Mobile Banking and Payments - Oct 19

Mobile payments looking at turbulent times
"The idea of a digital wallet and the opportunities that come from moving payments onto the smartphone were major themes at the CTIA Enterprise & Application show. American Express executive Dan Schulman used his keynote address to call for more alliances, noting that, "no single company can do this alone." The prospect of mobile payments was also the focus of one of the more prominent panel discussions today.

It's not hard to see why. Beyond getting a piece of the financial transaction, companies are starting to see the opportunities that come from wedding a digital wallet with reward cards, discounts, and promotions and more targeted advertising; walk into a store and get a coupon for a product that you've previously purchased before."

Citi debuts browser-based mobile payments app
"Citigroup unveiled CitiDirect BE Mobile, a browser-based application enabling clients to receive notifications and authorize payments using their mobile phones. Available to over 50,000 clients and 300,000 users worldwide, the app includes SMS alerts that complement email and fax notifications and payment authorizations covering every type supported by Citi's online banking platform. CitiDirect BE Mobile is now live in 24 countries and will expand globally throughout the remainder of the year."

Ericsson Enables In-App Android Payments Via Carrier Bills
"Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) is now turning its IPX mobile payment system to facilitate in-app payments for some mobile app types. That could mean virtual goods, levels, news and other mobile content could be billed for by mobile carriers rather than app stores. Ericsson says its IPX is used by over 120 mobile networks. If they could take a bigger slice of booming in-app payments revenue, they could start to claw some money back from app distributors who run over their cell towers."

U.S. Bank First in Industry to Launch Mobile-Enabled Credit Card Application at Select Retail Locations
"U.S. Bank, lead bank of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), announced today the launch of a new U.S. Bank Card app for select retail partners. The new iPhone app brings convenience and buying power into the users’ hands by giving them the opportunity to apply for and receive on-the-spot credit to make immediate in-store purchases. Currently, the app is being piloted with REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.), a leading retailer of quality outdoor gear and apparel, and will be introduced to other retail partners later this year. The new iPhone app expands U.S. Bank’s leadership in the mobile banking space."

Mobile Banking Vendor Updates

Yodlee Announces Global Adoption of Financial Services Platform
"Yodlee, Inc., the leading provider of online personal financial management (PFM) and revenue-generating payments solutions and services, announced details of the rapid adoption in Europeof its Yodlee 10 platform in conjunction with its presentation at FinovateEurope in London today."

Mobile Banking Pioneer Firethorn Shifts Gears
"In the mobile banking business, a one-size-fits-all approach just doesn't cut it, as Firethorn Holdings LLC found out. Now the Firethorn team is focusing on a new loyalty rewards technology. The Qualcomm subsidiary, once considered a mobile banking pioneer, attracted banks that wanted their service preloaded on basic feature phones before the days of the iPhone and other app-friendly devices. It eliminated a lot of the legwork for banks, forming agreements directly with wireless carriers to get apps that aggregated access to multiple financial institutions on their latest phones."

mFoundry Launches mDeposit Express Convertible Mobile Deposit Solution
"mFoundry announced it has launched mDeposit Express, a 'standalone mobile deposit capture solution that banks and credit unions can use to provide customers with an immediate mobile deposit solution, regardless of their current mobile banking platform.' In related mobile banking news, ClairMail announced an impressive 234% year-over-year revenue increase for 2010, along with other assorted growth statistics."

Ericsson launches mobile banking services
"L.M. Ericsson (ERIC) launched its own mobile financial services business today, offering mobile operators, financial institutions and others with a mobile money services that it said can be connected to a real-time, cross-border, cross-currency switching network."

Monitise adds to Visa deal
"Mobile banking services provider Monitise has signed a new deal with its major shareholder Visa, which could lead to forecast upgrades. Visa International owns 14.3% of AIM-quoted Monitise. The extended agreement with Visa announced last summer lasts until June 2015 and there are minimum fees of $16m over the period."