Innovative mobile payments technology once again comes from Africa

"A lot has been said about creating innovative strategies for targeting unbanked citizens in Africa using mobile phones. But what about the banked? How can mobile phones reduce the costs and hassle of payments and transactions for businesses and consumers with bank accounts?

One company that believes it has an innovation that will change the way we shop and make payments is Oltio, a South African-based mobile banking, transactions and payments solution company that rolled out MTN Mobile Money in Africa." Continue Reading

FNB takes mobile banking to Africa

"FNB has expanded its digital banking services into Africa by launching and integrating its banking app and online banking services into its subsidiaries on the continent. Outside South Africa, FNB currently has operations in Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Tanzania and Mozambique." Continue Reading

Sub-Saharan Africa teeming with banking potential

"International banks' exposure to Sub-Saharan Africa stands at a paltry USD 210 billion, according to the Institute of International Finance. British banks have traditionally had the largest exposure to the region, with Eurozone banks a distant second, but Asian banks are increasingly taking a bigger bite of that market share. Chinese banks' presence in the region has reportedly risen, with China Development Bank lending USD 67 billion to the region during the past decade, compared to USD 55 billion lent by the World Bank." Continue Reading

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

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

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

International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 10

Leading lawyer on FCA interest in mobile banking
"The mobile banking market is expanding rapidly and Clive Anderson, Director of Supervision at the FCA, stated that it is right that the FCA now takes stock of recent developments and looks at how consumers can be ‘appropriately protected' in the future. Leon Deakin, senior associate at leading national law firm, Thomas Eggar LLP, comments: "Whilst these developments and the FCA's interest is welcome it does again demonstrate that the law and regulation so often lags behind technological developments. Indeed, this sort of technology and the ideas behind it are certainly not new so why has it taken so long to get to this point?"

RBC Mobile Banking app for BlackBerry 10 coming “by the end of September"
"RBC seems to be taking care of the thousands of BlackBerry 10 users in Canada. According to a reply on Twitter the financial institution will be making their mobile banking app available to BB10 users ‘by the end of September.”

BB issues instructions to stop breach of guidelines
"The Bangladesh Bank (BB) Sunday issued fresh instructions on mobile financial services, imposing some restrictions on money transactions to check irregularities and use of the service by non-account holders. The central bank asked all banks to strictly follow its instructions regarding use of know-your-customer (KYC) form in opening mobile accounts. No transaction can be made before the bank concerned scrutinises and approves application of the client/form."

Africa will Rule the World in Mobile Money, Expert Predicts
"African countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania have been predicted to rule the world in mobile money transactions, which include mobile banking and mobile wallet, in the next few years, going by the continent’s population and zeal for technology advancement. Head, Marketing and Strategy at Ericsson, Mr. Shiletsi Makhofane, who made the prediction in Sweden, while unveiling the company’s Digital Agenda for Africa, advised banks and tele-communications operators in Africa to see the opportunities and take advantage of them to boost African technology development."

Latin America Experiments with Mobile Banking
"Latin America has surpassed 100% mobile phone penetration, according to the latest data from World Bank. In reality, about 30% of the population still doesn’t have a phone. (Urbanites with more than one phone inflate the number.) Still, adoption is strong and growing. It follows that banks in Latin America have been embracing mobility: releasing feature-rich mobile apps primarily, and also updating online banking offerings and targeting the unbanked and underbanked."

Kenya: Are Bitcoins the Future of Mobile Money?
"Want to go to the market, pay for a taxi or send money back home? In Kenya, all you need is your mobile phone. Ever since Safaricom, Kenya's largest mobile-network operator, launched the mobile-payment system M-Pesa in 2007, some two-thirds of Kenya's adult population have subscribed, and an astonishing 31% of the country's GDP is now spent through mobile phones."

Western Union Expands Mobile Money Transfer Service to Nepal
"The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, today announced the launch of a new mobile money transfer service that enables consumers to send money into a mobile wallet in Nepal. The new mobile money transfer service to Nepal integrates directly with eSewa, one of the leading digital wallet platforms in Nepal with more than 200,000 registered users. The functionality was developed through the collaborative efforts of Western Union, its Agent Nabil Bank Limited, and FonePay Pvt. Ltd., the owner of eSewa."

Jaiz Bank Partners Teasy Mobile Money To Provide Mobile Banking
"Jaiz Bank, a Sharia-complaint Nigerian financial institution, has partnered Teasy Mobile Money to allow customers access to financial services using their mobile devices. According to Hassan Usman, the bank’s acting MD, the partnership with the mobile service company will extend its reach to citizens, who lack conventional banking services due to its high cost, thus increasing financial inclusions in West Africa’s largest economy."

Mobile credit card 'Swosti' launched
"A mobile credit card named 'Swosti' was launched Wednesday in the country for the first time to facilitate loans for the marginal people who are mainly involved with the non-government organisations (NGOs). Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the new service as the chief guest at a city hotel."

Monitise loss widens as operating costs double
"Mobile banking technology company Monitise Plc reported a wider loss as operating costs doubled due to investments in technology and services and the company's recent acquisition. Shares in the company fell as much as 9 percent to 48.75 pence on the London Stock Exchange, making it one of the top percentage losers in early trade. The stock touched a life high on Wednesday after the company announced two new contracts and Goldman Sachs raised its price target on the stock."

99wuxian joins China’s lucrative mobile market
"Transcription of Finance News Network Interview with 99wuxian Limited (ASX:NNW) Chairman, Ross Benson"

Banking on the value of USSD
"The most obvious option available to banks trying to roll out mobile financial services in emerging markets is to set up services directly with a mobile operator. Indeed, many banks in emerging markets have a mobile banking platform from one of the vendors present in the market. However, they still face the challenge of capturing the hearts and minds of consumers, as many potential customers do not see how mobile banking will affect their lives."

Australians Increasingly Using Tablets And Smartphones For Banking
"Over the next half decade, Australians will increasingly prefer to do online banking using their tablets and smartphones as opposed to the traditional PC says Jason Yetton wh runs retail and business banking for Westpac. Recently the lender revealed it had processed $3 billion of transactions made by its 270,000 iPad app users since the lender rolled out the app less than a year ago. Mr. Yetton added that the desktop computer still dominates followed by the smartphone, the number of tablet transactions is catching up."

Bank Audi awards multi-year service contract to Capital Banking Solutions
"Bank Audi sal - Audi Saradar Group (Bank Audi) has inked a 5-year agreement with Capital Banking Solutions, to deliver software programs to support the bank's complete range of products and services. The lender has been provided with an enterprise license agreement to use Capital Banking Solutions product portfolio for core banking, business intelligence, compliance, customer relationship management, portfolio management, and multi-channel support including internet and mobile banking. Based on the terms of the agreement, the financial technology company will also act as the outsourced technology partner for the lender."

International Mobile Banking Updates - July 30

Fostering Financial Inclusion with Mobile Banking
"The annual growth rates of mobile phone penetration in the developing world have ranged between 30% and 50% or higher, and penetration has been rapidly increasing. In Africa, mobile phone penetration has exploded during the last ten years. Between 1998 and 2009, Africa witnessed an increase from 0.53 per 100 people to 42.82 per 100 people. At the same time, the average price of a 2G handset decreased from USD 150 in 2003 to USD 75 in 2008. Africa is now considered to be the fastest emergent continent for ICT sector growth."

Mobiles becoming dominant for banks
"The growing love affair smartphone-toting Kiwis have with mobile banking is starting to push the desktop PC into second place. ASB is the first bank to reach a "tipping point" where more than half of all customers' online sessions are now taking place on mobile devices. Head of digital experience and commerce Michael Ramsay said the behavioural shift was one of the biggest and fastest the bank had observed in its 160-year history."

CBN to review mobile banking framework to accommodate telcos
"The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said there may be need to review the mobile banking framework in order to accommodate the telecommunication operators. This is in response to analysts question over non inclusion of telecommunication companies in the mobile banking operational plan by the CBN. Kola Adeyemo, assistant director, payment system policy and oversight division - banking and payment system department, CBN, who said this at the BusinessDay Mobile Money Roundtable in Lagos, also said there was need for these telcos to register subsidiary companies, which would be regulated by the CBN."

M-commerce boom in Zimbabwe
"Online and mobile transactions have for the first time surpassed card payments in Zimbabwe after recording 28,3% growth in the month of May. According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s May 2013 monthly economic review, the value of mobile and Internet-based transactions rose from US$283,6m in April to $364m in May, while the total value of card-based transactions rose by 1,3% from $328,2m to $332,6m."

ACI Worldwide to power DBS’ IDEAL mobile banking platform in Asia
"Payment and banking system provider ACI Worldwide announced on Tuesday a partnership with DBS to deliver the IDEAL 3.0 regional internet and mobile banking platform to corporate customers in Asia."

IBM Extends Its Banking Tech Expertise Into Emerging Markets
"IBM is extending its expertise in laying the foundation for banking beyond the established world and into emerging countries. A modern, reliable, secure banking system is a basic requirement for economic growth. For emerging economies, developing such a banking system is both a challenge and opportunity; large portions of their populations may not have bank accounts or use banks regularly, creating an impediment to growth and development."

Online banking brings more customers to StanChart
"Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia experienced a tangible growth in the number of its active customers by over 700,000 over the last 12 months through its new digital strategy of online banking. According to its country head of Consumer Banking Sonia Wedrychowicz-Horbatowska, the growth is important for the bank to stay competitive."

Rise in mobile banking predicted
"Experts predict that mobile banking in the Middle East and Africa will jump from 19.8 million users to 82.1 million users by 2017. Over the last five years, the developing world has experienced substantial growth in the adoption of mobile technology. Emerging markets offer not only new possibilities for traditional banking but major potential for transformative banking, said a statement from Gemalto, a leader in digital security."

Westpac soliciting new ideas for mobile banking apps through a competition
"Westpac is spreading its net wide in the search for fresh mobile banking apps by soliciting ideas from outside the bank through a competition. The bank says it will "crowdsource" ideas for mobile banking apps from New Zealand developers and designers. In return they're being offered the carrots of cash and the chance to "take their app to the world." Westpac says the objective of "the Westpac App Challenge" is for developers and designers to use their experience as bank customers, alongside their professional skills, to make a process or service faster and easier via a mobile app."

Swedes snap up mobile banking
"'The number of people who download the mobile app is increasing and they are using it also once its installed. The app is very user friendly,' Handelsbanken press officer Henrik Westman told the TT news agency. With smartphones now the norm major Swedish banks like SEB, Handelsbanken, Nordea and Swedbank have reported that the number of mobile logins is more than online banking via a computer."

International Mobile Banking Updates - May 30

Mobile banking on USSD likely to get delayed
"Full-scale mobile banking services over the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform, a text message-based interactive backbone could hit a roadblock with both GSM and CDMA operators at loggerheads with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on the revenue-sharing model."

Bank Muscat’s mBanking wins best mobile payment app in ME award
"Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate, has won the ‘Best Mobile Payment Application in the Middle East’ award for its state-of-the-art mBanking mobile services. The prestigious award was received by Tariq Atiq, AGM — Cards & eBanking, at a ceremony held in Dubai as part of the Cards & Payments 2013 Middle East seminar, which is reckoned the largest cards payment and identification event in the Middle East."

Mobile banking changing Africa’s financial landscape
"COMMUNICATIONS technology is reshaping Africa with more people on the continent using their mobile phone to bankthan in any other region in the world, reports Africa in Fact. It says mobile phone technology is especially useful in banking where many people live in rural areas far from cities where most banks are located. Kenya is the global model for this innovative use of mobile banking technology but the report notes, the potential for mobile banking in Nigeria is immense, mostly because of the size of its population (Africa's largest), and the size of its unbanked population."

Leading Vietnamese Bank Reaches New Clients with IBM Smarter Computing
"At today's (NYSE: IBM) Technology Conference and Exhibition in Hanoi, IBM announced that Saigon Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank, one of the leading commercial banks in Vietnam, has turned to IBM Systems and Software to streamline business processes across its IT infrastructure and enable broader client reach through new online and mobile banking services."

Mobile banking remains “promising land” for banks
"Experts believe that mobile banking would enter the hot development period in the time to come, when the number of smart phone users increases rapidly. A report says that 50 percent of the mobile phones to be sold in the future would be smart phones. Le Thanh Tam, Chief Executive Officer of IDG ASEAN said he can see the great potentials for developing electronic payment, believing that 98 percent of Vietnamese would use mobile banking services in the next five years."

Second RBS apology for banking app glitch
"RBS has apologised for the second time in two months after customers were unable to log in to their accounts through their mobile phone app. Many customers of the RBS Group, which includes NatWest and Ulster Bank, were unable to use the app for two and a half hours on Friday. A similar problem occurred at the end of March, when the app's users were unable to check their accounts. RBS is 81% owned by the taxpayer. About two million customers have the app."

International Mobile Banking Updates - May 8

Online and mobile banking: your rights when something goes wrong
"Nationwide customers were left without access to some banking services twice last week due to IT failures. Online and mobile banking was unavailable for several hours and angry customers took to social media sites to vent their frustrations. But Nationwide isn't the only provider to have been plagued by technical faults. Last year thousands of RBS customers were completely cut off from their bank accounts for several days."

Two million Kiwis now using online banking
"More than two million New Zealanders now use internet banking, an increase of nearly 18% over the past four years. Approximately 2.05 million Kiwis use online banking, up from 1.74 million in 2009, according to data released by Statistics New Zealand. While younger generations are the most likely to transact online, internet banking is popular among all age groups."

Africa: Nigeria Stumbles After Kenya
"More people in Africa use their mobile phone to bank than in any other region in the world. The continent's banking revolution began in March 2007 when Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom launched M-Pesa, a service that allows users to send, receive and save money using a cellphone. Since then M-Pesa has spread to Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Mobile banking now exists in 33 African countries, according to GSMA, a trade association."

Fear and loathing of m-banking
"There was nothing unusual about that morning, until on my way to work that group walking on the road caught my eye. I had seen them many times before but probably not noticed them this way. Whether on foot or cramped together in a vehicle, they prefer travelling in groups every morning to their respective workplaces. They carry their lunches in cloth potlis or plastic thailis and come from villages and hometowns far away to earn livelihood. And they can, perhaps, be clustered into one defined group - they are a part of India’s significant migrant population, of which many are also unbanked."

Subscribers warm up to new cellphone banking application
"Six months ago, Jane Adhiambo Achieng walked into a local Kenyan bank with the hope of getting a loan for her small grocery business. After providing all the paperwork and after weeks of back and forth between her and bank officials, she was turned down. 'They just told me I don't qualify. My income was too little,' said 42-year-old Achieng, who was asking for some $250, about half her monthly turnover, to expand her fruit and vegetable stall in the Kenyan capital. But in early March, she applied for the same amount through a different source and got the money in a matter of minutes."

Citibank Bahrain steps up online security...
"The bank said 'dynamic multi-factor authentication' on online and mobile banking platforms comes in the form of one-time pins (OTP). Being offered through the bank's Internet banking (Citibank online-CBOL) and mobile banking (Citi Mobile) facility - the new one-time pin service sends a unique number to customers in the form of a mobile text message every time they log on to CBOL and Citi Mobile. Clients can perform multiple transactions within each Internet session."

Mobile Banking For The Unbanked
"In sub-Sahara Africa, more than 80% of people have no access to traditional financial services. This has been one of the great challenges in fighting poverty in South Africa. Given the lack of developed infrastructure in many parts of Africa, how is it possible to provide millions of unbanked people with basic banking services? Standard Bank of South Africa has found the answer! Standard Bank discovered that one of the biggest impediments to opening a new account for many of these people was their lack of ability to provide proof of residence. However, at the same time, Standard Bank also found that a large percentage of unbanked people had access to mobile phones!"

International Mobile Banking Updates - Mar 6

ACLEDA Bank Earns Celent Model Bank Status for its Fiserv-Powered Mobile Banking Initiative
"Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, announced today that its client, ACLEDA Bank, PLC., was named a Celent Model Bank for 2013. Celent selected ACLEDA, headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, based on its successful initiative to bring mobile financial services to consumers without banking relationships, which the bank accomplished using Mobiliti Reach™ from Fiserv."

Mobile banking passes 6 million . . . fast
"Using a mobile phone for banking passed through 6 million users in Australia in the September quarter 2012, which was six months faster to that mark than Internet banking a white paper has revealed. While Internet banking took 15 quarters (3.75 years) to be adopted by 6 million users in Australia, mobile banking took only 13 quarters (3.25 years) to reach the same mark."

Banks moving towards mobile banking
"Bankers and software designers are meeting in Singapore to discuss how to take advantage of smartphones and tablets to expand their business. Banks are shifting investment, from brick and mortar branches packed with staff to slick IT solutions. Singapore software company Tagit is tailoring solutions differently for emerging markets like Indonesia and the Philippines, and banks with established networks in developed countries like Japan and Australia."

New Research Reveals China’s Potential for a Mobile Banking Revolution
"Researcher Patrick Ainslie calls it ‘handshakes over hetongs’ (the Mandarin word for ‘contract’). It’s an opportunity, an open challenge even, to reach 250 million people in China and potentially transform their lives. Ainslie is part of a team of researchers at New York-based social enterprise Reboot, which recently published a study, based on extensive field interviews, on designing financial services for China’s marginalized groups."

 The Moving Target of Mobile Banking Service
"When my colleagues and I talk about mobile banking, we are struck by how many banks operating in mature markets could learn from Africa. Despite the infrastructure challenges – and in some ways because of them – many African banks display a real commitment to innovation in service. Standard Bank of South Africa, for example, is working to provide “inclusive banking” – banking services for the previously unbanked. These customers may not own smartphones, but they can now deposit money and pay for utilities using the phones they have."

Mozido Appeals To Politicos For Action On Mobile Banking
"Gregory Corona, president and chief executive officer of Mozido LLC, has reached out to two top administration officials to run interference for his company with the Bank of Jamaica over a mobile banking deal with the credit union league that has been stalled by regulatory review. Texas-based Mozido operates a local subsidiary, Mozido Jamaica, managed by Kavin Hewitt."

Only three weeks left to register for the third Annual Mobile Banking Southern Africa Conference
"With only three weeks left to register for the third Annual Mobile Banking Southern Africa Conference 2013, we invite all financial, retail and IT professionals dealing with mobile banking and mobile payments to secure their seats at this high powered event. Registrations are filling up and the conference once again promises to be a full-house."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Nov 6

International Business Machines Corp. : Leading Pakistan Mobile Banking Provider Uses IBM Cloud to Expand Delivery of Secure Financial Services on Mobile Phones
"IBM (NYSE: IBM) today 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."

Surviscor Names CIBC as the Top Firm for Mobile Banking Services in Canada
"Canadians are relying more and more on mobile devices to access banking services, and CIBC is leading the charge according to Surviscor Inc. Among the big six banks in Canada, CIBC ranked #1 in Surviscor's inaugural Mobile Banking scorCard(TM), a comprehensive and objective assessment of features and functionality in the fastest growing delivery channel for e-banking. CIBC was closely followed by Scotiabank in second place, with National Bank rounding out the top three."

Fiserv helps Cambodian bank offer mobile banking, payments to unbanked
"Financial services tech provider Fiserv Inc. is helping Cambodia's ACLEDA Bank Plc. to extend its mobile banking and payments service to the unbanked using Fiserv's Mobiliti Reach tool. Fiserv said ACLEDA has offered Fiserv-supported mobile financial services to since 2010 but will now offer those services to consumers with no existing banking relationship of any kind."

Canadians are Slowly but Surely Becoming Comfortable with Mobile Banking, Study Suggests
"Smartphone ownership and mobile banking usage continue to rise in Canada, according to a new poll conducted by Harris/Decima for CIBC, who is Rogers' partner for Suretap, a mobile payments service. At least 44% of Canadians now own a smarthone, the study suggests, up significantly from 33% in 2011. Among those aged 18 to 24, 77% own one."

Call to regulate mobile phone banking
"THE government should come up with legislation to regulate mobile banking activities in the country to prevent service providers from abusing the system, a senior banking official has said. Since the adoption of multiple foreign currencies in 2009, Zimbabwe has witnessed a proliferation of mobile banking systems modelled on the one used in Kenya called M-PESA."

Standard Bank skips along beaten digital path
"Standard Bank says its mobile banking application has achieved 160,000 downloads since its launch four months ago. This activity, the bank says, translates into R1.3 billion transactions through this channel since it launched on 27 June 2012. It also announced that its banking app, which is available on iOS, Android, and BlackBerry, would also be the first SA banking app in the Windows 8 app store."

Survey reveals only 1 in 4 expats using mobile banking services abroad
"A recent survey conducted by ExpatForum.com in conjunction with Barclays International showed that most expats “never use” mobile banking tools, despite holding several bank accounts in different countries. The study polled 10,000 expats to find out how they manage their finances while working abroad. Of the respondents, 73% said they “never” accessed their bank accounts from a smartphone or tablet device, 17% reported that they “occasionally” used mobile banking platforms, and “10%” “frequently” checked bank accounts while on the go."

Metaforic to Demonstrate Mobile Software Security at FinovateAsia
"Metaforic, the innovative software security company, today announced that it will demonstrate its latest technology at FinovateAsia on November 6. The demonstration will showcase Metaforic’s ability to detect and respond to a range of security threats against mobile financial applications. Mobile app security is becoming increasingly critical as mobile services and transactions increase. In the latest incident, NatWest Bank had to pull its mobile banking app after fraudsters managed to steal thousands of pounds from customers."

Bank of Africa selects Clear2Pay's mobile internet banking platform
"Bank of Africa, a subsidiary of BMCE Bank, has added Clear2Pay's Mobile Internet Banking (MIB) technology to help its customers with mobile financial services in 13 launching countries. The bank witnessed a rapid growth in business covering 14 geographies in the African continent, where it manages 1.4 million bank accounts, an increase of 24% since 2011. The new system, which is capable to integrate with the bank's existing e-Banking application, will also help to trim operational costs, while boosting customer satisfaction."

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."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 25

Over 200 Attendees and 20 Speakers Confirmed for the 4th Annual Mobile Money Canada Conference
"The 4th Annual Mobile Money Canada Conference is this year‘s must attend event for mobile and financial sector professionals interested in learning from and networking with the leading mobile banking, mobile payments, and mobile money transfer pioneers from Canada and around the word. Mobile Money Canada 2012 is Canada‘s largest conference focused exclusively on showcasing and fostering the growth of the Mobile Money industry in Canada. The conference is almost sold out and occurs on September 25th, 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre."

Banks develop more services for mobile market
"Banks in Viet Nam are vying with each other to diversify their internet banking services in order to take advantage of people's increasing reliance on mobile electronic devices. According to data collected in a survey on internet usage in Viet Nam made in 2011 by Cimigo Viet Nam, which specialises in marketing and brand research, 60 per cent of the 5,800 people polled used mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablet PCs to connect to the Internet."

Mobile Banking And Payment Innovation In France
"France has been quick to embrace mobile banking. Banks like BNP Paribas and Société Générale were among the pioneers of mobile banking in Europe and since 2009, all of the big French banks have launched iPhone mobile banking apps, so most French banks now offer several forms of mobile banking. The first wave of mobile banking was about getting the basics down and offering customers functionality like balances, transaction histories and SMS alerts. The second wave now focuses on money transfers and payments."

Indigenous and ingenious: The roots of mobile banking in Africa
"In Ghana, it’s popularly known as susu. In Cameroon, tontines or chilembe. And in South Africa, stokfel. Today, you’d most likely call it plain-old microfinance, the nearest term we have for it. Age-old indigenous credit schemes have run perfectly well without much outside intervention for generations. Although, in our excitement to implement new technologies and solutions, we sometimes fail to recognise them. Innovations such as mobile banking – great as they may be – are hailed as revolutionary without much consideration for what may have come before, or who the original innovators may have been."

Now, you can buy gold, silver on mobile phone
"After enabling purchase of books and clothes among items, as well as internet banking and share market dealings, new mobile applications have been developed to allow consumers buy precious metals like gold and silver. With nearly 15 million mobile subscribers being added every month in the country, the mobile application market has emerged as a major growth area for developers and there are estimated to be about 2.5 lakh app developers in India alone."

RBI’s Dep Governor: Mobile Banking Has Great Potential, India is Moving Towards ‘Less-Cash’ Society
"Technology has played in important role in the evolution of banking in India. First there was ATMs then internet banking thus noting that local geographical bank branches are not as important when it comes to doing transactions. The question right now for banks is not about whether mobile banking is good for business but how to take advantage of this new trend in the banking industry. It is going to be about the evolution of better customer service, expanded product range, reducing operating expenses while enhancing revenue through mobile banking."

Celpay to invest $10mn in Africa
"Mobile banking and payment solution service provider, Celpay, plans to invest $10 million over the next five years to expand its operations in the southern African region. The company, which already has operations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the investment would increase its footprint in the fastest growing economies in southern Africa."

Mobile Remittances May Boost World’s CUs
"A new partnership between the World Council of Credit Unions and Boom Financial, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company that provides mobile banking and money transfer services to immigrant and unbanked families, could pump new life into credit unions in developing countries. Founded four years ago, Boom gives underbanked and unbanked consumers the ability to activate a Boom bank account, receive a prepaid card and transfer money to anyone in the world via a mobile transaction."

Jobs boom for mobile banking
"New jobs in mobile banking are expected to overtake those in internet banking for the first time this year, according to research from specialist financial services recruitment company BrightPool. In addition, the biggest growth in new jobs is expected to come in retail banking."

Mobile Phones Can Alleviate Global Poverty, But it Will Not Be Easy
"Despite the proven effectiveness of mobile banking in integrating significant portions of populations in developing countries to the financial system, two New America Foundation partners, Sascha Meinrath and Jamie M. Zimmerman, argue that this strategy is still an imperfect solution to financially include the poorest of the poor. M-PESA in Kenya, for example, has been heralded as an immense success with nearly 70% of the adult population using its e-transaction services, which has lead to positive results in related income generation."

The M-Banking Leader
"Would you believe a public sector bank is the leader in mobile banking? FY12 saw 25 million mobile transactions valued at over Rs 1,820 crore. Of these, State Bank of India (SBI) accounted for 81% by volume and 50% by value, while private sector ICICI Bank was a distant second accounting for 8.4% by volume and 33% by value. The balance, however, is proof of the wide gulf between private and public sector banks. There’s Central Bank of India with just 42 m-banking transactions, Dena Bank’s 481 and Allahabad Bank’s 782. In contrast, Citibank, HDFC and Axis Bank all clocked over 220,000 transactions."

For Text-Savvy Filipinos, Mobile Banking Is a Crucial Bridge
"For a long time, Lolita Singahan greeted paydays with a mix of relief and anxiety—relief, because it meant receiving money to cover her family’s expenses, and anxiety, because it meant she would need to spend an entire day traveling to the bank to get her paycheck. Although she makes about $800 a month, which is way above the minimum pay in the Zamboanga Peninsula region in Mindanao, Singahan still needs additional funds to support her children’s education. She has found refuge in the loan program of 1st Valley Bank for almost six years now."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 18

Seven ways mobile phones have changed lives in Africa
"A little over a decade ago there were about 100,000 phone lines in Nigeria, mostly landlines run by the state-owned telecoms behemoth, NITEL. Today NITEL is dead, and Nigeria has close to 100 million mobile phone lines, making it Africa's largest telecoms market, according to statistics by the Nigerian Communications Commission. Across the rest of the continent the trends are similar: between 2000 and 2010, Kenyan mobile phone firm Safaricom saw its subscriber base increase in excess of 500-fold. In 2010 alone the number of mobile phone users in Rwanda grew by 50%, figures from the country's regulatory agency show."

Mobile banking accounts registered 37% increase
"The country’s number of mobile banking accounts has reached at 1.45 million, experiencing a remarkable growth of 37 per cent during the quarter ending June 30,2012,a state bank official has said. The official said the accounts? activity level has also improved substantially during the second quarter (April-June) 2012 as the number of active accounts increased by 66 per cent."

Banking reinvented
"Mobile technology is forcing a complete reinvention of the banking world, with demand for new services through a more interconnected community of users, businesses and services. The mobile generation has profound implications for South African banks, and banking users. South African banks have historically enjoyed a reputation for pioneering online and electronic banking services. The rate of innovation appeared to be stagnating in recent years, but the last 12 months have seen major developments in online banking, and set the scene for another renaissance in electronic banking."

Chinese Banks Need to Focus More on Mobile Banking - Executives
"Chinese banks need to focus on leveraging technologies such as mobile services as they shift more toward consumption-based lending, said banking executives at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin Tuesday. Such a shift is important for Chinese banks which have relied heavily on VIP or high net worth clients, said Ma Weihua, chief executive officer of China Merchants Bank Co. (3968.HK). "I.T. is like ..."

USAID prods mobile money use
"THE US, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the country’s mobile money service providers aim to increase the number of mobile money users in the country by 1 million when they launched a new partnership dubbed 'Scaling Innovations in Mobile Money' yesterday."

Mobile payment to improve banking services
"The Bank of Zambia (BoZ) says there is need to ensure that anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations are in place in the advent of mobile payment systems in the country. BoZ deputy governor for administration Tukiya Kankasa-Mabula says with mobile payment solutions being on an increase, vices that can jeopardise the process are likely to occur."

M-banking poised for explosive growth in UK
"One-third of UK consumers expect to be using smartphones to do all their banking by 2020, while two-thirds of banks expect everyone to be using mobile banking in some capacity by 2017, according to a report released by business technology provider Avanade this week."

St George launches latest mobile, online banking services
"The St George Banking Group has unveiled its latest innovations in mobile banking services with the launch of new features to its mobile banking app and online banking services which it says now allows customers to open a savings or transaction account via their smartphone in just 60 seconds and start using the account immediately."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 23

Banking and mobile money - a powerful convergence
"THE power and versatility of the mobile phone to enable financial transactions is quickly being taken up by financial institutions as they strive to deepen their presence. Mobile money is only about four years old but has attracted close to five million users while less than 15% of the Ugandan population use formal banking services in over 100 years of banking. But the recent decision by dfcu Bank and other institutions to connect their services and clients to the mobile phone will kickstart deeper financial penetration and allow access to more financial services by the backward linkage between the phone and the bank, according to observers."

  Phones ring in banks' future
"THE battle for technology supremacy between Australian banks is accelerating, with the industry preparing for an era in which cash matters less and transactions occur in real time anywhere. Banks are launching smartphone apps aimed at connected customers and retailers, trying to get an advantage over rivals."

ING Direct Mobile App Encourages Savings Through Small Sacrifices
"ING Direct Canada has rolled out a new addition to its existing mobile banking app called Small Sacrifices. The tool helps customers visualize how cutting out everyday indulgences can lead to big savings over the long term. The Small Sacrifices tool is pretty simple. First, users choose what small sacrifice they can make, like passing on a daily coffee purchase. Then users decide which goal to redirect the money to, like their retirement fund or savings account."

The Secret of Africa’s Banking Boom: Mobility
"While U.S. and European banks suffer hangovers from the Great Recession and continued shock waves inside the eurozone, Africa’s top lenders have never looked stronger or been more ambitious. Why is a continent better known for political instability and foreign aid riding a banking boom characterized by aggressive pan-African expansion and swelling balance sheets?"

Mobile Banking International Updates

Mobility facilitates MEA distribution of banking services says IDC
"While financial institutions seek to develop alternative channels as a means to drive business efficiency and a better customer experience, an increase in consumer mobility has presented an attractive opportunity. According to a recent study by market research and consulting company IDC, the current penetration rate of banking services in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) is estimated at less than 35 per cent."

Standard Bank quietly releases mobile banking app
"A year after FNB shook up the banking market with their first mobile banking app, Standard Bank has quietly released its own version. LIRON SEGEV assesses the new app. A full 12 month after a mobile banking app was launched by First National Bank, Standard Bank has finally launched its own mobile app. Welcome to the party. There is no indication of why the app was launched so quietly, as it is available across three of the popular South Africa device platforms, namely:"

Lloyds TSB Launches Its 2012 Student Account
"Lloyds TSB today announces the launch of its 2012 Student Current Account. Available to new and existing customers from 5th July 2012, the account includes a number of benefits, including the ability to help students track of their spending and take more control of their money. The account includes:"

BOV now offering a mobile SMS notifications service
"Bank of Valletta is intensifying its efforts to deliver new services to its customers through a mobile platform following the successful launch of the first mobile banking and payments service in Malta earlier this year. With immediate effect, the Bank’s network of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) has been upgraded to enable BOV customers to enter or confirm their mobile telephone number."

‘Stress is an essential ingredient for growth,’ says mobile money pioneer
"Prior to chatting with Hannes van Rensburg – founder and CEO of Fundamo, a mobile financial services platform provider – I had expected a man who would be eager to impart his business wisdom and tell us exactly how it’s done. I had expected a person who would revel in his achievements. But Van Rensburg is a humble man who I felt didn’t enjoy boasting of his success. In fact he said that Fundamo – a mobile payments company he sold to Visa for US$110 million – 'just happened'."

UK adults distrust mobile banking
"Nearly three-quarters of adults in the U.K. consider mobile banking to be unsafe, said a survey by Wincor-Nixdorf. The study, reported in the U.K.'s SC Magazine, included 2,031 British adults. 'When you look at some technology such as the ATM, this has become a retail banking mainstay,' Ed Brindley, director of marketing at Wincor Nixdorf, said. 'Consumers feel comfortable using it and see that it is of benefit. However, the key here is that it was rolled out gradually and consumers were given the right education in how to use it.'"

International Mobile Banking Updates - Jul 2

Mobile Banking: Is it a Banking Solution To The Unbanked in Africa?
"Banking the unbanked especially in African countries has for along time been a major predicament. Due to the low level of technology, illiteracy, under development, and lack of proper awareness, the banking sector has been lagging unlike others such as IT and other sectors in the industry."

Emerging economies embrace banking innovations
"When it comes to reaching the unbanked in developing countries, there's room for all players. Worldwide, the unbanked population is estimated at 2.5 billion adults, including 80 percent in Africa, 40 percent in India and 64 percent in rural China. The established means of reaching out to the unbanked in such markets is the ATM. And research indicates that over the next five years, China, India and Africa will be three of four biggest markets for deployment of new or replacement ATMs — with North America rounding out the list."

Connected consumers go where banks haven't
"iWallet, PayPal, apps may grow faster than banking innovation. The banking industry has been given a warning: beware of new competitors stealing traditional financial services via technology. Consumers with mobile devices have the potential to access financial services outside bank offerings, says Bob Hayward, a keynote speaker at the Retail Financial Services Forum in Sydney last week."

Rise of the 'Smartphonatics'
"A recent report by ACI Research and the Aite Group identified a new category of smartphones users, or “Smartphonatics”, who change their financial, payment and shopping behaviour as a result of owning a smartphone. The report is based on a survey of 4 200 consumers, in 14 countries, in the first quarter of this year. The survey was conducted in order to gain insight into the worldwide adoption patterns for mobile banking and payments."

CIBC Continues its Leadership in Mobile Financial Services with the Launch of New Text Message Alerts
"CIBC today announced it has launched powerful new text message (SMS) customer Alerts, continuing its leadership in mobile financial services. The new Alerts bring important financial information to clients at a time and place that's convenient for them through their smartphone, or through email or online banking, to help clients manage their day to day finances. The Alerts range from reminding clients about upcoming credit card payments and due dates so they don't inadvertently miss a payment, to information on future-dated bills or transfers to ensure clients have adequate balances and can avoid late payment fees. Text message Alerts to mobile devices, combined with CIBC's award-winning Mobile Banking, empowers clients to effectively and conveniently manage their finances, wherever they are."

Sungard introduces new ‘solution’ to improve banking services
"As the global financial crisis continues to take its toll on financial institutions and countries worldwide, Sungard introduces its Ambit Core Banking Solution that aims to help banks improve their management processes. Ambit Core Banking Solution “is a universal banking system that provides comprehensive instrument and product coverage for retail deposits and lending, commercial banking, trade finance, and treasury management,” Sungard said in a statement."

Kiwibank’s iPhone App Puts A Service Rep In Everyone’s Pocket
"Kiwibank has released its mobile banking app for iPhones. The app is part of a suite of online innovations pouring from the bank intended to revolutionize how people bank online. Kiwibank’s first iPhone app has been much anticipated. While most of the world’s big financial institutions have had smart phone apps deployed for months, even years, Kiwibank was among the few holdouts. But it was worth the wait."

FNB banking app hits transactions landmark
"Since launching its mobile banking application on the 20th July 2011, FNB has seen over R4 billion in transactions go through the app. This is according to Michael Jordaan, who announced the figures this afternoon (26 June 2012) via his Twitter account."

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 - Jun 17

Mobirl on massive mobile awareness campaign
"With the telecommunication companies ramping up their services to ensure that our mobile devices stay connected, the private sector in Trinidad and Tobago is gradually introducing mobile applications and services to communicate with its customers and more importantly increase operational excellence for the business. Only two of our banks have mobile offerings today—First Citizens Bank and Scotiabank. First Citizens Bank’s mobile banking services allows its customers to access banking information on the go. This service is not only for customers with smartphones but extends to all cellphone owners. Account information is sent via text messages alerting customers of changes to their bank accounts including deposits such as salaries."

The Future of Mobile Banking
"Organised by Marketforce and the Institute of Economic Affairs, London has hosted on May 29 the second annual conference addressing the future of mobile banking. Opening the first session was Aman Narain (Global Head of internet and mobile banking, Standard Charted) who shared that they first began by establishing ‘war rooms’ with a sign reading 'World’s best internet bank.'”

Mobile Banking Helps Africa Advance
"The economic growth rate across sub-Saharan Africa has remained at more than five percent in recent years despite the ongoing global recession. Myriad macroeconomic explanations help explain this progress, but one intriguing element that is both underappreciated and undervalued involves a widget that fits in your pocket: the cell phone. The ability of cheap, easy-to-use cellular technology to connect poverty-stricken populations to the benefits of globalization generally, and banking more specifically, has yielded unprecedented new economic opportunities across the Global South."

ASB named 'New Zealand's best online bank'
"ASB has been honoured as New Zealand's best online bank by independent researcher CANSTAR in its first ever review of the nation's online banking market. ASB was confirmed as the clear winner among New Zealand financial institutions based on a comprehensive review of the bank's internet banking, website and mobile services."

Bangalore-Based Bank Chooses IBM Cloud for Core Banking Solutions
"IBM IBM +0.36% today announced that Sree Charan Souharda Cooperative Bank has selected IBM SmartCloud to help it meet growing demand, add new customer services and to centralize mission-critical operations such as real-time transaction processing across its five branches in Bangalore."

The Hard Sell: NatWest Mobile Banking
"Poor Sarah (well, she was Sarah when she lived in Godalming, but after her gap year she renamed herself Skye; it's just so much more her). She has had to call her dad for money to pay an angry hotel owner after she carelessly dropped an envelope full of Euros in a Moroccan souk while buying a scarf. Well, she was thinking about buying a scarf. But then,–"

International Mobile Banking - May 22

Mobile payment on the way, but who’s driving the bus?
"The Canadian Bankers Association announced on Monday what amounts to the next step in the evolution of how Canadians buy stuff. Sometime soon — details are not provided — we will be able to buy stuff in stores with a mobile phone thanks to a new set of common guidelines over how electronic information is exchanged agreed to by the country’s big banks and credit unions. It is hoped that the guidelines will pave the way for a transformation in the way Canadians interact with retailers, an acknowledgement of the growing importance of smartphones in the way we live our lives."

Commonwealth taps into mobile banking
"Commonwealth Bank Indonesia, a subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, is tapping into the growing mobile-phone banking market in the country as the total number of middle-class consumers continues to expand in the largest economy in Southeast Asia. 'Up to 80 percent of [the Indonesian] population is younger than 40 years old, 35 percent of them use social media. If you look at the way people interact and travel in Indonesia, mobile phones play a key part,' Commonwealth Bank Indonesia’s director of retail and business banking, Ian Phillip Whitehead, said in Singapore on Friday."

Firstly in Georgia – mobile banking for iPhone and Android
"In May 15, 2012, 13:00 PM, TBC Bank will open its new branch on Vaja-Pshavela avenue 49 and will present the most comfortable and ultramodern distance banking service – special versions of mobile banking for iPhones and Androids. Mobile Bank applications will be presented by Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, CEO. TBC is the first bank in Georgia to offer its customers mobile bank applications on Apple Store which could be downloaded and used from 7th of May, 2012. More than 400 customers already use TBC’s mobile bank applications. Applications for Android phones are also ready and will be available almost immediately."

Can mobile banking boost financial inclusion in Nigeria? "Nigeria’s telecommunications sector has been one of the country’s star performers over the past decade. According to Standard Bank, Nigeria is already the world’s tenth-largest mobile market. South African mobile operator MTN closely studied the Nigerian market for three years before it entered the country in 2001. Today MTN Nigeria has over 40 million subscribers, its biggest market out of the 21 countries where it operates. Many other brands such as Glo, Airtel and Etisalat have also launched operations in Nigeria."

How mobile banking can help Asia's poor
"The iPhone has become a symbol of something Steve Jobs never envisioned: Chinese sweatshops. Any of us (full disclosure: This includes me) who use one of Apple's smartphones, iPads or iPods is, at least indirectly, supporting the exploitation of electronics factory workers in China. Yet, what if the iPhone is a key to ending the poverty that forces so many Asians to toil in such abhorrent conditions?"

Rogers and CIBC make joint deal for NFC mobile payments in Canada, let you check out with your BlackBerry
"Canadians sometimes can't catch a break: while NFC payments have been relatively common for Americans, Europeans and certainly the Japanese, Canucks have had to largely make do paying with ye olde credit carde. Rogers and national bank CIBC want to put an end to these antediluvian ways: starting later this year, CIBC card holders will just need to swipe an NFC-equipped BlackBerry like the Bold 9900 (Bold 9930 for CDMA-loving Americans) at a matching terminal to pay at a given store. The only special requirement is a secure SIM card that gives customers the freedom to change phones, even if it does create problems switching banks or carriers down the line. We're just hoping that Android and other platforms get the same treatment and let more of our Canadian friends pay for poutine that much faster."

Out of Africa: Trade, Technology, and Knowledge—Part 2, Mobile Wallet and Banking Revolution
"Greater information technology share and investment through regional and South-South relationships is ushering the growth of an information technology revolution in Africa. This burgeoning African information technology revolution is not just limited to cyber cafes, media and online university level courses, but it is also allowing Africans to leap frog in the application and use of mobile phones. While energy and infrastructure constraints provide challenges to the growth of this industry, approximately 70 percent of Africans have a mobile phone. Mobile phones are being used to overcome challenges greater than the basic day-to-day needs. They have been crucial in allowing an increase of media access, medical doctors to see patients from a distance (particularly in remote villages), and mobile banking. I spoke about these opportunities and some creative ways of using mobile banking technology with Beamit CEO Matt Oppenheimer."

Barclays Pingit Mobile Banking (UK Only)
"It was with great surprise that I saw Barclays Pingit being advertised whilst watching Food Network UK this morning. This app allows users to send money to and from each other via their mobile phone numbers. I’m not sure if you folks in the United States have something similar — although I seriously suspect that you do and have had such a thing for months if not years before us. But this app, in my opinion certainly, has the ability to change how we use money."

India’s Mobile Banking Ekosystem
"Mobile banking is just one of the reasons India is a place to watch for innovations in financial inclusion. This short film profiles one such innovation, Eko, to see how businesses chasing the fortune at the base of the pyramid are serving the needs of poor customers in India. Five years’ ago, Abhishek and Abhinav Sinha created a software program that allows migrant workers in cities across India to send money to their families using a cellphone. Now their company, Eko Financial Services Ltd., is working with two major banks, the State Bank of India and ICICI, India’s second largest bank, to offer financial services to poor and low income customers using local corner stores, pharmacies, and airtime resellers as agents."

Mobile banking takes off in Rwanda
"BANKS IN Rwanda are turning to mobile phones in an effort to improve service delivery and cut costs as competition intensifies. It is now possible to pay electricity bills, top up airtime, order cheque books, pay DSTV bills and transfer money using a mobile phone. This is in sharp contrast to two years ago, when banks in Kigali limited mobile banking to basic transactions such as checking the account balance and getting financial statements."