Deposit feature lets you take a photo of a check and deposit it directly into your eligible FHB checking account using an iPhone, iPad or Android mobile device."

Consumers Will Use Your Digital Channels, But They Won’t Necessarily Love You
"Large investments in mobile and online services do not always translate into higher customer satisfaction or improved financial performance. There is little correlation between consumers’ adoption of banking technologies and how satisfied they are with their banking provider, according to a bank-by-bank comparison analyzing over 20 leading financial institutions, Javelin Strategy & Research."

Statewide FCU Expands Beyond the Branch with Mobile Branching App
"Statewide Federal Credit Union looks to increase its member reach by launching its first mobile branch. In partnership with Vancouver, BC-based TRG Mobilearth Inc., Statewide is set to go live with the tablet-based MobiBranch app, enabling employees to leave the branch and perform branch functions like new accounts, loan and mortgage applications anywhere their members live, work or play."

Tips to Avoid Online Banking Security Threats - Tip Sheet by SecuritySystemReviews.com
"There’s no doubt about it—online banking is a tremendous convenience. It offers users the opportunity to quickly and easily complete transactions from their home computer, smartphone or mobile device, without having to take the time to visit a bank. Most banks take tremendous precautions to ensure mobile banking programs are as safe and secure as possible, but as a consumer, there are still steps that can be taken to keep financial and personal information secure. In fact, many people don’t realize that even though they may have the best home security systems, the biggest threat of theft often comes from computer-based sources."

Paydiant Banks $15M, Shows Patience in Mobile Payments
"You hear a lot about the Series A funding crunch for startups these days. But just as telling, maybe even more so, is the Series B crunch. And the Series C crunch. For New England tech startups, there’s a fair bit of seed funding going around—and growth capital, too—but less money seems to be flowing to the middle, into the fledgling companies that are trying to become, well, real companies."

Mobile-First Banking App Numbrs Bags Further $3.8M For U.S. Launch
"Numbrs, the mobile-first banking app founded out of Swiss company builder Centralway, has raised a further $3.8 million from its parent — money that will be ring-fenced for a planned U.S. launch early next year. In addition, the young startup is opening a New York office for which it’s hiring a marketing team. The new investment adds to the original $7.7 million put into Numbrs by Centralway to continue making headway in Germany, while I’m told that the previously announced plans to enter the UK market this Fall are still on track, including moving into a London office in the next few weeks, to be shared with Centralway and another of its portfolio companies, Sandbox Network. (In fact, they’ll be based at Summerset House, sharing the newly-developed top floor with hail-a-cab startup Hailo.)"

Mitek Rolls Out Mobile Photo Account Opening
"Mitek Systems (MITK_) is taking another major step in the development of a fully featured mobile banking platform with the Tuesday rollout of its Mobile Photo Account Opening product. Mitek is the leading developer of smartphone camera-based mobile banking applications. The company had 1,059 financial institution customers for its Mobile Deposit product as of June 30, increasing a remarkable 19% from 889 the previous quarter. Among signed customers for Mobile Deposit, 559 had deployed the service as of June 30at the end of the second quarter, include the largest 10 U.S. retail banks."

Millennials Rule in Mobile Banking - According to xAd/Telmetrics Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study
"Proving the strongest on-device conversion category to-date in this year’s xAd/Telmetrics Mobile Path to Purchase Study, Banking & Finance mobile users are heavily ruled by Millennials. Nearly half of all mobile bankers were under the age of 35 and one-third indicated that smartphones were the most important device for their banking needs according to the overall Banking & Finance category findings—conducted by Nielsen."

Has mobile payment bug bitten you yet?
"It looks like more and more people are getting used to making payments using their mobile phones. According to data to National Payment Corp. of India (NPCI), the nodal agency to manage and promote retail electronic payments in India, till August 2013, 846,000 transactions have taken place through immediate payment system (IMPS) compared with 93,715 in September 2012, a jump of at least eight times. And this is only part of the story since it’s only one mode of mobile payment system we have considered here."

Malauzai Software Adds PFM Elements to iPad SmartApps With Launch of Better Mobile
"Malauzai Software Inc., a provider of mobile banking SmartApps for community financial institutions, has enhanced its mobile banking SmartApp for iPad devices with the Better Mobile suite, which includes personal financial management (PFM) functionalities. The Better Mobile addition to the iPad SmartApp gives users access to basic PFM features that are most used by consumers. The Future Cash Calendar displays money movement on a visual calendar and calculates what the balance will be on each date. Transaction history is shown in Cash Flows as a simplified bar chart indicating “money in” and “money out,” providing a visualization of how money is used during a given time period. Scratch Pad notes paper checks and other transactions not yet withdrawn and accounts for them in the balance."

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 12

Increase Mobile Banking Adoption
"Yes, more consumers are using mobile devices - A 2012 Federal Reserve mobile financial services study indicated that the majority of American consumers use some form of technology to interact with their financial institutions. Yes, more customers are using mobile banking - The Fed survey found 21 percent of mobile phone owners have used mobile banking in the past 12 months; 11 percent of those not currently using mobile banking think that they will probably use it within the next 12 months. Yes, there is cost savings for the financial institution - The average financial institution can save almost $50 annually with each customer that uses mobile over branch for a single monthly deposit, according to a recent Javelin Strategy &. Research study. For the typical institution, an in-person transaction costs S4.25 while a mobile transaction costs about 10 cents."

Mobile money - what the future holds
"In this episode we are talking to the biggest mobile money specialist in the world, they're called Monitise and they aim to make money totally mobile across the globe. They give us an interesting insight into the progression of mobile transactions and to tell us more we speak with, Andrew Griffin, SVP for Industry and Investor relations at Monitise. He starts by telling us a bit about the background of the company and how things have developed to where they are today."

Mobile Banking Solution mBank Receives "Best Mobile Commerce App" Award
"mBank is a mobile banking application for small commercial banks and credit unions. New Jersey Technology Council recently selected mBank as the "Best Mobile Commerce App". 'We are excited to have received this award from New Jersey Technology Council. They have selected our platform not only for its quality but also for how valuable it will be for the banks needing such solution. NJTC is doing a terrific job in encouraging software companies like ours to produce innovative mobile solutions that benefits organizations and individuals alike. We thank them for recognizing our mobile banking app and value it brings for the target audience.' said Tim Miller, VP of Mobile Solutions at Mantra Information Services, a custom software and solutions company."

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Mobile Banking Security - Sept 11

Jeff Salway: Banking bandwagon not such a safe ride
"I WAS recently accused by a friend – a self-confessed geek – of being scared of new technology; I prefer to believe I’m just too cynical to jump on the latest high-tech bandwagon. That includes mobile banking, which is one bandwagon the banks would very much like us all to leap on to, and in this case my cynicism may be more than justified. Mobile banking refers to the use of mobile phones and other handheld devices, such as tablets, to make payments, transfer money, check statements and so on. The UK is lagging behind in this area, but our banks are eager to catch up and are ploughing millions into mobile banking development."

Banker beware: SIM swapping con targets mobile accounts
"It's amazing in its own way — despite constant warnings from their financial institutions to never, ever provide sensitive information by phone or email, customers continue to do just that. That dynamic, whether caused by gullibility or laziness, has only helped scammers, who've been perfecting their craft since time immemorial. One of the latest cons is SIM swapping, which is the second phase of a phishing scam. Though not as profitable as large-scale hacking and skimming, it appeals to criminal gangs looking for a low-cost, low-risk, high-reward, EMV-circumventing racket."

USERNAME AND PASSWORD AUTHENTICATION BORDERS ON NEGLIGENCE IN MOBILE BANKING
"Earlier this week the Financial Conduct Authority announced that it will be publishing a full report in to mobile banking early next year, by revealing its initial findings and the potential risks to consumers concerning fraud, cybercrime and user error. In an article published by the BBC, the Director of Supervision at the FCA, Clive Adamson, states that: 'With the market growing, now is the right time for us to take stock and, as part of the FCA’s forward looking approach, to ensure that consumers are appropriately protected.'”

New 'Hesperbot' bank Trojan targets mobile authentication systems
"Security firm ESET is warning of an ambitious new banking Trojan designed to beat the mobile multi-factor authentication systems rolled out to defeat an older generation of malware. Named Spy.Hesperbot after its discovery in Mid-August, the Trojan comes with the usual tricks such as keylogging, video capture and html injection but adds cleverness in the form of a remote control VNC server and a mobile app for Symbian, Blackberry or Android smartphones."

UK mobile payments held back by security and complexity
"With only one in five UK consumers using their mobile to make payments, new research suggests that the technology is being held back by consumer fears over security, lengthy sign-up processes and problems making payments outside of individual schemes. Mobile payments specialist firm Zapp carried out a survey of 2,000 UK consumers, and found that 17% of them had made a mobile payment. Of these, some 60% were limited to simple bank transfers between accounts, rather than paying for goods and services. Of those making payments, one in five said there are not enough people and places to make payments and 18% said it was difficult to pay people who don’t use the same mobile payment system."

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

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."

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 8

Wells Fargo mobile guru Steve Ellis to keynote TabletBiz conference & expo
"The tablet event of the year kicks off November 13 in New York with the executive who helped Wells Fargo transition into online and mobile banking. Steve Ellis is a bit of a mobile guru when it comes to mobile banking. The fast pace of Wells Fargo’s early move into online and mobile financial services, including tablets was due in large part to his commitment to fostering workplace creativity. Ellis is executive vice president and group head of the Wells Fargo Wholesale Services Group, the commercial side of the company that includes commercial loan services, customer analytics, risk management, and mobile and social media strategies. Ellis was instrumental in launching Wells Fargo’s Commercial Electronic Office (CEO) Internet portal in 2000."

6 Tips for Safer Smartphone Banking
"More than half of American adults have a smartphone today, and more of us are using them to check balances, pay bills, deposit checks and conduct other banking business. A March report from the Federal Reserve found that slightly more than a quarter of cell-phone owners and nearly half of smartphone owners use their devices for banking, and that number is only expected to grow. Mobile banking can be a great time-saver, but it also presents the risk that you could have sensitive account data — and by extension, your money — stolen if you’re not careful."

New perks make banking easier
"Paying your bills and taking care of other banking chores is a pain. Even more painful: the fees you’ll face if you don’t do them when you need to. But here’s good news from ShopSmart, the shopping magazine from the publisher of Consumer Reports: Banks have introduced five services that make those tasks easier and more rewarding."

moTwin Announces Round of Funding, Adds New Investor
"French enterprise mobile app developer moTwin has closed an additional $2.7M in financing from new investor Sigma Gestion, as well as previous partners Seventure Partners and Naxicap Partners. This brings the total capital raised by moTwin to $7.3M, underscoring the opportunity for unique technology that can bridge user experience and cloud integration in mobile apps. The new funds will be used for international expansion, including adding additional sales and support resources to its Palo Alto office."

Black Hills Federal Credit Union Updates Digital Banking Experience with Corillian Online and Mobiliti from Fiserv
"Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that Black Hills Federal Credit Union (Black Hills), a nearly $1 billion credit union based in South Dakota, has significantly enhanced its digital banking services for its 58,000 members. As part of an overhaul of its digital brand, including its website and online and mobile banking capabilities, Black Hills deployed Corillian Online® and Mobiliti™ from Fiserv, along with several complementary solutions."

RBS Citizens Tops In Mobile Banking Ratings
"Mobile banking apps from RBS Citizens Bank, based in Providence, came in tops with customers in surveys by Xtreme Labs and Javelin. The bank’s iOS app came in at the highest score with 4.5 stars and 93 percent favorable review and its Android app placed second, just behind USAA, with 4.5 stars and 97 percent good reviews."

Big Data and Payments Drive Loyalty in Business Banking.
"In the 'consumer edition' of the blog I suggested that banks can reinvigorate their payments brand and influence customer loyalty by integrating incentives and offers to their payments solutions. The premise is that banks are missing out on an opportunity to become more influential in where people shop and what they buy, rather than just how they pay. Offers can be driven by analytics into a combination of historical payments information and big data analysis of demographics, location positioning and peer group analysis. Such a strategy requires more than an offers solution, or a mobile banking app."

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 5

Tablet Banking Taking Off Among Fiserv Bank and Credit Union Clients
"New tablet app includes robust functionality including bill payments, person-to-person payments and mobile deposit --More than 100 institutions already committed to deploy Mobiliti: Tablet to meet growing consumer interest in tablet banking Fiserv, Inc. FISV +0.15% , a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced the launch of Mobiliti(TM): Tablet, a turnkey ASP solution tailored for tablet users. Mobiliti: Tablet joins the company's existing licensed solution for tablet banking, enabling additional banks and credit unions to support this rapidly growing channel. Interest in the Mobiliti: Tablet app has been strong among Fiserv clients, with more than 100 banks and credit unions already committed to deploy the solution."

Newsbyte: SAP® Mobile Banking Solution Recognized by Juniper Research for Future Mobile Award
"SAP NEWSBYTE -- SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced that the SAP® Mobile Banking solution has received the "2013 Mobile Banking Award" in Juniper Research's Future Mobile Awards for Mobile Commerce. SAP also received high commendations for solutions related to mobile consumer payments and mobile coupons."

Cachet Financial Solutions Partners With Nitro Mobile Solutions to Integrate Cachet's Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) Platform in Its Mobile Banking Application
"Cachet Financial Solutions, a leading provider of remote deposit capture solutions (RDC), has announced today that it has partnered with Nitro Mobile Solutions, a company that delivers mobile banking solutions to financial institutions, to fully integrate mobile deposit in Nitro's mobile banking application. By including this key service as an integrated part of Nitro Mobile Deposit™, financial institutions can offer their members and customers the convenience of mobile deposit without the need to download a separate mobile app."

Perfecto Mobile Helps Financial Institutions Cash In on Mobile Application Strategy
"Perfecto Mobile, provider of the MobileCloud(TM) Platform and integrated mobile application quality suite, today announced a significant uptick within the banking and financial services sector, tripling its growth in this segment year over year and signing four of the top five U.S. banks as customers."

Alkami and ZAG Interactive Partner to Provide Elegant and Engaging Online/Mobile Banking
"ZAG is an award-winning designer, developer and marketer of websites for financial institutions as well as clients across multiple industries. Alkami provides online and mobile banking solutions for credit unions and banks. 'We’re excited about the opportunity to partner with an industry leader of Alkami’s caliber,' said Larry Miclette, president and CEO of ZAG. 'We’re impressed by their digital solutions and eager to combine our design, development and marketing strengths with the power of Alkami’s technology to provide leading-edge online experiences for our clients’ audiences.'”

Banking Companies SWOT Analysis and 2013 Profile Reports Available at RnRCompanyProfiles.com
"The Miyazaki Taiyo Bank, Ltd. (Miyazaki Taiyo Bank) operates as a regional bank in Japan. It was formerly known as Miyazaki Mutual Bank, Ltd. The bank offers loans, deposits, domestic and foreign exchange transactions, and other banking related services. It also credit assurance services including general leasing and personal loans. In addition, the bank provides accounting, consolidation, collection and delivery of cash. Furthermore, it is involved in the venture capital businesses. "

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 4

Mozido Eyes Caribbean Mobile-Money Roll-Out
"With at least one tangible project in the works in Jamaica, Kavin Hewitt, CEO of Mozido Jamaica Limited, says the company will use expertise developed over the last three years to execute a Caribbean roll-out of mobile banking services and other products. The company is the technology partner to Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union League on JCUES, the first private mobile-money product to be approved by the central bank."

YellowPepper secures $15M in funding, now based in Miami
"A Latin American tech company is planting itself in South Florida — and has a fresh round of funding to grow on. YellowPepper, which provides mobile-banking and payment solutions in the region and recently moved to Miami, announced it has received $15 million in venture funding. The Series C fund-raising round, which brings the total venture funding to $30 million, was led by Latin Idea Ventures, and included IFC/World Bank and other investors. Serge Elkiner, YellowPepper’s CEO and co-founder, said the funding will be used to sharpen its new focus on the mobile payments industry and initially launch into four key markets: Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador and Peru."

Bank of Scotland boss targets brand 'magic'
"Robin Bulloch, appointed to the role in January this year and with more than three decades of banking experience, says he wants to reclaim the "magic" the brand has had in the past and separate it from the HBOS legacy in the minds of the public. He indicated Bank of Scotland is keen to present a modern front and use technology to help customers but recognises many of its patrons still prefer to use one of its 294 branches."

UAB launches mobile banking app
"United Arab Bank (UAB), a key lender based in Sharjah, said it has introduced a free mobile banking app allowing its customers to have secure and easy access to manage their accounts whilst on the move. Established in 1975 as a joint venture between UAE investors and Societe Generale, UAB presently has a network of 20 branches and offices spread across the UAE."

Indian banks to increase IT spend by 13%
"Indian banks and investment firms will spend 13% more on IT in 2013 compared to last year with IT services the largest segment, according to research from Gartner. Indian banking and securities companies will spend about 417bn INR on IT in 2013 compared to 369bn INR in 2012. The IT services spend will account for 131bn INR. This represents an 18% increase driven by a strong focus on the finance sector from IT service providers."

Mobile Money Can Be Used In Regular Transactions – Analyst
"Speaking on Channels Television Business Morning, Mr. Okoli explained that mobile money is different from mobile banking. He mentioned that mobile banking, money is still in the bank account but the use of mobile phone is needed while mobile money the money is in an E-account which is tied to the phone. He mentioned the benefits of mobile money stating that it can be used in regular transaction, transferring of money just like the regular transactions."

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 3

How City Bank Gets New Mobile Banking Ideas to Market First
"Jim Simpson, CTO of City Bank Texas, explains how and why his community bank has been the first U.S. bank to go live with several new mobile banking tools."

Mobile banking catching on, especially with women
"We all, in varying degrees, are more and more living our lives on the go. So, things such as personal contact with your favorite bank manager or flirting with the cute teller at your financial establishment’s drive-thru window are becoming a thing of the past. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, a majority of adults in the United States bank electronically. And they aren’t just using the walk-up automated teller machines so popular in days past."

The age of mobile banking
"Faced with increasing challenges such as RBI regulations, demanding customers and recession over the past few years, the banking industry has been under considerable pressure to improve customer experience and reduce operating cost. They have responded to the market challenge by moving to a client-centric model by introducing innovative technologies to cater to the customer ranging from ATMs, SMS Banking, USSD banking etc."

Grandma Wants Online Billpay
"It’s a fallacy to assume seniors don’t want to use digital channels for banking. They just prefer to use personal computers over mobile devices. Low fees and convenient branch locations are the primary drivers for which accounts they select. Grandma might use her mobile phone to send and receive text messages from her grandkids, but she’s much less likely to want to use it to check bank balances or do other banking activities. She prefers completing those tasks at home in front of her desktop computer."

Using Mobile Tech to Solve Old-School Problem: Ordering Checks
"City Bank Texas has added a feature to its mobile banking app that further distinguishes the Lubbock community bank from its competitors: the ability to order checks. The app already includes a number of atypical capabilities that let people turn their debit cards on and off, increase their daily ATM withdrawal limit, unblock foreign transactions and pay bills using the smartphone's camera."

3 On Your Side: New Wave of Mobile Banking
"It’s the next wave of mobile banking. Not just paying your bills — but paying your friends right from your phone. 3 On Your Side consumer reporter Jim Donovan explains how banking on-the-go is getting faster and easier. It’s clear money has gone mobile. People trade, pay bills and deposit checks from their phones. But how about splitting the check for dinner, paying the baby-sitter or the neighborhood kid to mow your lawn, simply by using your phone? No cash, no checks required."

Monday, September 2, 2013

Mobile Banking Security - Sept 2

Mobile banking risks revealed by FCA
"Fraud and mistakes on fiddly keypads could create problems for people who use banking services on their mobile phones, a regulator has said. Consumers transferring money should be careful to enter correct details on the smaller keypads, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. They might also be using mobile banking late at night, which could affect their concentration when moving funds. The FCA is studying the potential risks to customers of mobile banking."

Cyber criminals crack two-factor bank authentications
"Users who swear by online banking are in for a shock as the McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2013 has divulged details about a banking malware that helps cyber criminals steal SMSes to get access to people’s accounts. The research also brings to light some entertainment and dating applications which are actually meant to carry out data theft. And a significant number of ransomware samples have also been found. As many as 3,20,000 of these were unearthed in the first two quarters of 2013."

Mobile Threat Monday: Nasty Adware And A Master Key Mystery
"This week, Mobile Threat Monday looks at two of the biggest concerns for Android right now: adware and the so-called Android master key. Both have grabbed lots of headlines on SecurityWatch and with good reason. Careful readers will recall that the Android master key is an exploit that allows a malware creator to spoof the digital certificate of a different Android app. The upshot is that an attacker could create a malicious Trojan app that mimics a legitimate app, and pass off the malware as the genuine article."

Warning on mobile banking fraud risk
"Mobile banking users have been urged to take greater care when downloading applications that allow them to access their accounts on the go. The City watchdog has launched a review into the fraud risks associated with mobile banking and payments as take-up of the technology grows."

McAfee has released data that shows that these are the largest concerns in the current wireless environment.
"According to a report that was just released by McAfee Labs, “backdoor” Trojans and banking malware, which steal information from a device without the awareness of the victim, were the greatest threats to smartphone and tablet users during the second quarter of 2013."

Mobile Trojan Defeats Dual Authentication
"A new cross-device mobile Trojan that already has targeted online-banking customers has been linked to the same group that waged the successful High Roller attacks last summer. So far, customers of several top-tier institutions in Northern Europe and a handful in the U.S. have been victimized. The attackers behind the malware are believed to be Russian."