Mobile Banking Updates - Oct 20

Mobile Banking: Security Is A Problem
"I got an exclusive opportunity this week to attend the Mobile Financial Services Forum in Arlington, Va. Hosted by BITS and the Financial Services Technology Consortium, both divisions of The Financial Services Roundtable, the two-day forum attracted a nice mix of payments vendors, mobile providers and financial institutions. It also brought together a number of security professionals, and the overarching theme across all of the presentations and panels? Mobile is vulnerable, to things we don't even know about yet."

ING DIRECT USA LAUNCHES TWO ANDROID™ MOBILE APPLICATIONS
"To help Americans continue to bank and trade on the go, ING DIRECT USA, the nation’s largest direct bank, today launched their Android mobile banking and ShareBuilder mobile investing applications. The Android apps add to ING DIRECT’s suite of banking and investing iPhone® and Blackberry® apps and Android ATM locator app, which were launched earlier this year."

Is Barcode Scanning the Next Must-Have Feature for Mobile Banking/Payments?
"Barcode scanning via mobile phone has been around for a a while. But until Amazon.com added it to its mobile app this week, I hadn't experienced it firsthand. Target's iPhone app also supports barcode scanning, powered by RedLaser. And it's impressive. Unlike mobile remote check deposit, where the trial-and-error method of getting a good picture can be tedious, barcode scanning provides real-time feedback so you know exactly when the camera is positioned for a successful scan."

Smartphone Apps Go (Truly) Viral
"In early 2009, Citigroup (C) launched a new mobile banking application for the iPhone. It let customers check their account balances and pay bills while on the go. Thanks to a bit of sloppy code, it also could have let hackers access the banking information for 118,000 customers who downloaded the app."

M-banking gaining popularity in Pakistan
"In its initial stages, the mobile banking in Pakistan has gained tremendous popularity among customers with rapid pace as colossal amount of Rs 10 billion was transacted through a single cellular operator in a year. Telenor Pakistan, the subsidiary of Norwegian telecom giant, with its various m-banking services recorded over six million transaction carried under its brand “EasyPaisa” by the end of first year. "

CBA: Telcos stifling mobile banking ubiquity
"Telcos need to address mobile Internet costs to encourage uptake of online banking services, according to the CBA. At the AIIA’s Mobility Innovation in Financial Services roundtable, representatives from Telstra, the banking and insurance sectors gathered to discuss the future of delivery of financial services through mobile devices. Banking on mobile phones, particularly smartphones, has become increasingly popular in recent times as remote Internet browsing proliferates."

Mobile Banking: Guidance on the Way
"BITS, a division of The Financial Services Roundtable, is taking a close look at mobile. In October, BITS is hosting a conference dedicated to security concerns surrounding mobile banking and mobile payments. William Henley, the senior vice president of regulation for BITS, who formerly served as the director of IT examinations for the Office of Thrift Supervision, says banking institutions can within the next 12 months expect new federal guidance regarding the use and application of mobile financial services."

Think Firm: Banking Texts in Upward Surge
"Global volume of SMS text messages for mobile banking is expected to triple in the next five years, according to Juniper Research. New types of mobile banking alerts will help drive that number to nearly 90 billion per year by 2015, up from about 30 billion per year now, according to Howard Wilcox, author of a new white paper for the think firm based in Hampton in the United Kingdom."

Mobile Banking Vendor Updates

Team One Credit Union Expands Offerings With CSCU/MShift Mobile Banking
"Card Services for Credit Unions (CSCU) is pleased to announce that Team One Credit Union in Saginaw, MI, will be the first credit union to offer its members mobile banking through a partnership with CSCU and MShift, Inc. 'Through this partnership, our members will be able to manage their Team One account, such as checking balances, accessing account history and completing transfers from their web enabled mobile phone,' said Konnie Werner, CEO of Team One Credit Union. 'This new feature will be a great addition to Team One's remote banking services.'"

Kazkommertsbank Takes the Lead in Mobile Banking With Misys Mobile
"Misys plc, the global application software and services company, today announced that Kazkommertsbank, the largest bank in Kazakhstan and one of the largest private banks in the CIS, has selected Misys Mobile to create a highly effective next-generation mobile banking service for its retail and corporate customers."

Orange County’s Credit Union Goes Live with Tyfone Mobile Banking Solution for Advanced Mobile Financial Services
"Tyfone, a provider of mobile banking, mobile contactless payment and highly secure mobility solutions, today announced that Orange County’s Credit Union (OCCU) has made mobile banking available to its 79,000 members using Tyfone’s u4ia® platform. OCCU leveraged Tyfone’s professional services to deploy robust mobile banking services initially, with NFC contactless mobile payment capabilities under consideration. Founded in 1938, OCCU has $950 million in assets making it one of the top 2 percent of credit unions nationwide."

Virtual Branch from Fiserv Expands Features and Integration
"Fiserv, Inc., the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions and the largest provider of business-driven technology solutions for credit unions, announced today enhancements to Virtual Branch(R), the Fiserv online banking suite designed specifically for credit unions. Virtual Branch features an enhanced user interface and integrated capabilities that maximize the online delivery channel through account origination, bill payment, lending, mobile banking, and other convenience tools for members."

Firethorn Joins Forces with Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union
"Firethorn Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), today announced that Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU) has joined its growing list of financial clients and recently began offering Firethorn's mobile banking service to its more than 370,000 members. With $3.6 billion in credit union assets, PSECU is one the largest credit unions in the United States."

mFoundry and Central Bancompany Deploy Innovative mBanking for 13 Operating Banks
"mFoundry, the award-winning provider of secure mobile financial solutions, announced today the launch of its multi-mode mobile banking solution for Missouri-based Central Bancompany's (CBC) 13 operating banks. 'Launching a single financial institution always presents its issues,' commented mFoundry CEO and Co-Founder Drew Sievers, 'But bringing up 13 operating banks in a single hosted instance, in the most cost-effective manner possible, now that's a true challenge.'"

Mobile Banking Updates - Oct 16

Huntington snares USAA’s mobile-banking ace
"Maybe it’s because I grew up rooting for a baseball team that routinely failed to be competitive, but I’ve always looked forward to the hot-stove season. Reading about a big trade or the signing of a free agent provides a thrill because they can reshape the competitive landscape. I’m feeling a similar tingle from the news that Jeff Dennes has left USAA to become chief digital officer at Huntington National Bank."

Bank of America Tests Mobile Payments
"Bank of America is a pioneer mobile payments and mobile banking arenas. BofA in May 2007 launched its mobile-banking platform and today has 5 million mobile WAP/browser-based and downloadable-banking-application subscribers. In May, the bank launched its SMS/text banking service -- a service that is open to all BofA customers -- and has more than 500,000 users. The $2.36 trillion institution is taking it a step further, moving payments to the mobile channel through a pilot it is spearheading in the New York metropolitan area."

Study: Banks Still Have Work To Do On Mobile Sites
"Tedious setup and unclear next steps are common on banking mobile sites, according to Web researchers Change Sciences Group. Consumers are wary of new technologies, expecting set-up hassles that outweigh the benefits of the service, says Steve Ellis, one of the report's authors. The most remarkable thing about the study is how bad a job some banks are doing introducing new users to their mobile services, Ellis says."

Zeus Strikes Mobile Banking
"S21sec, a global digital-security firm that provides e-crime intelligence, discovered a link between malware that was hitting online users and their mobile devices. Ultimately, it was a dual-Zeus compromise, says Daniel Brett, head of business development for S21sec. Brett says this so-called man-in-the-mobile, or Zeus Mitmo, attack is likely just the beginning, as other types of malware aimed at mobile devices can be expected."

Mobile Banking 2.0 or 0.5? – Mobile Banking for those with no mobile
"Safaricom’s M-Pesa is now so well known in the mobile banking world that it has come to be accepted by some as a blueprint for mobile financial services. The service relies on the phone in the hands of the customer (now more than 12 million) to perform transactions and the phone in the hands of the agent (all 20,000 of them) to credit and debit accounts. But in markets that have either lower penetration of mobiles or higher fragmentation among operators, offering over-the-counter (OTC) payment services may be an important alternative, or additional, strategy."

Mobile banking gets ‘no’ vote
"A new survey of 15,000 people in the U.S. and Canada has found that banking customers have so far not embraced mobile banking. In fact, only a scant 1.7 percent of U.S. respondents said they preferred to use mobile banking for routine transactions. That figure wasn’t as dismal as the percentage who said they liked to use the bank’s telephone service for routine transactions. That option was favored by less than 1 percent of the U.S. respondents."

Mobile Banking Updates - Oct 10

Growth In Mobile Banking Adoption Will Be Driven Mainly By Smartphone Apps
"Since banks like Bank of America launched native iPhone apps for Apple’s app store in late 2008, there has been an ongoing discussion about whether the future of mobile banking will be dominated by native apps or browser-based services.

With the adoption of smartphones that let people download mobile apps (like iPhones, Andoid phones, and BlackBerrry devices) still being small today, banks will need to continue offering browser-based mobile banking services to reach most of their customers. But with smartphone ownership growing fast, I expect that most growth in mobile banking adoption will come from native apps and not from browser-based services in the coming years because..."

Mobile Banking, Social Media Shaping Channel Strategies at First Tennessee
"At the Bank Systems & Technology Executive Summit in San Diego today, Dan Marks, chief marketing officer, First Tennessee Bank pointed out that the way people want to do their banking has changed dramatically over the past 70 years, just as the the way we consume music has changed from LPs to iTunes."

Android Mobile App Misbehavior
"Security vulnerabilities and spyware are now a serious problem for smart-phone users. In July, for example, Citigroup announced that its mobile banking program for iPhone inappropriately saved confidential information--including the user's account numbers and their PIN--unencrypted in a hidden file that could be accessed by other programs running on the user's iPhone. The account numbers and PIN were also copied to the user's desktop computer when the iPhone was synched."

BofA Exec Says Consumer Confidence in Mobile Is Top Priority
"Mobile banking is expected to grow exponentially over the next 12 months, as the world's adoption of smart phones increases. But growth in WAP/browser-based banking, as well as growth in the use of downloadable banking applications, means banking institutions need to take more precautions to ensure security and consumer confidence in the emerging mobile channel."

PayPal Soon Lets You Cash Checks On iPhone
"So, is this as good as it gets? If you think so, you need to wait for PayPal’s updated iPhone app which lets users deposit checks directly to their accounts simply by taking a photo of the front and back of each check. PayPal is currently the world’s most popular online payment platform and I’m certain that this move is bound to be a welcome game changer in the mobile banking segment."

Barclays takes to park benches to talk mobile banking
"This week Barclays bank managers will swap their seat in a branch for a seat under a branch as they take to park benches for a series of Barclays mobile banking clinics. The six events, kicking off in London's Russell Square, will see bank managers holding park bench financial demonstrations for passersby via Barclays mobile banking service."

In a mobile-banking world, whither the paper check?
"One clear message resonated from the Finovate Fall conference held in New York earlier this week: Banking and personal financial transactions are moving farther from brick, mortar and piles of paper, and closer to being totally digital. Many of the financial apps and programs introduced at the two-day conference focused on engaging consumers electronically, often through their mobile phones."

Mobile Banking Updates - Oct 7

U.S. Bank and Monitise Americas Introduce Free Mobile Banking Service for Prepaid Cardholders
"U.S. Bank and Monitise Americas have launched AccelaPay mobile banking, giving U.S. Bank AccelaPay(R) Visa cardholders convenient, free access to their accounts anywhere and anytime using their mobile phone. Plans are underway to introduce the mobile banking service to U.S. Bank ReliaCard(R) Visa state programs this month, and to expand the offering to other prepaid card products in the coming months."

ClairMail Raises $13.8 Million For Mobile Banking Technology
"ClairMail, a company that creates a mobile banking and payments platform, has raised $13.8 million in funding led by Investor Growth Capital with JAFCO Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Outlook Ventures participating in the round. This brings the company’s total funding to nearly $35 million.

ClairMail’s technology is fairly simple. The platform helps power mobile banking and payments for financial institutions. ClairMail processes millions of transactions per month for its customers across retail banks, credit unions and card service companies, allowing consumers to make payments and access banking information via SMS, the mobile web and client applications, across a variety of mobile devices."

Diebold Delivers Mobile Banking Solution to NavyArmy Federal Credit Union
"NavyArmy Federal Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions in the Corpus Christi, Texas area, has chosen Diebold, Incorporated (NYSE: DBD) to implement its new mobile banking solution. By deploying Diebold MobiTransact™, NavyArmy becomes the first credit union in the region with a robust mobile program, improving its ability to compete with banks offering mobile services. The credit union is implementing MobiTransact as part of a Diebold managed service contract, allowing NavyArmy to provide optimal member service, reduce operating costs, generate revenue and help integrate delivery channels."

Mobile Shopping Summit. New York Oct 25

Learn how you can develop and drive your mobile strategies to engage your customers anytime, anywhere. Join the Mobile Shopping Summit and be among the retail leaders paving the way for mobile commerce to take off. Hear Best-in-Class presentations and demos in the Mobile App Forum from industry trailblazers

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Speakers Include:

Baron Concors - Pizza Hut

Andrew Koven - Steve Madden Ltd

Tom Davis - Kenneth Cole

Rob Gelick - CBS Mobile

Stephanie Broccum - Rue La La

Baris Cetinok - Amazon Payments

Jim Hilt - Sears

Kevin Ranford - 1-800-FLOWERS

Jay Scanell - Sky Mall

Ed Deutscher - HSN

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Disclosure: I will be speaking at the event and the conference will be covering a portion of my travel related expenses.

Mobile Banking Updates - Oct 3

Western Union to Launch Mobile Money Transfer Service with State Bank of India
"Western Union, a leader in global payment services, and State Bank of India (SBI), the largest commercial bank in India, today announced that SBI accountholders will soon be able to receive cross-border money transfers in their bank accounts using just their mobile phones. In July, Western Union announced the introduction of the Account-Based Money Transfer (ABMT) service, to be launched in early 2011. This service will enable SBI customers with online bank accounts to pull a Western Union(R) Money Transfer(TM) directly into their accounts via the Internet or an ATM."

The power of ZeuS hammers mobile banking users says F-Secure
"According to Sean Sullivan, a security researcher with F-Secure, users of the Windows Mobile platform are being hit by a variant of ZeuS that steals mobile transaction authorisation numbers (mTANs) using a Symbian (.sis) or Blackberry (.jad) component. Although still quite rare in the UK – and so far used by Citibank's Egg operation and Sainsbury's Bank, Infosecurity notes – mTANs are increasingly used by European banks, using mobiles to receive an mTAN via text message."

Hancock to Offer NCR Mobile Option
"NCR Corp. said Wednesday that it is providing a mobile banking system to customers of Hancock Holding Co.'s Hancock Bank.
NCR, which is more commonly known for its automated teller machines and kiosks, said it can give banks a consistent experience across mobile phones, ATMs and online banking. Hancock, of Gulfport, Miss., also uses NCR's online banking system. 'It was very important to us to make sure our customer experience was integrated from the branch, to the ATM, to online banking and now to mobile banking,' Jeff Theiler, Hancock's senior vice president of risk management, said in a press release."

Monitise and DeviceFidelity Collaborating on Contactless Mobile Payments
"obile banking and payments technology provider Monitise, which announced this spring that it has more than two million users in the U.K. and U.S., today says it has a partnership with DeviceFidelity that will allow mobile phone users to conduct contactless Visa payWave transactions. Monitise has long been a partner with Visa and Visa has a longstanding partnership with DeviceFidelity, so this new link is not surprising. It means that Monitise will now be able to offer mobile banking and contactless mobile payments in an integrated product."

Mobile Banking Speaker Barred from Speaking at Money Conference
"A former Nokia executive, turned author and commentator on mobile banking services found himself being dropped from a conference just minutes before he was due to speak last week. According to his own write-up about what happened, he had been invited to talk about mobile money services to an international conference organised for people involved in printing money and minting coins, when he was inexplicably blocked from giving his presentation."