Mobile Banking Security - Aug 14

Banking trojan targets BlackBerry users
"Criminals are targeting BlackBerry devices with four new variants of the dangerous ZitMo mobile banking trojan. ZitMo (Zeus in the mobile) appeared two years ago and is designed to steal mobile transaction authentication numbers (mTANs), or one-time passwords."

Security fears hit mobile banking
"Mobile banking has yet to take off in the UK due to a lack of trust in security, according to a new YouGov survey. The survey, carried out on behalf of outsourcing company Firstsource Solutions, revealed that 80% of smartphone users have not embraced mobile banking and 58% are unlikely to use their phone as a 'Mobile Wallet'."

Security fears wrecking trust in mobile finance, survey finds
"A spot survey of UK smartphone users has uncovered a cool attitude to mobile banking with security worries cited as the main reason for users' reluctance. Using a reasonable sample of 2,148 adults, YouGov found that 80 percent either didn't or barely used mobiles for banking or financial transactions, with 58 percent seeing themselves unlikely to use a mobile as a wallet even if that feature was made available."

Mobile Security Still a Race Between Bad Guys and Good Guys
"Pop quiz: Which statement is true? Mobile banking is becoming more secure. When it comes to mobile security, the crooks are gaining. Actually, both choices could be the right answer, experts have said."

Mobile Device Updates

Study: 40 Percent Of Blackberry Users Want iPhones, One-Third Want Nexus Ones
"I came across an interesting study today that claims Blackberry users are wishing for other smartphones in large numbers- particularly the iPhone and Google’s Nexus One.

While, like most studies, the data should be taken with a grain of salt, the study indicates that roughly 40 percent of BlackBerry users would rather have an Apple iPhone, while one-third are eying Google’s Nexus One as their next smartphone purchase, according to the study released by Crowd Science."

Google announces AT&T-compatible Nexus One
"Google’s Nexus One smartphone is the flagship of the Android fleet. Sold by Google itself via its online store, the phone was unveiled in January for use on the T-Mobile network, with future versions planned for other carriers. On Tuesday, the first of those took its bow as Google announced a Nexus One compatible with AT&T’s 3G network.

Unlike the T-Mobile version of the Nexus One, the AT&T-compatible model isn’t available at a subsidy from the carrier. Customers have to buy the unlocked AT&T-compatible version of the phone, which costs $529. By contrast, those who wish to use the phone on T-Mobile have the option of buying a T-Mobile-compatible unlocked phone for $529 or signing a new two-year commitment with T-Mobile and getting the phone for a discounted price of $179."

Mobile Banking Updates - Dec 28

Blackberry Users Left Helpless By Multiple Outage, Mobile Banking Comes To A Halt
"With over 55% of all mobile banking coming from smart phones (June 2009 – Yankee Group Research) and more consumers switching to Internet only banks (ING Direct, Ally). Consumers are leveraging mobile banking beyond ATM locator and balance transfer; today users are expediting bill payments and domestic remittances. Mobile devices such as the Blackberry and iPhone are leading the way for mobile banking."

Musings about Mobile Payments 2009 - Glenbrook Research Brief
"For the last several months, Glenbrook’s Carol Coye Benson has been interviewing a number of companies involved in mobile payments in the U.S. and Canada. You’ll find all of the analyses she’s written following those interviews on PaymentsViews.com. The companies included are Billing Revolution, Blaze Mobile, Bling Nation, Boku, CashEdge, First Data Corp., mFoundry, mPayy, Obopay, Payfone, Zong, and Zoompass."

AliPay Gears Up in Mobile Payment Field
"The daily transaction value of Alipay.com Co., Ltd. (AliPay) lately surpassed CNY 1.2 billion. After setting foot in the online payment field, AliPay President Polo Shao is leading his company heading toward the mobile payment market, seizing the highland of mobile Internet."

Blaze Mobile adds Tetherball’s loyalty system to the Blaze Wallet
"Blaze Mobile and Tetherball are to provide US consumers with the ability to both redeem mobile rewards and coupons and make purchases using their mobile phone.

Blaze Wallet users already have the option of using a Blaze Mobile Prepaid MasterCard PayPass sticker to make payments using their phone at the point-of-sale. Now they will be able to use the same sticker to both make payments and receive/redeem offers from retailers such as Dairy Queen that are already using Tetherball's contactless mobile marketing solution."

Wendy’s Debuts Mobile Coupons
"Wendy's International is taking its first steps into the world of mobile coupons with help from partner Options Media Group Holdings, a services provider for on-demand e-mail marketing, Brandweek reported.

Through the new campaign, customers in the Northeast can opt in for mobile coupons and ads, which arrive via text message, in return for discounts at select Wendy's locations."

Mobile Banking Updates - March 11

Nokia Unveils Ovi Store, Application Sales To Debut In May
"At the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, Nokia has unveiled its initiative to try and repeat the runaway succes of Apple’s App Store with its own mobile storefront dubbed Ovi Store. This was an expected move as the rumors about the Finnish mobile juggernaut’s mobile applications store already spread last week; they were late confirmed to Reuters by industry sources."

BlackBerry maker to open new online store
"The store's Web site, poised to rival Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s AppStore, is called BlackBerry App World. It replaces the company's previous online store, App Center, National Business Review reported Friday. The Web site promises a convenient location for BlackBerry owners to download 'games, social networks, personal productivity applications and so much more.'"

Sybase unveils SMS services for mobile location and advertising
"Sybase has announced two new mobile services based on SMS messaging, one for phone users to get turn-by-turn directions, another for vendors to insert ads or promotions at the bottom of the message blocks. Both offerings are based on the SMS platform of the company’s Sybase 365 subsidiary, which processes yearly over 2 billion SMS and MMS messages that pass between subscribers on different mobile carriers."

Orange and Barclaycard will launch mobile payment services
"Orange, currently the world’s ninth largest mobile carrier, today announced a strategic partnership with Barclaycard, the global credit provider owned by Barclays plc. The two companies will launch a series of mobile financial services in the UK, with the final purpose of 'revolutionizing the way people pay on the high street and web.'"