International Mobile Banking Updates - May 1

Mobile Banking Outpaces Traditional Banking in Kenya
"Kenya’s mobile networks last year collectively held more in deposits than the country’s largest bank. The telecoms regulator CCK reported the mobile networks held Sh226 billion ($2.70 billion) in deposits at the end of last year while the largest commercial bank held Sh223 billion ($2.66 billion). The report said the number of mobile money transfer subscribers grew to 21.1 million from 19.3 million in the previous period, a growth of 9.4 percent."

Absa banking app sees impressive uptake
"Absa‘s banking app, which launched on 10 April 2013, has already been downloaded over 50,000 times, the bank has announced. The bank’s app is the last to market out of SA’s big four banks, though according to Absa, it is the first native financial services app for smartphones and tablets in South Africa that is available for both retail and business customers alike. Customers can link multiple devices to a single account or conversely multiple accounts can be linked to a single device."

Mobile commerce is at an inflection point: Bipin P Singh, CEO, Mobikwik
"What kind of services does Mobikwik offer? Mobikwik is a digital (mobile/web) closed wallet services provider. Adding money to the wallet allows users to make payments for products/services in one click via the mobile app, via the website or via a SMS or by dialing a number. Mobikwik can helps to make payments for things like recharging mobiles and pay bills in India across - prepaid and post-paid mobiles, television and DTH, data cards, broadband/landline phones, electricity, gas and insurance. A vast majority of our wallet users use the mobile (SMS, IVR or Android App) for making their payments. Mobikwik currently boasts of about two million customers and adding nearly 200,000 users every month and and do 30,000 transactions per day, most of them via the mobile."

Mukuru launches mobile prepaid debit card in South Africa
"Mukuru.com has just announced the launch of a new cellphone based debit card in South Africa. It is something like mobile banking services locally, except this is optimised for existing Mukuru services in addition to using the card for regular banking and point of sale. The new card is backed by Standard Bank. According to a video posted on YouTube, the new product addresses the need by migrants to have regular bank accounts in South Africa. Migrants, apparently, find it hard to ‘open’ a bank account in SA, which then makes it difficult to transfer money securely to relatives in the greater Southern Africa region."

Mobile Banking Lessons from the Developing World
"Mobile banking adoption is growing far more rapidly in developing parts of the world, such as Africa, than it is in the US. What can US banks learn from mobile banking usage in the developing world? Plenty, according to Steven Lewis, director of banking and capital markets at Ernst & Young. Mobile banking is offering many convenience to US customers, including remote deposit of checks (even if it’s not free) from the comfort of home. But saving US customers that 10-minute drive to the branch pales in comparison to the effect mobile banking is having on customers that didn’t have bank accounts before mobile phones existed. Kenya, for example, has a very limited branch network that was not useful to most customers."

Banks in a rush for mobile apps
"IT WILL limit cash heists and save money — but cut margins from fees. Banks have had a busy April, with some taking their first plunge into the increasingly crowded pool of mobile banking applications. Already, more than 13% of South Africans access banking services on their phones and tablets, according to research company FinScope — something that is both good and bad for the banks."

Apps disappoint despite vast tech spend
"The problems consumers have encountered with mobile banking applications may inform the financial services industry as it looks to produce its own investment and superannuation apps. According to BanterMob director of mobile marketing and strategy Kelly Slessor, the wealth creation sector is not as advanced as the transactional banking sector. 'Most of the apps are superannuation calculators and they don't offer a great user experience, because they are not going to be used very regularly,' she said. A new report by mobile marketing specialist BanterMob revealed that banking apps are falling short of consumer expectations."

Beware the sting in smartphone banking
"If you've recently discovered the convenience of paying bills on a smartphone, you're not alone. Australians are embracing mobile banking at a cracking pace. About 6 million people manage their finances through a mobile telephone, according to a recent report from the Market Intelligence Strategy Centre. For all the time saved by banking through digital channels, however, this boom comes with some costs. You may notice this most if you're someone who does a lot of their banking at a branch or through automatic teller machines. As this week's graph shows, the value of online transactions with the country's biggest bank, the Commonwealth, has surged almost tenfold in the past decade. The other major banks experienced a similar trend."

Standard Bank completes migration of another 3.5m South Africans onto SAP banking system
"Standard Bank in South Africa has just completed moving 3.5 million customers onto a mobile-enabled banking system that now allows a total of 7 million people to quickly bank. The AccessPoint system allows anyone to register for a Standard Bank account in about ten minutes through street agents in poor townships, malls and other places. Standard Bank pays AccessAgents a basic wage plus a commission for each customer they sign up."

Google Testing Replica of M-Pesa, Kenya's Mobile Banking Solution
"How is a third world tech country paving the way when it comes to the future of mobile banking? 90 percent of Kenyans use their phones to access the internet and M-Pesa is bringing mobile banking to the nation. Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman explains."

The World's Largest Mobile Pay Network Is ... in Kenya?
"When it comes to mobile banking, Kenyans are the early adopters. About 90 percent of the people in the developing nation access the Internet using mobile phones. Combine that with the popularity of mobile banking service M-Pesa, and Kenya is leading the way. Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman reports."

International Mobile Banking Updates - April 16

MoneyGram and First National Bank launch mobile banking in South Africa
"MoneyGram and First National Bank (FNB) of South Africa have launched their first mobile money transfer service in Africa. The new mobile banking service enables FNB customers throughout South Africa provinces to send and receive international money transfers using their mobile devices. The service features data encryption system that protects account holder information. Transactions sent from a mobile device are available for collection within 10 minutes, subject to an agent’s hours of operation and local laws and regulations."

Australian banks need to embrace mobile application users: Study
"By the end of 2013, more Australians are predicted to be using their mobile phones to do banking than their desktop computers, but research released this week shows they are increasingly dissatisfied with the offerings from financial institutions. Mobile marketing firm BanterMob analysed ratings and reviews of Australian banking apps, and found nine of the 13 banks reviewed rated average or below average, and almost three-quarters of user app reviews were negative."

Buggy apps hurt customer experience in mobile banking
"Banks aren’t using online banking properly, Australian mobile marketing firm, BanterMob, has claimed. The group studied 42,000 ratings and about 2000 reviews of Australian banking applications available in the four major app stores. BanterMob director, Kelly Slessor, says the results show high levels of negativity and sub-optimal customer experience."

ABSA launch their mobile and tablet banking App
"ABSA proudly, if a little belatedly, revealed their on-line Banking App for Android and Apple iPhone devices today in Johannesburg. ABSA is the last of the South African big banks to launch their mobile App. The ABSA App will be of huge benefit to all the ABSA customers with smart devices. ABSA said the App would be the first real, native financial services App for smartphones and tablets in South Africa available for both retail and business customers."

ING Direct Canada Looks Forward On Mobile
"ING Direct Canada foresees a world where the mobile channel dominates consumers' interactions with their financial institution, and is preparing accordingly. The bank has been working with Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM on several mobile banking services using IBM's MobileFirst suite of solutions. 'People are using these devices for managing almost every part of their lives,' says ING Direct Canada's CIO Charaka Kithulegoda. 'The movement into managing the financial part of their lives has been a bit slower compared to retail, for example, but now they're starting to do it more and more in financial services as well.'"

Barclays Zimbabwe to launch mobile banking service, Hello Money (updated)
"Barclays will be launching its mobile banking application Hello Money, in Zimbabwe this month. The announcement was made as part of the launch of new ATMs by the company a few days ago. Hello Money will allow Barclays account holders to transfer money to a Barclays account or to an account at another banking institution, airtime top up, mini statements and balance enquiries."

Mobile banking transactions double, payments rise threefold
"Mobile banking seems to be gaining popularity among Indians with increasing number of people using this platform to buy tickets, pay bills, shop online, and transfer funds. The opportunity to expand reach, grow revenues and gain operating efficiencies have persuaded several banks to encourage their customers in using mobile banking. Consider this: The number of mobile banking transactions doubled to 5.6 million in January 2013 from 2.8 million a year ago. The value of these transactions increased threefold to Rs 625 crore during the month from Rs 191 crore in January 2012."

Stanbic IBTC Launches Mobile Money Application
"Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited has announced the introduction of the ‘Stanbic IBTC MobileMoney’ application for smart phones. The product is expected to run on blackberry and android operating systems. Stanbic IBTC’s Executive Director for Personal and Business Banking, Mr. Obinna Abajue, was quoted in a statement as saying that the move underscored the bank’s commitment to provide Nigerians with value-added products and services that suit their lifestyles, while giving them access to basic financial options via a secure mobile application wherever and whenever they want."

Banks in product development race
"AS competitive pressures mount in the banking sector, banks have to devise various safety valves, knowing that there is no single silver bullet for achieving sustainable competitiveness. Apart from diversifying sources of funding, enhancing liquidity profiles, fortifying balance sheets, growing deposit bases and enhancing access to lined of credit, banks are also actively pursuing a product and channel expansion strategy, if the recently released 2012 financial results are anything to go by. Most banks were unequivocal about their growth strategies and clearly articulated them in statements accompanying the results while others offered no clues. During the period under review, Agribank rolled out its first phase of e-Banking products; notably Internet and mobile banking, SMS alerts as well as e-statements. The bank also entered into a strategic partnership with EcoCash to facilitate roll out of mobile money transfer services. Going forward, Agribank intends to strengthen strategic alliances that grow non-funded income.

SA mobile banking fraud on the rise
"The Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS) has noted an increase in complaints as mobile and internet banking fraud increased, according to its 2012 annual report on banking services. In the report, advocate John Myburgh, chairman of the board of the Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS), said that the growing mobile customer base has spurred banks to launch ever-more innovative mobile payment options. With an estimated 13-million unbanked South Africans, the potential for such products is immense, he said."

Indian uptake of mobile FS on rise as banks launch more m-payment options
"Mobile banking is gaining popularity in India, with the number of mobile banking transactions doubling to 5.6 million in January 2013 from 2.8 million a year ago. The value of transactions increased tripled to rupees (INR) 625 from INR 191 in January 2012. CICI Bank, which has the largest share of mobile banking payments in India, makes periodic offers to its customers to encourage them to use mobile banking services. The bank produced these figures and has partnered with several service providers to offer customers discounts on their products and services, as well as entered partnerships to allow them to make utility bill payments via mobiles."

Mobile-banking with 1.4 million accounts shows remarkable surge
"Mobile banking in Pakistan has witnessed a reasonable growth as the number of such accounts (M-Wallets) has reached 1.4 million by 2012, showing an increase of 156 % as compared to previous years. The current number of m-banking accounts is seven times higher than the numbers at the end of September 2010. Of the total 1.4 million m-banking accounts, 66 % are active accounts and the ratio of active accounts has increased from 54 % as of end December 2011. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in its report has revealed that this increase in the active accounts is mainly due to increase in the small transaction m-banking accounts by UBL Omni, facilitated by regulatory flexibility in account opening by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)."

Internet Banking to Grow 65% a Year in Latin America
"The number of Latin Americans who have access to their bank with mobile divices will grow by 65% annually in the coming years and reach 140 million people by 2015, according to a Deloitte report released by the Latin American Federation of Banks ( Felaban). The study indicates that the concept of “mobile money” will transform Latin America in the coming decades and remember that in some rural areas access to traditional banking services is still limited because of the high costs involved."

Mobile Banking Updates - Oct 30

Young adults drive popularity up
"The popularity of mobile banking has increased significantly since 2010, the American Bankers Association (ABA) said in a recent report. According to a recent survey from the ABA – conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs in early August – mobile banking is now the preferred banking method of six percent of banking customers, which represents a 100 percent increase from 2010. In the age group of 18-34 year-olds, 15 percent of banking customers preferred mobile banking."

Legally blind
"Most major banks have treated mobile banking as an enigma wrapped in a paradox over the last two years. They have convinced themselves that the growth of mobile banking was an unpredictable occurrence. In insurance terms they would probably claim it was "an act of God." The real truth is that this so called overnight sensation was at least a decade in the making. Since South African bank Absa launched the first mobile banking solution in 2002, leading experts, analysts and futurists have predicted the mass adoption of mobile banking services."

Google, Apple Expand Micropayment Systems for Web Content and Mobile Purchasing 
"Efforts to monetize web content have largely failed in the past, with users preferring to switch rather than pay for information. Earlier this month, Google Wallet expanded its micropayment capabilities to include web content. Websites can now set up their pages so that users can sample some portion of the web content and then see a banner (bottom figure) that tells them that seeing more of the content will require paying a fee. The system also works for buying other types of products over the web."

Mobility Matters: Tracking the Mobile Banking Revolution in Credit Unions
"What mobile banking users are actually doing – and how much real money they are moving - now is starting to come into focus as more players in the field hike their kimonos, at least a bit. A big data dump from Malauzai, the Austin, Texas, mobile banking apps developer with ties to Catalyst Corporate, has offered many – sometimes surprising – insights into what is happening in the mobile channel."

Global Digital Economy - The E-Commerce and M-Commerce Landscape
"The global e-commerce market has been recently invigorated by the growing use of smart phones leading to a fast growth in mobile commerce. E-Commerce and m-commerce have become very important areas of focus for mobile operators, IT, Internet media players, financial institutions, retail, and payment processing firms alike. With so many interested parties, the sector has become very competitive and created a heady mix of industry activity."

EXPLODING MOBILE-BANKING INDUSTRY WORTH BETTING ON
"There's a big opportunity for service providers and application developers in emerging markets. A new report from Berg Insight says that the number of active mobile money users in emerging markets will grow from 61 million last year to 381 million by 2017. That's a compound annual growth rate of 36 percent. Several of the most successful mobile money services today are in Africa, Berg noted, but Asia-Pacific is expected to become the most important regional market, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the active user base in 2017. The total value of mobile money transactions is projected to grow from $44 billion in 2011 to $395 billion in 2017, a CAGR or 44 percent."

Are Americans Ready for Banking via Social Media?
"A bank in South Africa announced this summer that its mobile banking customers will now be able to conduct transactions and monitor their accounts through Facebook. This type of cross-pollination between banks and social media does not yet exist in the United States, but it could be coming."

Retail banking's new threat
"This is an increasingly crucial issue for banks. Mobile banking is a major technological development, and history suggests that incumbents can be reduced to obscurity as new players, or “market disruptors”, use improved technology to upset the old order. For example, companies such as Netflix, which uses postal and later online distribution of rented films, are revolutionising the way consumers access movies. A consequence has been that Blockbuster, a traditional bricks-and-mortar DVD rental company, has lost enormous market share."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 11

European Mobile Banking Users Get Smarter
"In the EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) 30 million people accessed a bank accounts via their smartphone in July 2012, an increase of 85 percent compared to a year ago. The UK had the largest user base with 7.3 million smartphone owners accessing bank accounts in the month, nearly twice as many as just one year ago. Spain showed an even stronger increase with 113 percent more users making use of service compared to last year."

RBI cold to mobile wallet
"Reserve Bank of India deputy governor H R Khan on Wednesday said mobile telephone operators cannot be permitted to provide a cash-out facility from virtual wallets to customers, as such an activity would amount to ‘bypass banking’. However, they could do so if they acted as a business correspondent (BC) to a bank, he added. Recently, Airtel had launched m-wallet services that enable a customer to make utility payments and transfer money from one user to another. By the norms, mobile transactions are permitted only if attached to a specific use, such as paying electricity bills or shopping at retail establishments that accept mobile payments."

Getting mobile banking right
"M-PESA, Kenya’s popular mobile money transfer system via mobile phones, has inspired several similar models all over the world. Kenya’s mobile penetration plus the simplicity and effectiveness of M-PESA are reasons for its popularity – 68 percent of Kenyans use their mobile phones to transfer money. Soon, remittances from the UK to a dozen African countries should be possible via Barclays Bank’s pingit, a money transfer app. First made for BlackBerrys and Barclays’ customers, the app can now be downloaded by non-customers of Barclays with smartphones to send and receive money. UK residents will be able to beam money first to Kenya, then Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Seychelles and Mauritius."

Keeping mobile banking secure in an unsecure world
"MOBILE phones today are multipurpose, so it is no surprise that the number of mobile banking users has doubled over the past three years. Most banks have worked to make it easy by optimising their websites for mobile devices, allowing you to check your account and make payments and transfers on the go. But while a number of mobile users find this incredibly convenient, they are still in the minority, representing about 12% of online adults."

Absa mobile banking a hit
"Banking group Absa says it has 3.6 million customers registered for mobile banking. The group says that growth patterns in the use of its mobile website have exceeded expectations seeing over 1.3 million page views each month. The bank has also seen year-on-year growth of 450% in mobile traffic, largely due to the portal’s redefined user experience, optimised for mobile visitors, it said."

USAID-backed mobile banking project to be launched in PH
"An officer of the United States Agency for International Development (US AID) will be in the country to launch a mobile banking project aimed at expanding Filipinos’ access to financial services. In a statement, the US Embassy in Manila said that USAID Chief Innovation Officer and Senior Counselor to the Administrator Maura O’Neill would be in the Philippines from September 9 to 12. 'O’Neill will lead the launch of USAID’s Scaling Innovations in Mobile Money (SIMM) project, which aims to give Filipinos easier and more efficient access to banking and payment services through mobile phones,' it said."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 28

Airtel introduces mobile banking in association with DBBL
"Airtel Bangladesh Limited, one of the operations of Bharti Airtel Saturday announced its partnership with Dutch-Bangla Bank mobile banking. With complete adherence to the Bangladesh Bank Guideline on Mobile Financial Services, the Dutch- Bangla Bank mobile banking will now be commercially available for all airtel subscribers. This is going to offer multiple services like cash in, cash out, send money, mobile top up, remittance and salary disbursement etc."

Unlocking Barriers: Advances in Rural Mobile Banking in Mexico
"The banking industry in Mexico estimates there are at least 30 million people that could be integrated to the formal financial system during the following years. However, this is not likely to happen through traditional banking, but through new schemes that leverage existing retail infrastructure and mobile phones to reach the lower segments of the population. Mexico allows third-parties (merchants, mom and pop stores) to process transactions on behalf of banks, and several national and regional retail chains are currently working to be certified as banking correspondents leveraging their existing footprint to bring new customers into the banking system."

BT 24 Mobile Banking service clients increased by 50 pc
"22,500 clients use now Mobile Banking service of Banca Transilvania, BT 24, up by 50 per cent in three months, based on a press release. The bank has thus reached the target aimed for the end of this year, contributing to the increase of accessibility of bank operations conducted by smartphone."

Maybank Singapore launches bank-on-the-go iPhone app
"Maybank Singapore announced the launch of its mobile banking service for customers to bank on the go on Wednesday. The Maybank mobile banking application will be available for iPhones during this initial launch and for other mobile platforms in the second quarter of 2013. Recognising that customers are increasingly turning to electronic channels for their banking needs, the bank is providing a mobile banking platform to complement other electronic channels such as internet banking."

No Absa app this year
"Absa says it expects to launch its long-awaited application in Q1 2013, but the bank promises a more integrated and broader approach to mobile banking than other platforms in the market currently offer. Absa’s mobile banking app was first planned for launch in November 2011, but after reported security issues, the bank’s mobile offering was put into “delayed” status, with no reconvened date announced."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Jun 25

HTC to unveil mobile banking phone in Taiwan
"Taiwan's HTC Corp. will announce a partnership in mobile payments with a local bank and card companies this week as it seeks to play a larger role in the promising mobile banking industry. The world's No. 5 smartphone vendor is scheduled to hold a joint news conference on June 19 with Cathay United Bank, EasyCard Corp. and MasterCard International to launch a co-branded card, according to a statement."

Mobile money transfers: Zim drifts towards cashless economy
"ZIMBABWE’s financial transacting public has been presented with a plethora of money transfer options, as the country moves towards a cashless economy. Mobile money products on the market include; Kingdom CellCard, ZB Bank’s e-Wallet and e-Mali, Econet’s EcoCash product, as well as CABS’ TextaCash. FBC has joined the bandwagon with Mobile Moola, a new Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card from which one can send money to anyone with a mobile phone on any network."

Absa attracts 120,000 mobile customers each month
"Absa says it attracts an average of 120,000 new mobile customers each month and boasts in excess of 3.6 million mobile banking clients and 1.35 million online customers. According to Christo Vrey, head of Absa Digital Banking, the group attracted 180,000 new mobile users in March. Absa will not provide a date for the launch of its banking application; however, the group’s new multi-million online platform has been optimised for tablet use."

ASB customers embrace mobile apps
"ASB Bank chief executive Barbara Chapman says consumers are switching on to mobile banking at four times the rate of internet banking when it first took off. However, banks were getting faster at being able to copy each other's technological innovations so any competitive advantages they gained would be more short-lived. 'When we introduced internet banking, I think we had a two- or three-year advantage on every other competitor. There is no way you would expect a two- or three-year advantage on any technology now' she said."

Sybase 365 Enables Allied Bank Limited to Accelerate Adoption of Mobile Banking in Pakistan
"Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc., the global leader in mobile messaging and mobile commerce services, together with AbacusConsulting, one of Pakistan's largest professional services firms, today announced that Allied Bank Limited, one of Pakistan's largest banks, has chosen the Sybase 365 Mobile Commerce solution to offer mobile financial services to its customers."

St. George releases pay-to-mobile app
"St. George has launched a pay-to-mobile app which will allow users to send payments on their smartphones. To make a payment, users need to put in the recipient’s mobile number and hit ‘transfer’. The app then notifies the recipient money has been transferred and they are directed to a secure website where they put in their BSB and account details."

Ethiopia to Regulate Mobile Banking
"The National Bank of Ethiopia is to issue a new directive for mobile banking directives. The central bank regulation officials and presidents of banks had final discussions on the draft regulation last week. The bank circulated the draft regulation to all banks for comments and expects it to come into effect in three weeks time according to sources. The regulation will control the way in which mobile banking is implemented, identifying and protecting users and how much money can be transacted.

UN Calls For Mobile Banking Rules
"The United Nations on Thursday called for rules to coordinate the use of mobile money services in East Africa."

With mobile banking growing rapidly, banks too need to step up their security features
"Mobile banking may still be in its infancy but it is growing at a phenomenal pace, according to Mr Trevor Haeger, Chief Information Officer for Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore. For Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore, the growth rate of active users utilising its Internet banking services was 33 per cent between 2010 and 2012. The growth rate of active users for its mobile banking services was a whopping 92 per cent from 2010 to 2012."

Brazilian Bank Federation sees boom in mobile banking market
"Making financial transactions with mobile devices is not considered new in Brazil. However, the service is far from being heavily used. During this week’s Ciab (check all stories) —a conference and exposition focused on IT for financial institutions held in São Paulo—banks and vendors are trying to show how the connected society (also a central theme of the event) is changing the way banks do business."

Banks to offer mobile banking service by mid-2013
"All banks are expected to participate in mobile banking service by the middle of next year, says e-payment service provider, Malaysian Electronic Clearing Corp Sdn Bhd (MyClear). 'Our objective is to get the entire industry to participate to encourage usage of e-payment gradually,' said MyClear managing director, Mohd Suhail Amar Suresh."

RBS adds ATM cash dispensing to mobile banking app
"Customers are presented with a 'GetCash' option within the RBS and Natwest iOS, Android and BlackBerry apps that lets them request up to £100. A six digit PIN is then generated which can be entered at the banks' ATMs at any point within the next three hours to collect the money. Customers can make as many requests as they want in a day as long as they do not exceed their withdrawal limit."

International Mobile Banking Updates - May 30

Where Does the Future of Mobile Banking Lie?
"Karl Rieder, Director of Research & Development at The GFT Group, is chairing the Marketforce and the IEA Annual Future of Mobile Banking Conference 2012, on Tuesday 29th May in London. 'This is an extremely interesting time to be in mobile banking,' Karl Rieder comments, 'While mobile technologies have significantly changed our lives and businesses, mobile banking has yet to take a real foothold as compared to other industries, but we are at a tipping point, and some big things are right around the corner.'"

The Future of Mobile Payment Systems: Rise of the Mobile Wallet 2012-2017
"Currently there are over 30 different mobile payment solutions each with their own technologies, advantages, and disadvantages. Existing mobile solutions are categorized based on the payment settlement methods that are prepaid (using smart cards or digital wallet), instant paid (direct debiting or off-line payments), and post paid (credit card or telephone bill)."

Q and A: Barclays looking to extend Pingit into full blown mobile banking
"Barclays told CBR that will be extending the functionality of its Pingit money transfer app over the coming months, with an eye to releasing a ‘full’ mobile banking app. CBR spoke to Barclay's Richard Martin, managing director, payments and cash management products, and Mike Walters, head of UK corporate payments product management about the future of its smartphone app, Pingit."

Nigeria: RenCap Seeks Policies for Mobile Banking Growth
"Renaissance Capital (RenCap) has called for policies that will stimulate the growth of mobile banking in Nigeria. The international financial advisory firm in a report Tuesday expressed concern that why the use of the banking platform has recorded significant success in Kenya, same could not be said of Nigeria. It added: 'The structure of Kenya's economy and regulatory environment supported the development of mobile banking. Following the introduction of mobile banking the number of Kenyans with bank accounts has increased from 1 million to 15 million.'"

Westpac to develop technology in-house
"Despite cutting several hundred jobs and being accused of planning to offshore the majority of its IT operation, Westpac technology chiefs say the development of new mobile applications and innovative solutions for the banking group must be handled in-house. Chief information officer Clive Whincup and chief technology officer Jeff Jacobs used a technology media briefing last week in Sydney to unveil two new iPad apps developed in Australia by a team of about 50 staff. The team, comprised primarily of former St George Bank developers and additional personnel, bases app features on insights garnered from consumer and user behavioural research."

Push to go mobile keeps bankers appy
"MOBILE banking is quickly becoming the new battleground for major banks as an explosion in the number of Australians using smartphone apps threatens their grip on customer payments. The big four are scrambling to keep up with customer demand for hyper-mobility with the number of smartphone users expected to increase globally to 631 million by 2015, up from 172 million in 2009, according to the World Retail Banking Report 2012."

Dial M for mobile banking apps
"Smartphones are revolutionising personal banking and throwing up some bizarre juxtapositions of old and new. In the United States, where cheques are still common, Chase Bank has developed an iPhone app that lets customers photograph the front and back of cheques and submit the images, via their iPhone, to the bank to be deposited into their account."

Absa online banking crashes - on payday
"It is not the first instance of a South African bank apparently failing to manage the huge migration of customers to online banking. In March First National Bank had to weather a storm of protest when it suffered a systems failure for several hours. On Friday an Absa spokesman said the bank's system engineers were trying to resolve the problem, but by 3.45pm the website was still not accessible after being unavailable all morning."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 20

Absa cellphone banking sees 65% growth
"According to statistics released by Absa, cellphone banking transactions between the company’s three mobile banking services have increased by 65 percent year-on-year. 'Cellphone Banking adoption continues to beat expectations,' says Absa Retail Bank Chief Executive, Gavin Opperman. 'In 2011, we will see transaction values of about R10 billion transferred via the mobile channels.'”

CommBank sets sights on HTML5
"The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has revealed plans to focus on emerging web language HTML5 for its mobile banking offerings. When the bank showcased its range of mobile applications in March, developers said they needed to work on various mobile platforms natively to get the most out of each device. Native app development was particularly important for the Commonwealth Bank’s property guide, which used the camera and mapping capabilities of Apple’s iPhone."

National Bank of Kuwait launches advanced mobile banking application
"NBK General Manager, Consumer Banking Group, Mazin Saad Al Nahedh, said, 'The new mobile banking application is aligned with NBK's commitment to providing its customers with the best and most up-to-date banking services. NBK Mobile banking is safe and easy to use, offering customers banking services with the added convenience of their mobile devices. NBK is keen on developing services that meet demands and extend its reach to make banking more convenient for customers.'"

How do banks monetise mobile channels?
"The era of mobile banking and mobile payments is dawning. Around the world and across the banking value chain, everyone is waking up to the huge potential of a market that is changing the way customers interact with financial institutions.

Banks are responding to this mobile evolution in a number of ways. Some are getting ahead of customer demands by developing and deploying innovative mobile solutions with an eye towards gaining market share and driving new sources of revenue. Others are waiting for standards to be set and for customer demand to hit critical mass."

Leapfrogging from e-banking to m-banking
"Mobile banking in India is still at its nascent stage, the country’s 800-plus mobile subscriber base combined with lack of proper banking infrastructure and low penetration of computers and broadband offers big scope for the service in the country. Though e-banking using mobile phones is a convenient utility service for users, it is used by only about 1.96 million or 12% of the 16.4 million active mobile Internet consumers in the top eight metros of the country, according to a recent report by Internet and Mobile Association of India or IAMAI."

Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 16

Mobile Banking to Hit US$ 100 Bil., Showing Steady Growth
"More Koreans are using mobile phones for financial transactions and mobile banking is growing at a steady rate.
The year 2010 alone saw a more than 200 percent increase in mobile banking.
While "on-the-go" banking is available with regular cell phones, experts attribute the increasing popularity of smartphones, which make mobile banking easier to use since Korean banks offer iPhone and Android applications, as the cause of the rise."

Absa frees up cellphone banking
"Absa now offers free unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) access to its cellphone banking customers. The offer is specifically for the bank's Vodacom customers, who use the Absa Cellphone Banking Lite service. 'This means, even without airtime, Absa Cellphone Banking Lite customers can still access and perform a host of transactions from their mobile handsets via USSD if they are a Vodacom client,' explains Adrian Vermooten, head of mobile channels at Absa."

Mobile, P2P and Consumer Demand
"Demand for more mobile services is the catalyst for Fifth Third Bank's launch in mid-2011 of mobile peer-to-peer payment service available via the and online banking channels, says Fifth Third's Larry McClanahan, who's heading up the project. 'Initially, it's going to be more online P2P, rather than mobile. Customers are very comfortable with that online channel, but we definitely see the mobile component of it growing rapidly,' he says. 'It's all about what customers are looking for.'"

Mobile Banking Updates International - Oct 11

T-Mobile and 3 strike mobile banking deals with Monitise
"T-Mobile and 3 have secured deals with mobile money provider Monitise that will allow them to offer mobile banking to their customers. The operators will use Monitise’s mobile banking technology to enhance their service offerings, enabling customers to register and receive bank balance alerts by text message. UK users can access services via T-Mobile’s ‘Web‘n’Walk’ and ‘T-Zones’ mobile portals. They can register for weekly alerts to receive text messages at a time of their choosing, and be sent a message if their balance goes above or below a certain limit."

Absa scoops most innovative bank in Africa award
"Absa (ASA) reports that it was recognised as the 'Most Innovative Bank in Africa' at the African Banker Awards 2009 event held in Istanbul, Turkey, while its Tanzanian subsidiary, the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) Ltd was also honoured as the 'Best Local Bank in Africa'."

Banking while on the go
"Internet banking could become old hat as consumers now opt to use their mobile phones.Uptake of Kiwibank's mobile banking has grown 600 per cent in its first year, says spokesman Bruce Thompson. 'This is in line with global trends, with the tipping point being the launch of the iPhone.'"

With 'Splash Cash' Sierra Leoneans Move Money By Mobile Phone
"Mobile banking has already taken off in Southern and Eastern Africa. Sierra Leone is now one of the few West African countries with a service providing mobile phone transactions. Across West Africa, the yellow and black signs of the money transfer company Western Union are ubiquitous. Up until now, this was the easiest way to send money for those without a bank account."

ABSA Reaches 1 Million Mobile Banking Clients

Absa is the first South African bank to register its one millionth Cellphone Banking client, as the convenience of the mobile channel continues to drive rapid adoption among clients of South Africa’s largest retail bank.

Absa was the first South African bank to introduce Cellphone Banking services in the year 2000. Over the last few years there has been a surge in uptake, with up to 5000 new clients registering for Cellphone Banking – which carries no monthly fees – each day.

There are very few banks around the world that have reached this milestone.

“From observing the registration and usage numbers, 2009 will be the year in which Cellphone Banking develops serious traction in the market such that it is poised to overtake the number of Absa Internet Banking clients this year,” notes Christo Vrey, Managing Executive of Absa Digital Channels.

Mobile Banking Updates - Dec 2nd

Absa Launches New Mobile Service
"A new mobile service to bring greater control and convenience to millions of its clients, has been launched by the largest retail banking group - Absa. Over 3.5 million Absa clients using the SMS messaging service, NotifyMe, can now request instant balance enquiries and statements, as well as purchase prepaid cellular airtime, from their cellular handset."

Citizens Bank of Canada Launches Mobile Solution
"Have you ever found yourself standing in line to purchase something and wanted to check your bank balance? Now you can through text messaging from your mobile phone. Introducing Mobile Banking with BANKCB."

Can You Hear Us Now? Mobile Carriers Eye Financial Revenue
"As bankers continue to roll out services for mobile phones, wireless carriers are trying to find ways to earn more revenue from the financial activities moving through their systems."

Cell Phone Payments Make the World Easier For Terrorists, Too
"The Reuters article said little about the downside of the new technology. But terrorist financing experts in and outside government have long been worried that the mobile payment development is outpacing regulators' and law enforcement's ability to detect and prevent use by terrorists."

Alltel Wireless, mFoundry Partner for Alltel Wallet
"Alltel Wireless, will leverage the extensible mobile wallet platform from mFoundry (San Francisco) to create the Alltel Wallet, which will initially provide access to a consolidated mobile banking experience, providing customers with access to a wide variety of U.S. financial institutions."

Economy Puts Mobile Marketing on Hold
"If all went according to plan the day after Thanksgiving, JC Penney customers were roused with a wake-up call. The service was provided free as part of a Black Friday mobile marketing push. Consumers had been invited to come to JCP.com to sign up for the call, SMS shopping tips and sales alerts. This is a prime example of how this much-hyped marketing channel is helping companies like JC Penney, Subway and Coca-Cola court consumers through their cell phones and PDAs. The only problem: The economy is in free fall, leaving some marketers leery of dumping dollars into an unproven medium."

The Mobile Banking Opportunity for Small Businesses - Are Banks Listening?
"Small businesses want mobile banking services. Approximately one-third of those interviewed expressed a likelihood that they will use mobile banking."

Mobile Banking Updates

Major banking group considers replacing BlackBerry with iPhone
"Global banking conglomerate HSBC is taking a hard look at using the iPhone 3G over its current fleet of corporate BlackBerry devices."

Absa introduces mobile money transfer via ATM network
"South Africa's Absa Bank has launched CashSend, a service that enables customers to send funds via ATMs to recipients that do not have a bank account or card."

Sybase CEO John Chen charts a mobile course
"The Hong Kong-born engineer, who became chief executive a year after his arrival, set about the slow task of rebuilding the Dublin-based company. Part of his strategy has been mining the then-nascent mobile software market. Sybase now has annual revenue that tops $1 billion."

Mpayy Promises Payments from Anywhere
"Although Conrad Sheehan thinks he has come up with a way to provide the mobility factor in the formula for ecommerce success, he's an unlikely dot-com entrepreneur at age 41."

Mobile Summit & Updates for Week of 6/23

I'm just returning from the 2nd Annual Mobile Commerce Summit, and I'd like to take a moment to thank Emily Otani and the team at SourceMedia. The mobile banking content was fresh, the speakers were first class, and the venue (Caesars) was the ideal location.

I'm still organizing my notes so you'll have to wait a few more days before I share any of the content; however, there are still lots of newsworthy items. For instance...

Mobile Money Ventures and Android
"Mobile Money Ventures, a joint venture of Citi and SK Telecom, has announced that its solution for mobile financial services is compatible with Android, a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications."

BECU Signs On with Firethorn
"Firethorn Holdings LLC, a Qualcomm company, today announced that it has added BECU (formally known as Boeing Employees' Credit Union) to its growing roster of financial institution customers."

Mastercard and Obopay Join up for P-2-P
"MasterCard is partnering California-based Obopay to provide an on-demand person-to-person (P2P) mobile payments service to its US cardholders. The service - offered via MasterCard's P2P money transfer system MoneySend - will enable issuing banks to provide a mobile payments service to cardholders on all credit, debit and prepaid MasterCard-branded products."

Delta Mobile an mShift Design (http://mobile.delta.com)
"Delta Air Lines Inc. has hooked up with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at New York's LaGuardia Airport to let Delta fliers use their Web-enabled mobile devices to check-in and get an electronic boarding passes."

iPhone Effect on Mobile Banking
"Mobile banking has had its fits and starts, and it has a long way to go before most consumers try it, let alone make it second nature. But let’s face it: There’s no one in the banking industry like Steve Jobs."

ABSA Reaches Half Million Mobile Banking Clients
"After a cautious beginning a few years ago, Cellphone Banking is starting to deliver on its promise of putting ‘your bank in your pocket’, and allowing you to transact anywhere you go. Absa Bank this week celebrated its first major milestone for this emerging banking channel, reaching half-a-million Cellphone Banking customers. Absa’s Managing Executive for Digital Channels, Christo Vrey, says that with 38 million cellular subscribers nationwide, there is a great opportunity for the mobile channel to become the primary banking interface for many South Africans."

Mobile-banking apps with mobile carriers
"Financial institutions are looking to mobile banking as a way to round out their banking options, providing their customers and members more convenient ways to bank. And wireless carriers are offering more ways to get on the mobile-banking bandwagon, connecting FIs to their networks. “It’s a bit of ‘Gold Rush,’” said Nick Holland, a senior analyst at Boston-based Aite Group. 'Mobile banking is almost not an option.'"

Barclays Mobile Banking - Hello Money

The other day I received an email from my friend in South Africa - Christo Vrey (Managing Executive, Digital Channels - ABSA). He was writing to share the news that Barclays has launched a new mobile banking solution called Hello Money.

Click here to check out their microsite, but I'll tell you in advance that they've done a nice job of covering the key elements. There's a brief overview and then the client is quickly taken into the key features: Fast, Convenient, and Secure. Also take note that they have a very comprehensive demo including step by step instructions for all of the key functionality.


Additionally, they've done a nice job building a robust FAQ section. I myself am not as familiar with the USSD technology so I was able to learn...

"How different is it from the other technologies used like SMS, GPRS and application-based services?"

"USSD-based Hello Money is different as -
* It provides an interactive browsing experience
* It is available on all GSM handsets (even most of the legacy models)
* It has an in-built USSD encryption and 'no store just forward' facility for
performing secure transactions
* You need not remember any transaction message formats
* It works on roaming at no extra cost (no additional operator cost)
* Faster service, as the network latency is very low"

WIG - SMS and User Interface Combined

On Monday I wrote a post for Mobile Money & Banking titled “Deciphering Mobile Banking Terminology.” If you have not had a chance to read it, or the other posts that I’ve written for that site, you can access them here.

The next day I received an email from Christo Vrey, General Manager – Digital Channels, for ABSA. In the email, Christo mentioned that I had overlooked a term that is frequently used for SMS technology in South Africa – WIG.

The unfortunate part of the story is that I didn’t accidentally overlook the term. The truth is that I didn’t even know it existed. So, I picked up the phone and started making calls to see who could fill me in, but it didn’t take long to figure out that I wasn’t alone - no one else had heard of WIG either.

Now, typically it’s not a big deal to discover an obscure technology used half way around the world, but WIG is different. It’s an intriguing concept, because it seems to marry together two different channels to create a very unique offering. On the front-end you have a client-friendly interface, which some will argue is the missing component of traditional SMS mobile banking. Then, on the back-end you have the ubiquity of SMS, which some will argue is the missing component of Rich UX applications.

So I kept searching for information but I couldn’t help but wonder, “why haven’t I heard of this solution before now?”

Then, one of my contacts came through. He had made some calls to his engineers overseas and learned that the offering implemented at ABSA is actually not offered by a mobile banking vendor. In fact, it’s not even offered in the United States. It turns out that the solution that has been developed and launched by a carrier in South Africa!

I promise that’s not the end of the story, but that’s all the information that I have been able to gather to this point. I’ve sent an email to our new friend in South Africa with the hope of learning more, but currently it’s 2:00 a.m. tomorrow morning (Wednesday) in Johannesburg, Africa.

Stay tuned for more…

Click here to read more about WIG Cell Phone Banking at ABSA