ANZ developing voice recognition for mobile banking

"ANZ Bank plans to use voice recognition technology when authorising large cash transfers to external accounts via mobile banking, a move it says will enhance security.

Under the plan, which is still being tested, mobile banking customers would no longer be prevented from ‘‘paying anyone’’ $1000 or more through the bank’s smart phone application." Continue Reading

International Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 6

More payments via mobile devices in 2015: report
"Online payment transactions handled by Chinese mobile payment service providers will exceed 9 trillion yuan in 2015, according to an industry report published on Monday. In 2012, the country's mobile banking sector handled 800 billion yuan in online payment transactions, an increase of 265.3 percent from a year earlier, according to a report published by the Internet Society of China, Xinhua news agency reports."

VIPERA PLC : Vipera – KPMG Commercial Partnership Agreement
"Vipera announces today that it has concluded an agreement with KPMG Advisory Spa ("KPMG"), a leading consulting and IT services company in Italy. Under this agreement KPMG, who are looking to expand their business in the area of mobile services and mobile financial services, have become a commercial partner and system integrator of Vipera's mobile financial services and solutions based on Motif."

Knocking on the M-commerce Door
"The past few months have seen more telcos inserting themselves into the mobile money and mobile commerce value chains. In Spain, Telefónica SA announced partnerships with financial institutions CaixaBank and Santander to create a new business in mobile banking, including a mobile wallet. (See Telefónica Brokers Mobile Money Alliance.)"

Surprising FNB mobile device stats
"FNB recently revealed that 76% of their clients visiting their online banking services are using an iPhone or iPad – much higher than all other brands put together. FNB launched its new website on Sunday 14 July, aimed at creating a consistent experience across all devices. The focus on a mobile friendly experience is very evident in the new design. Around 10% of FNB’s banking clients are currently accessing the website via a mobile device – up from 4% a year ago."

Software quality problems show need to “shift left”
 "In the private sector, software errors are causing both financial and reputational damage. A study by software quality specialist SQS identified private sector businesses in the banking, retail and mobile sectors, more likely to suffer software malfunctions than public sector organisations."

Bank of Kigali launches mVISA-Rwanda
"The Bank of Kigali, in partnership with Visa, has launched a new mobile banking platform, mVISA, an interoperable mobile branchless banking solution. BK mVISA is a digital wallet that targets 55 per cent of the country’s population of 10.5 million that currently have mobile phones."

ANZ Extends Mobile Financial Services to Unbanked and Underbanked Consumers with Mobiliti Reach from Fiserv
"Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), a $642.12 billion asset banking group, has launched an extensive mobile banking and payment service in several nations in the Pacific."

Aussie Bank Crowdsources Product Ideas in Mobile App Challenge
"Westpac will invest $50,000 to develop two concept apps from the public. The bank already has an aggressive mobile strategy, and is threatening to shake things up further with more bold moves like this before year’s end."

Kenya: Press Releases: Barclays Bank Offers Bulk Mobile Payment Solution
"Barclays Bank has partnered with mobile telephony service provider Safaricom to offer a mobile banking service that enables corporate clients to disburse bulk payments such as salaries, dividend payments, per diem allowances and pension payments to various beneficiaries through their mobile phones."

Canadians growing increasingly comfortable with mobile payments
"Mobile payments have gone mainstream in Canada. According to a report a by Technology Strategies International, more than half of smartphone owners in the country have used their phones to make payments this year. The bad news, according to the report titled "Canadian Payments Forecast — 2013," is that most of these mobile payment transactions have been for e-commerce purchases or bill payments via mobile banking apps and mobile banking websites. In other words, they're not happening in brick-and-mortar stores."

Updated: Westpac Australia online, mobile banking services still down
"Westpac Australia has confirmed that its online and mobile banking services are experiencing intermittent issues today. Westpac said its services were restored at 7pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on Thursday night after being down for most of yesterday."

International Mobile Banking Updates - June 25

Ethiopia: Mobile Banking Game-Changer in Ethiopia
"New regulations will bring m-banking to Ethiopian consumers, but limits on the companies involved and how transactions must be managed could slow growth. On 1 January 2013, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) issued a long-awaited directive that allows transaction-based mobile banking. This is a report by theafricareport.com. Four major players Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, M-BIRR, BelCash and Zemen Bank's z-Birr are expected to begin operations later this year, making Ethiopia one of those African countries adopting this technology."

UAE adopts measures to encourage wider use of mobile banking
"The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has urged the two local telecom providers Etisalat and Du to slash fees for mobile phoning and SMS services in order to increase the usage of mobile banking, local news agency WAM reported Tuesday. The central bank issued a statement on mobile banking following a meeting hosted by central bank governor Sultan Al Suwaid on Monday."

Think like Amazon to beat superficial mobile banking: ANZ Bank CIO
"Banks will "need to operate more like Amazon" as they fight technology-driven loss of intimacy with services tailor-made to prevent customer churn, the CIO of one of the Asia-Pacific region's largest banks has advised. 'While mobile banking may improve [customer interaction] channels, they also carry the risk of allowing the customer relationship to become more remote if the transactions are purely transactional,' ANZ Bank CIO Anne Weatherston told FST Media's recent Future of Banking and Financial Services Technology conference in Melbourne, Australia."

Banks start charging money for SMS alerts, mobile banking
"In another example of cartelization among bankers, several banks have increased or started imposing charges for transaction alerts through SMS as well as for mobile banking. As usual, private lenders have taken the lead, which soon would be followed by nationalized banks. There is no free lunch says a popular adage. Our banks, having lured consumers with ‘free’ services, have now started charging for them or hiking already existing fees to fatten their bottomlines. So far this year, many banks have started charging for SMS alerts on transactions and hiked the annual fees on debit/credit cards. A few banks have even increased charges to deposit cash in your accounts. The list includes large banks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Canara Bank. Here are some areas in which charges have been increased."

Kenyan banks face challenges with secure online transactions
"A weak legal regime, fraud and security weaknesses have stymied the growth and adoption of online banking in Kenya, according to industry insiders. International banks such as Standard Chartered and Barclays have ventured into online services but not as successfully as in other markets. Standard Chartered recently launched a paperless branch, where all transactions are virtual, while Barclays launched a banking app aimed at attracting more mobile and online users."

International Mobile Banking Updates - April 10

The mobile money space: Bdaily meets Monitise
"The mobile money sector has grown considerably over the last few years. Earlier this year, the UK Payments Council suggested that mobile payments could soon replace debit and credit cards. AIM-listed British firm, Monitise, have successfully built a reputation as worldwide providers of mobile banking, payments and commerce networks. Bdaily spoke with executive vice president, Lisa Stanton, about this exciting technology space."

Exploring the Mobile Banking Revolution in Tanzania
"In most developed economies, people can be forgiven for taking banks for granted. After all, an ATM machine is rarely more than a couple blocks away with easy access to funds. People can easily connect with their banks online to pay bills without ever handling cash, and loans and lines of credit are readily available. In much of the developing world, however, this infrastructure simply doesn’t exist. Thabiso Mochiko recently laid out the latest statistics on the issue at Business Day:"

Kenyans and poor Americans have this in common: mobile banking
"We’ve reported on how people in emerging markets residents are opening bank accounts and paying for things with their mobile phones, transforming business in those countries. But the US Federal Reserve would like you to know (pdf) that the changes aren’t all in other parts of the world. Poor people in the US are some of the most avid users of mobile banking and mobile payment systems. In fact, they’re likely to be the first adopters. And when you look at why, it turns out to be for similar reasons to why people in emerging markets have embraced mobile banking and payments: a lack of access to traditional banking."

Banks warned to keep up with developments in mobile banking or face losing customers
"ANZ, the country's biggest bank, is a laggard in the key growth area of mobile banking with ASB leading the way. This is a feature of research by Optimal Usability, a user research and design company. And Optimal Usability's CEO Kris Nygren told interest.co.nz in a Double Shot interview that another key finding of his company's research was that some customers may move their business to another bank for a better mobile banking experience."

StanChart launches mobile banking application and fifth EBU in UAE
"Standard Chartered has introduced its mobile banking application, Breeze, in the UAE, making it the first market in the region to offer the product. The lender also launched its fifth electronic banking unit (EBU), at new Dubai headquarters in Downtown Burj Khalifa, as part of its initiative in the digitalization of banking operations. Part of its global focus on socializing personal banking and extending customers' digital lifestyle into banking, the bank is considering launching various digital services and technologies in the market this year."

St George launches new smartphone banking services
"The St George Banking Group has released new mobile banking smartphone services with the launch of a live, account-balance Widget for Android phones and the ability to apply for a personal loan via iPhone or Android phone, with a response in just 60 seconds. St George says the new features are available for St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne customers and follow on from a number of other “Australian-first” innovations from its mobile banking team."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Nov 13

Mobile banking expands to include microfinance
"Mobile banking in the Philippines is expanding into microfinance to serve the lower-income market outside of the country’s major urban centers. Tricia Dizon, head of financial services at Smart Communications, said in a statement the telecommunications giant was helping launch mBank Philippines."

Mobilink to launch mobile financial services
"Mobilink is all set to enter the mobile banking segment as Waseela Bank – sister concern of Pakistan’s largest cellular operator – has obtained central bank’s approval to launch Mobile Financial Services (MFS) in Pakistan, sources familiar with the matter said and the company’s spokesperson also confirmed on Tuesday. A subsidy of Orascom Telecom – Mobilink’s parent company – Waseela Bank is said to launch its MFS operations by December this year; the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued the licence on Monday, according to sources."

Leading Pakistan Mobile Banking Provider Uses IBM Cloud
"The FINANCIAL -- IBM announced that Monet, one of Pakistan’s leading mobile-commerce providers, has selected a customized IBM cloud-based solution that will enable the company to enhance service efficiency and expand its presence across the country. Launched in 2012, Monet provides banks, mobile network operators and branchless banking agents in Pakistan with a technology platform that offers end-users a simple interface through which they can access a wide range of financial services on their mobile phones."

Mobile banking to overtake online
"More people will be banking on their mobile phones and tablets than online within five years, Westpac group executive, retail and business banking, Jason Yetton says. Mr Yetton said the explosive growth in mobile banking over the past two years, with more than 1.58 million Westpac customers using their devices for transactions, will accelerate. Westpac estimates that the number of payments made across its digital platforms will exceed one billion transactions within five years, with a total value of $6.8 trillion."

Good banking apps can make consumers jump ship: ANZ Bank
"The quality of a banking app can have the power to make consumers switch banks, according to ANZ Bank's Group General Manager for Innovation Peter Dalton. All the major Australian banks have poured money into customer-facing mobile application development as smartphone and tablet penetration continues to soar. Around one in 10 ANZ Bank customers do their banking exclusively on their mobile devices. Its competitors are all going through similar growth in mobile banking, with Westpac boasting 1.58 million customers engaging the bank through mobile devices."

Federal Bank rolls out mobile fund transfer facility to merchants
"Federal Bank has launched a funds transfer facility to merchants and enterprises through mobile phone. The Kochi-based private sector lender’s IMPS-Merchant Payment Service, in association with National Payment Corporation of India, will enable customers to use their mobile phones to access bank accounts and transfer funds."

PC Financial to launch a mobile banking app “in the upcoming months”
"While some Canadian banking institutions are already plugging away at mobile payments, PC Financial is wrestling with launching a mobile app. The Loblaws driven financial service, provided by CIBC, has approximately 2.3 million customers and some people have been requesting an app for months. Having a mobile banking app is basically standard these days. Offering simple features like checking account status, transfer funds, find ATM’s or contacting the closest branch makes the banking experience a more pleasant one."

Going mobile
"First National Bank customers are now able to track their spending habits, check their balance and make electronic bill payments from their smartphones. FNB has created an enhanced Online Banking System and also introduced Mobile Banking. 'For generations, personal service has been the signature of The First National Bank of Brundidge,' said John Ramage, senior vice president of FNB."

Use of Mobile Banking Continues to Grow: Canadian Bankers Association
"The Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) today released the results of its latest study on How Canadians Bank, which explores the role that modern technologies are playing in consumer banking. The results reveal that Canadians continue to embrace new approaches to banking and see these innovations as adding value to their daily banking. Going forward, the research suggests change will continue, driven by the convenience of the Internet, and led by younger generations who tend to be the first adapters."

Mobile Phones Empowering the Rural Poor through Mobile Banking
"Mobile phones are as numerous in Rwanda as the beautiful panoramic views of its famous 'Thousand Hills'. This was all the more confirmed as Vestine Nyirabagande, Urwego Opportunity Bank’s (UOB) client, sat with a mobile phone on her lap. She laughed when asked how many of her neighbors have mobile phones. 'I don’t think there is anyone in this area who doesn’t have a mobile phone!' she said."

St George customers getting smarter and smarter with their banking
"The St George Bank says it is seeing an “unprecedented demand” from its customers wanting to do as much of their banking as possible on their smartphones, and that more than 60,000 of its 400,000 mobile banking customers are already only using their smartphone to do their banking."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Oct 9

Transactional Banking and Mobile Payments in China: An Emerging Opportunity
"When Chinese shoppers flocked to Apple stores for the new iPhone launch earlier this year, news reports highlighted the reaction as another sign of the dynamic and rapidly evolving mobile market in China. Indeed, analysts said, China is now not only largest overall mobile phone market in the world, with more than 900 million subscribers -- it also is the largest smart-phone market in the world, moving past the U.S. Apple itself noted that iPhone sales in Greater China were up fivefold in the firstquarter of 2012, compared with a year ago."

Mobile Money "On the Move" In Africa
"In developing markets like Africa, innovation and ingenuity play an important role in finding solutions to problems that cannot be resolved through traditional approaches. Advancements in technology, and especially in telecommunications, have resulted in access to basic utilities being made available and the enhancement of lives of millions of people globally."

ANZ to Spend $1.53 Billion Upgrading Australia Business
"Australia's third-largest lender by market value said Thursday it would extend refurbishments of its domestic branch network and launch a number of new mobile-banking applications to help increase efficiency."

Cognizant and Monitise Form Mobile Money Alliance to Help Global Financial Institutions Capitalize on the Mobile Money Opportunity
"Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) and Monitise (LSE: MONI) today announced a global alliance that will help financial institutions embrace the mobile channel of interaction, and develop effective and innovative mobile banking, payments, and commerce solutions. Combining Cognizant's extensive financial services and mobility expertise with Monitise's leading mobile money platform, the alliance will help global financial institutions speedily respond to the mobile money opportunity that is gathering significant momentum."

Rwanda: Airtel to Introduce Mobile Money Platform
"Airtel Rwanda is set to launch its mobile banking platform dubbed "Airtel Money" by the end of this year as it steps up efforts to increase market share following the launch of its operations in Rwanda early this year. Marcellin Paluku, Country Manager Airtel Rwanda, said the platform will provide rural tailored innovative mobile financial solutions to both financially excluded and the banked population, a move that is likely to boosting initiatives to promote cashless economy."

Turkcell Launches the Most Advanced Mobile Wallet Solution that Works on all Mobile Phones
"Being a global first with its feature that enables physical or online shopping by just using the mobile phone number, instead of the credit card; Turkcell Wallet is a SIM based application, working on all mobile phones. The transactions can be initiated through the SIM menu on all phones, or with a native application on smartphones, and it supports contactless payment on NFC-enabled phones. This unique service is also available for all Turkcell customers, whether they are bank customers or not."

Money goes mobile
"Bangalore-based network security professional Ashish Rao started using mobile banking earlier this year, and he has largely transacted through the ICICI Bank’s mobile banking application (app) since then. “Be it sending money to parents or to any of my other account(s), I largely transfer funds through the mobile. I also shop on e-commerce sites and book movie tickets through the mobile, as it can be done anywhere, anytime,” explains Dilip."

CARE, Mwanga Community Bank and Vodacom Launch Mobile Banking in Tanzania
"The global poverty fighting organization CARE, Mwanga Community Bank and Vodacom Tanzania have launched a program that will connect remote community savings groups in Mwanga, Tanzania to banks using mobile phones. This innovative partnership is only the second-of-its-kind anywhere in the world. The first was launched in March by CARE and partners in Kenya."

ASB Bank apologises for technical glitch
"ASB Bank has apologised after a technical glitch this morning (Mon) caused headaches for customers using its Eftpos, mobile and online banking services. Customers took to the bank's Facebook page to vent their frustration, with one saying he was unable to pay for parking because his Visa debit card was not working."

1.0m brought under mobile banking: Atiur
"Around 1.0 million subscribers have come under mobile technology-based financial services, said Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman Tuesday, reports UNB. 'Through this service, transaction worth around Tk 10 billion (1000 crore) in each month and around Tk 330 million (33 crore) per day is being settled. Each month, the transaction volume through mobile banking is increasing by 15 per cent,' he said."

Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 4

Mitek enabling camera phone image input across dozens of mobile apps
"Mitek Systems’ mobile imaging service has become a big hit with the banks and their customers, allowing a depositor to snap a picture of a check with a camera phone and upload their deposit over the mobile Internet. But Mitek has bigger ambitions for its document image processing platform.

Today, Mitek announced that it was expanding from its mobile banking niche into the cloud, creating a developer program and set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that will allow any developer to build photo document processing into their apps. Mitek believes that the software has huge potential in a myriad of consumer and enterprise markets, handling everything from business card scanning and receipt tracking for business expenses to processing handwritten prescription at online pharmacies and invoicing claims from insurance field agents."

BankAtlantic introduces new app for Android phones
"BankAtlantic has introduced its mobile banking application, or app, for Android platform phones, powered by Intuit Financial Services. According to the company, the application will offer Android phone customers the same mobile banking medium as iPhone users with a suite of seamless features including: View account balances; View recent transactions and transaction history; Transfer funds between accounts; Get GPS guidance to locate the BankAtlantic branch or A location nearest you."

ANZ releases new version of goMoney
"Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has released new version of its iPhone mobile banking app goMoney. According to ANZ the new app version has been updated with BPAY functionality and enhanced features for people who are blind or have low vision. The new version of ANZ goMoney can be downloaded via the App Store."

Leading Mobile Banking Provider Clairmail® Selects Jigsaw Data Cloud to Drive Mobile Banking Success
"Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the enterprise cloud computing (http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/) company, today announced that Clairmail has deployed the Jigsaw Data Cloud to accelerate its fast-growing mobile banking operations. Clairmail is the leading provider of mobile solutions for banking, with one-third of the top 50 banks in North America using Clairmail's on-demand mobile banking solution."

Technology Credit Union Launches Next Generation Mobile Banking
"Technology Credit Union announced today the launch of its next generation Mobile Banking, which includes native applications for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices. These new applications make it easier than ever for Tech CU members to check account balances and track activity, transfer funds and pay bills, as well as find the nearest surcharge-free ATM or branch location -- all while on the go. The applications have already been downloaded more than 2,000 times, with the iPhone app scoring a 5-star rating and the Android scoring 4 stars. This next generation of Mobile Banking also includes a new and improved Mobile Browser (WAP) for compatibility with all other smartphones."

Manatee banking on the run
"Convenience, for banking customers, used to mean being able to make a phone call for your balance. About 15 years ago, it evolved to mean the ability to check your accounts on your home computer, 24 hours a day. Today, banking convenience has moved even farther up the continuum of “right here, right now.” Mobile banking, the blanket term for conducting bank inquiries and transactions by mobile phone, enables customers to monitor their money while watching TV, traveling, dining, watching a ball game, or even sitting in the hot tub."

Monitise brings mobile payments to Nigeria
"British technology company Monitise launched a pilot scheme in Nigeria in March this year – and has signed up more than 6,000 people. The scheme highlights the appetite for mobile banking and payments in Nigeria, particularly among the unbanked population and in rural areas where physical banking infrastructure is undeveloped.

There are 90 million adults in Nigeria. Only about 20 million have access to financial services but there are more than 100 million mobile phone subscribers."

International Mobile Banking Updates

Banks warned to keep up with technology or lose customers
"Banks aiming to retain their customers must court the Middle East's young, technologically adept population with innovative payment methods or suffer dwindling profits, a top banker has warned.

Speaking at the Middle East Retail Banking Forum in Dubai, Sanjoy Sen, the regional head of consumer banking at Citibank, said banks should heed the growth of new card payment methods such as Visa payWave and mobile phone payment applications such as Square and Zong."

Standard Chartered Takes Banking Mobile with the Flash Platform
"Standard Chartered, a leading international bank with almost 150 years operating in markets such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East, realized that its customers wanted to bank anywhere, anytime in a simple, convenient and intuitive way. After all, well over half of its customers would be using mobile banking in 2011. Mobile banking, however, can be a Catch-22. The customer experience should be richly functional, versatile and engaging, but whatever Standard Chartered built had to present minimal development costs and a reduced time to market."

ANZ goMoney mobile banking app delivers new way to make payments
"ANZ New Zealand’s mobile banking application, ANZ goMoney is being launched today. The bank says it is the first convenient and simple way for customers to securely transfer money between friends, relatives and businesses using only mobile phone details. Currently available for use on an iPhone, ANZ goMoney is free and can be downloaded via iTunes. The application when launched in Australia by ANZ in August 2010 topped the iTunes charts as the most popular finance application only days after its launch. Currently 280,000 Australian iPhone owners use ANZ goMoney."

Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 29

A brand-new way to bank. ANZ goMoney.
"There’s now a new way to bank with ANZ. Anytime. Anywhere. ANZ goMoney is designed specifically for your iPhone so that it’s easy to use, secure and friendly on your mobile data plan."

Mobile Banking: It's Not About ROI
"Tommy Sanderson, manager of electronic delivery for Miss.-based Renasant Bank, says when it comes to mobile banking, 'We just want to keep on talking about it.' Making a move toward mobile banking has to be strategic. While some institutions jumped in as early adopters, others opted for a more planned approach. What strategies and targets should small- to mid-sized financial institutions consider before deploying their mobile banking offers?"

mFoundry Platform Crosses One Million User Mark
"'While there are some reports indicating that mobile banking growth is slowing, our experience is the complete opposite,' commented Sievers. 'Over the past nine months, we've seen an average of 10 to 15 new customer signings per month across our direct and channel sales efforts. User adoption is also scaling rapidly with average sequential monthly growth of more than 10%, or nearly 300% annual growth.'"

Mobile Banking Updates - Apr 18

ANZ Bank trials mobile ePOS for iPhones
"The bank is aiming the application at merchants with iPhones who are highly mobile and want to take payments quickly and securely, instead of lugging around portable EFTPOS machines. Dubbed ANZ ePOS Mobile, the application can process on-the-spot credit and debit card transactions at a customer location. Credit card details such as expiry date and card verification code are encrypted and no customer data is stored on the iPhone."

Why mobile is changing the banking planet
"Back in 2004, I asked a group of bankers when mobile would take off in banking. They all said: 'not in our lifetimes.'

In 2007, Bank of America launched their mobile banking applications and has seen a rapid uptake of users. In less than a year, they reached a million customers on mobile, and saw a further 300% growth in 2008. It took them over a year to get the first million customers; a pregnancy period of just nine months to get the second million; and a short six months to get the third."

ViVOtech Says Its Contactless PIN Pad Will Pave the Way for Mobile
"ViVOtech Inc., perhaps best known as a maker of readers that enable contactless card transactions, this week plunged further into the point-of-sale business with the introduction of a PIN pad capable of processing contactless payments.

The device, known as the ViVOpay 8100, brings the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company into closer competition with established terminal makers. It can handle routine mag-stripe card transactions but can be switched over to contactless card and mobile transactions based on near-field communication (NFC) at any time, the company says. It also paves the way for promotional and loyalty programs merchants may want to deliver on an NFC platform or on stickers or other mobile-payments media, such as micro Secure Digital cards."

Small Banks Eye Mobile Upgrades
"Community banks are planning to improve their mobile banking offerings, according to research by Banc Investment Group LLC. About 89% of banks in a survey said they were considering updates of their mobile banking platforms. Most were planning to add to their mobile banking systems an application that runs on smart phones; the remainder were planning to add other features to their current systems."

Asia telcos bet on banking to drive mobile money boom
"April 16 - Asian cellular carriers are charting new ground with a charge into e-commerce, spending billions on banks and credit card issuers as they hunt for better returns on their own multibillion-dollar networks. But the gambit could also take them down a hazardous road, extending them beyond their core business as mobile network operators into a fast moving and unfamiliar world of high finance they know little about."

Cleveland CU Broadens Mobile Service
"Eaton Family Credit Union of Euclid, Ohio, has expanded its mobile banking offering to include the ability to handle more kinds of phones and ways to use them. The $44 million, suburban Cleveland institution calls the new service Eaton Family CU Mobile and said it can now handle text messaging, Web browsers or downloadable applications on compatible iPhones and other smartphones."