Does IBM's 2-Factor have the X Factor for Mobile Banking?

"I'm a big fan – and former employee – of Big Blue. So it's always good to see the innovations that continue to emerge out of the IBM Labs. In their latest offering, reported by Finextra last week (http://www.finextra.com/News/FullStory.aspx?newsitemid=25338), IBM has employed NFC technology to deliver a simple customer identification and verification process for mobile banking. 

They have done this by using contactless cards and Android 4.0 phones. In effect, mobile phones begin to operate a little like ATMs. The user enters their PIN into the phone and then presents their card to identify themselves. They then present their card again to authenticate. It is a nice way to try and make logging into mobile banking and authenticating transactions easier – and more intuitive." Continue Reading

Citibank rolls out NFC-based mobile wallet in Hong Kong

"Smartphone users in Hong Kong now have another mobile wallet option with the introduction of 3 Citi Wallet. The NFC-enabled solution is a collaboration between 3 Hong Kong, the mobile arm of Hutchison Telecommunications Holdings Ltd., and Citibank Hong Kong.

The solution enables contactless payments for amounts up to HK$1,000 per transaction. 3 Hong Kong said it's the only wallet in Hong Kong that supports Android and iOS operating systems; using the wallet with an iPhone requires an NFC sticker provided by Citibank." Continue Reading

Made in IBM Labs: Two-Factor Security for Mobile Transactions

"IBM scientists have developed a new mobile authentication security technology based on the radio standard known as near-field communication (NFC). The technology provides an extra layer of security when using an NFC-enabled device and a contactless smartcard to conduct mobile transactions, including online banking and digital signatures when accessing a corporate Intranet or private cloud." Continue Reading

It’s starting to come together

"Every year Gartner comes out with a fascinating graph detailing the “hype cycle” of scores of new technologies, plotting them on a time curve that traces them through various stages, starting with “innovation trigger,” “peak of inflated expectations,” “trough of disillusionment,” “slope of enlightenment,”—and ending with the “plateau of productivity.”

Some of the technologies listed are familiar to bankers. Gamification, for example, now is seen topping off at the peak of inflated expectations. Near-field communications now is sliding down deep into the trough of disillusionment. Location intelligence now has progressed all the way to the border between slope of enlightenment and plateau of productivity." Continue Reading

Tap NAB’s app and bump to transfer funds

"National Australia Bank has become the latest bank to take on peer-to-peer payments, with a new mobile app that will allow its customers to transfer money using a mobile number, email or Facebook message. After more than six months of internal trials, NAB will this week release Flik, letting customers bypass the convoluted process of entering bank-state-branch (BSB) and account numbers to transfer money.

Instead, customers can transfer money using an email address, SMS message, or through Facebook. It also allows customers with compatible Android smartphones to bump phones together using near-field communications technology." Continue Reading

Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 28

Payment innovations: Are you in?
"Like most banks, Home Federal Savings Bank, a $1 billion-assets institution in Sioux Falls, S.D., is wary of nonbank competitors in payments. Says Natalie Sundvold, senior vice-president, service and support, “From my seat in a financial services company, the thought of an outsider coming into payments is frightening. It doesn’t feel good, especially because consumers may not understand how payment security works.” When evaluating payments players and planning their own strategy, banks would be wise to keep the words of the Chinese general and military strategist Sun-tzu in mind: 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.'”

Does Your Financial Institution’s Digital Strategy Pass the ROI Test?
"Large investments in emerging services like mobile and online do not always translate into higher customer satisfaction or even high financial performance. Javelin Strategy & Research, a leading financial services analyst firm, is releasing the company’s new competitive benchmark service, Outperform, which is a result of analyzing over 20 leading financial institutions and provides insights to improve each banks’ return on investment on emerging bank services—mobile and online banking services."

The globalisation of immediate payments – rolling out faster transactions
"The proliferation of smartphones, for example, has created a society that is locked into the internet whenever and wherever, with constant and immediate access to a huge array of services and 24/7 communication. The subsequent demand for immediacy and convenience has fundamentally changed the expectations customers have of service providers – and this extends to banking and payments. The growth of online and mobile banking has seen reliance on traditional bank branches fall dramatically, with customers instead choosing to conduct their financial affairs on the move and at their own convenience."

Study: Hard Numbers Reveal Growing Mobile Usage
"The latest data dump from Malauzai Software – which now provides mobile banking apps to 108 credit unions and banks – reveals continued, strong growth in mobile banking usage. The just-released July numbers show that among financial institutions that have offered mobile banking for at least one year, 'the average month-over-month (member usage) growth rate is 4.19%. The best-in-class number is 11.56% with several banks and (credit unions) topping 10%,' according to Malauzai in Austin, Texas."

Sonoma Bank Launches Mobile Banking Solutions
"Sterling Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:STSA), whose principal operating subsidiary does business in California as Sonoma Bank and Borrego Springs Bank, today announced that Sonoma Bank is launching a robust mobile banking suite for consumer customers. Now, Sonoma Bank customers can manage accounts with a mobile phone or a tablet using the Sonoma Bank Mobile App, which is available for iPhone, iPad and AndroidTM devices. Customers can also access accounts with Mobile Web or enroll in Text Banking and text the bank to receive account balance and recent transactions."

Mobile Banking Getting Easier And Faster
"No question banking on-the-go is easier than ever thanks to our smartphones. And now many banks are offering more services than just paying bills and depositing a check with your phone. Want to split the check for dinner with your friends, pay the babysitter on-the-spot, or the neighborhood kid to mow your lawn? Now you can use your phone for that too. No cash, no checks required."

Microfinance Institutions Benefit Most from Mobile Banking in Mature Markets
"New research from the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) finds that microfinance institutions (MFIs) and their customers can derive clear benefits from integrating with mobile banking services. However, MFIs are not yet playing a driving role in the adoption of mobile banking. Instead, MFIs successful in using mobile banking are located in mature markets where mobile and agent infrastructures are already established and where customers are experienced with viable mobile payments solutions. The benefits of mobile banking services to MFIs largely depend on the success of the existing mobile banking service itself: in markets where mobile banking is strong, MFIs and their customers can more easily benefit."

Ameriana Bank unveils Allied Payment’s mobile bill pay platform "Ameriana Bank has implemented Allied’s Picture Pay mobile bill pay, which allows its customers to pay any bill easily and securely by capturing a photo of the bill with their mobile devices. The lender, which combined the Picture Pay into its existing mobile banking application, said that the deployment of the new technology will reduce the complexities during the bill pay process."

'Lines Are for Losers': The Mobile Banking Mantra
"Just maybe Albuquerque media expert Casey Echternacht has the slogan for today's mobile banking generation: "Lines are for losers," he said when asked why he is a self-professed fanboy for mobile banking. He's a new convert - 'I just signed up a few weeks ago,' he said, after discovering his credit union offered a mobile banking app. 'They won't be seeing me in branches much anymore.'"

Banks target larger companies for mobile services
"Many U.S. banks have been quicker to offer mobile banking services to their consumer and small-business clients than to larger middle-market and corporate customers. But with customer demand rising significantly, the race is now on among the top 50 U.S. banks to roll out corporate mobile banking, according to a recent Aite Group report. For the company's "Corporate Mobile: Gaining Momentum" study, Christine Barry, Aite Group's wholesale banking research director, surveyed 32 U.S. banks with more than $14 billion in assets, representing approximately the top 50 U.S. banks ranked by total assets. The survey, conducted in June, excluded small-business mobile banking and focused solely on middle-market and corporate mobile banking."

The promise of NFC: Mobile payments and mobile advertising will make life better for all of us "Mobile payments have remained a small but fast-growing part of the explosion of smartphone usage in America. According to a study by Creditdonkey.com, 87 percent of Americans have a mobile phone but only 21 percent of mobile phone users have taken advantage of mobile banking in the past year. Mobile payment products like Visa's payWave or Paypal's apps for iOS and Android may be the way all of us buy goods in the future, but a number of consumers are resisting the technology. According to CreditDonkey's survey, 68 percent of respondents said that they would not like to replace cash with a mobile payment product. It is going to take time for the mobile phone to replace the wallet."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Aug 20

Western Union expands mobile banking in Africa
"Western Union is growing its mobile banking function in Africa, aiming to complement the 27,000 physical agent locations spread across 50 countries. The company’s main focus is now on expanding its digital transaction channels, a good example being integrating with additional mobile networks and increasing the use of prepaid cards when customers receive money."

Cabinet directs on regulation of mobile money transactions
"The Cabinet has directed the Ministry of Finance to amend the law regulating the financial institutions with the view of including regulations that govern Islamic banking and mobile money transactions. The regulation if passed will hold those responsible for money transfer businesses in cases of breach of contract or any dubious transaction. The new law will also regulate Islamic banking, thus widening the scope of customer choices in terms of banking."

ENTREVESTOR: Dal team to unveil banking app for teens
"After a long and hectic summer, a group of entrepreneurs from Dalhousie University will unveil their financial app Purchext to angel investors in Toronto Tuesday as the final segment of the gruelling Next 36 course. Purchext is a company formed at Dalhousie last spring and its founders — Cam McDonald, Zachary Levy, and Daniel Bartek — took the project to the Next 36 program, a three-month academic/mentoring program for undergraduate entrepreneurs. The graduation from the program includes pitches to angel investors."

Canada’s Desjardins financial cooperative pushes NFC offering
"Canada is seeing a fresh push to promote near field communication (NFC) services after Canadian cooperative financial group Desjardin signed a deal with mobile money solutions provider Monitise and a joint venture with the nation’s three largest mobile operators. Under the terms of the partnership, Monitise will provide the NFC-enabled mobile payment application; the technology will allow Desjardins members and clients to make purchases at Canadian retailers using their smartphone."

Monitise sees revenues surge as mobile banking takes off
"In our technology focussed world the mobile phone has become like an extra super-sensory organ to most of us, and nowadays that usually means a smartphone. Smartphone penetration is around 55% of the market and is expected to reach 80% by the end of 2015. We play games on them, read the news, catch up with friends and tweet our latest thoughts to all who care to listen. And now growing numbers of us are using them to pay our bills, shift money between our accounts and take advantage of vouchers and customer offers."

Bank Millennium SA : Best Internet Bank in Poland according to Global Finance magazine
"Bank Millennium has yet again scored first in the category "Best Consumer Internet Bank in Poland". Also the mobile banking app for companies was recognised. The awards were given by Global Finance independent financial magazine. According to the jury's verdict Bank Millennium is the Best Consumer Internet Bank in Poland and is also Best in Mobile Banking for Corporate/Institutional in CEE. The competition organisers i.a. appreciated the product offering available online, the functionality and design of the new website as well as growth of the number of online banking customers."

Global Differences in the Mobile Web: Emerging Markets Lead the Way in M-Commerce, Mobile Banking and New Technologies
"Netbiscuits, the global leader in software solutions for adaptive web experiences, today published additional findings from its study into consumer behavior on the mobile web. The latest data, extracted from the Netbiscuits People's Web Report and featuring responses from 5,000 consumers, found that the starkest differences in mobile usage were between developed and emerging markets. Deep-diving into the differences between consumer expectations around the world, the new evaluation of the People's Web Report findings gives a more detailed insight into how our lives are shaped by mobile."

Online banking security company Entersekt, wins Frost and Sullivan Award
"Online banking security company Entersekt, has today been awarded the 2013 South African Frost and Sullivan Award for Technology Leadership for its innovations in providing easy-to-use and secure mobile banking solutions. Transakt, as its app is called, offers an alternative method to online banking that claims to eliminate fraud and enhance transaction convenience of both the bank and customer. Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Lehlohonolo Mokenela notes that Entersekt has received accreditation from the world’s largest payments networks American Express, MasterCard, and Visa and is the first and only company in Africa to earn all three of these certifications."

Daily use of mobile banking in Korea up 10.2 pct in Q2
"The daily use of mobile banking in South Korea rose 10.2 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier on the back of the growing popularity of smartphones, the central bank said Thursday. Transactions by mobile banking or banking services accessed via wireless handsets were valued at 1.39 trillion won (US$1.24 billion) per day in the April-June period, compared with 1.26 trillion won three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK)."

Half of UK bank branches could close by 2020
"The increased use of online and mobile banking means that half of the UK’s building society and bank branches could close by 2020, a new report predicts. The Global Retail Banking report from Jones Lang LaSalle adds that the closures will be spurred on by increased use of debit and credit cards."

Mobile Banking Payments - July 17

NFC mobile payments: overcoming the barriers for banks
"The past few years have seen major changes to the way consumers make low value payments, from pre-paid wallets such as the Oyster Card through to Contactless Cards in retail transactions – thanks to Near Field Communication devices, writes Ben Leighton. Contactless cards in particular are gaining a good deal of momentum in the UK; the majority of major banks now issue them, and large retailers are increasingly accepting them. Only recently, Starbucks pledged to roll out contactless terminals at over 550 of its company-owned stores across the UK."

Mobile Bill Pay, RDC Outpacing P2P
"Major American banks have widely adopted mobile bill pay and remote deposit checking, a new report says, with person-to-person payments lagging behind. The Celent report – titled “The U.S. Mobile App Landscape: An Annual Evaluation of Mobile Banking at the Top U.S. Banks” – found that 55% of large banks offer bill pay, 31% offer mobile RDC and only 14% have rolled out P2P."

Braintree Collaborates with Simple, Launches Venmo Touch for Banking Customers
"Braintree, the global payment platform behind many of the best next-generation online and mobile purchasing experiences—including Hotel Tonight, Fab, Airbnb, Uber and Angry Birds—today announced it will offer Venmo Touch to card issuers and mobile banking providers, delivering one touch mobile payments to their customers. Braintree is collaborating with Simple, a leader in online and mobile banking, to give Simple customers access to Venmo Touch, extending their seamless mobile experience through to checkout. This is Braintree's first collaboration to offer direct banking integration for Venmo Touch."

Mobile Payments - June 3

CR Money Minute: A better mobile wallet?
"More than 18 months ago, Google Wallet was launched on the Sprint cellular network amid hoopla that payment-by-smart-phone technology at cashiers nationwide would replace your plastic debit and credit cards. Since then, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless have begun testing their own Isis Mobile Wallet, and other companies have also jumped on the bandwagon."

Mobile Payments: Is Your Bank Putting Its Best Foot Forward?
"As mobile communication becomes more and more affordable and user-friendly, mobile banking is gaining increasing acceptance globally. With innovations such as Near Field Communications (NFC), mobile wallets, virtual personal financial assistants and a slew of new and customized applications being developed and adopted, the mobile banking landscape is undergoing a rapid and irreversible transformation, to an extent that monetary transactions are no longer restricted to banks and traditional financial institutions."

Opportunity as mobile payments show huge growth
"IT research company Gartner projects that global mobile transaction growth will average 42 per cent per year between 2011 and 2016, with the market estimated to be worth $617bn (£404.8bn), with 448m users, by 2016. There is a plethora of different technologies and standards used in a globally fragmented market, with big regional differences. Probably the biggest difference is between developed and emerging markets. For developed markets, the benefits are based around convenience, with customers able to make faster transactions, together with reduced transaction costs for retailers – mobile payments are generally cheaper than existing chip-and-pin transactions."

Malauzai: Picture Pay Besting Mobile Bill Pay
"The big news in the latest mobile banking usage data dump from Austin, Texas, apps developer Malauzai is that mobile picture pay – paying bills by snapping a photo – is on the rise, even surpassing usage of mobile bill pay in some institutions. Robb Gaynor, chief technology officer at Malauzai, said in an interview that 5% of its active end-users give picture pay a try within 90 days of a financial institution’s launch of the service. The technology is catching on."

Brits trust banks to be mobile payment providers
"Consumers have a love-hate relationship with their banks. However, new research from UK-based payment systems firm VocaLink, suggests that when it comes to mobile payments, it's the banks to whom consumers look to provide the service."

U.S. Bank releases iPhone mobile payment case in Minnesota
"Minnesota U.S. Bank customers can now get an iPhone case that turns the smartphone into a touch-free, mobile payment device. U.S. Bancorp tested the Go Mobile device earlier this year in Salt Lake City and Portland, Ore. Now it's available in Minnesota and other major U.S. Bank markets like Ohio, U.S. Bank Payment Services Chief Innovation Officer Dominic Venturo told the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in an interview."

What do consumers really want from mobile payments asks VocaLink
"New research from international payments provider VocaLink reveals that growing smartphone ownership is driving the mobile payments revolution in the UK. 60% of UK consumers now own a smartphone and are using them as payment devices on the move. Whilst the appetite for mobile banking and payments in the UK is growing with half the population either already using mobile payments (20%) or interested in doing so (30%), uptake is rapidly gaining momentum amongst the future generation."

Mobile Banking Updates - Dec 20

Integrating Mobile and Branch Banking Will Increase Customer Loyalty
"Mobile banking has finally come into its own. Almost one-third of the 5,200 consumers that Bain and Company surveyed recently used their smartphones or tablets for some type of banking interaction during the three months prior to the survey, up sharply from one-fifth of respondents in 2011. Our survey finds that mobile banking is more likely to increase a customer's likelihood to recommend his or her bank to other people than any other channel interaction."

CIA's venture arm backs mobile banking, NFC developer
"In-Q-Tel, the technology investment arm of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), will invest in Tyfone, a small developer of mobile banking, identity management and near-field communication systems. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Although the investment doesn't come with the guarantee that Tyfone's technology will be adopted by the U.S. government, that possibility was hinted at in a joint statement announcing the deal."

Research and Markets: Mobile Banking Gains 10 Million Users As Smartphone And Tablet Adoption Soars "The ability to securely manage banking transactions, especially on smartphones and tablets, has become extremely appealing. Mobile banking gained 10 million new users in 2012 and currently reaches one-third of the mobile adult U.S. population. As smartphones outnumber feature phones and tablets surge, Android and Apple delivered and defined the market in 2012. Consumer adoption of mobile banking at small, medium, and giant institutions and credit unions varies by the quality of mobile services offered. This report contains an annual roundup of five-year forecasts for the U.S. consumer market for mobile banking adoption, mobile phone usage, smartphone adoption, smartphone adoption by operating system, tablet adoption, and tablet adoption by operating system."

Mobile Banking Updates - Dec 16

Mobile Banking Soars; Usage in U.S. Increases 50 Percent Since 2011
"Mobile banking has taken hold around the globe, presenting significant opportunities for banks to drive out costs and deepen customer relationships; this according to Bain & Company’s annual “Customer Loyalty in Retail Banking Report (2012 global edition),” released today by the global business consulting firm. The report finds that Asia has the highest mobile banking penetration—47 percent of survey respondents in South Korea said they had mobile interactions in the previous three months, the highest penetration in the survey—while survey respondents in the U.S. reported the highest frequency, averaging 4.9 mobile transactions in the previous three months."

2 for 1: Integrating Mobile Banking and Deposits
"Despite operating autonomously, the eight banks branded 'Simmons First' strive to present a common, customer-centric image across all interaction channels. 'It’s our intent to provide consistent, seamless information regardless of the channel or location,' explains Lisa Hunter, SVP of cash management and retail delivery for Simmons First National Corporation. 'Whether customers come into a branch, call us or use a self-service option, it’s important the experience be the same.'”

GoPayment: The Future of Mobile Banking
"It used to be that a bank was a building you visited to make deposits and withdrawals and perform other financial services. Nowadays, a bank is something you carry in your pocket. Anybody with a smartphone can make or take payments, check balances, transfer funds and even make deposits from almost any location and at any time."

Mobility, where are you headed?
"Mobility, as a concept, has captured the collective imagination of the tech savvy populace. CEOs and CTOs wax eloquent on their grandiose plans in this domain. A lot has been written about NFC device use, smart kiosks, mobile banking etc., projecting these as the next big thing in mobile and banking technology. However, I feel the ground reality is far removed from this. Every time I glance around in stores and malls, I notice that very few people use mobile banking. I initially wondered if this was unique to India, as we are not a very tech savvy people. On probing further, I have come to believe that it is a worldwide phenomenon, with even advanced countries yet to warm up to mobility. "

BBVA Compass adds bilingual app for mobile banking
"BBVA Compass is expanding its mobile banking outreach with the launch of a bilingual iPhone app. The new app will allow customers to access the bank’s mobile banking information in both Spanish and English. 'We currently serve a number of markets with a growing Spanish-speaking population, so we wanted to give those customers access in the language that is most comfortable to them,' says Alex Carriles, executive vice president and director of Mobile Strategy and Retail Innovation at BBVA Compass. 'We already operate as a fully bilingual bank in the U.S., and these additions will support that commitment.'”

Three ways to transfer funds through your mobile
"While fund transfer through mobile banking is not an entirely new concept, it hasn’t become a part of our banking needs the way online banking has. So what is it that stops you? One reason could be lack of awareness and another could be the perceived challenging technology which really is not so challenging. We give you three simple ways to transfer your funds through your mobile. Through these modes, you can transfer money to a person’s account, with or without the account details, and even pay utility and other bills."

Marketing Mobile Banking Can Double Average Adoption Rates, Shows Fiserv Analysis
"Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that an analysis of data from the Mobiliti™ mobile banking and payments solution revealed that marketing can significantly impact consumer adoption of mobile financial services. According to the analysis, which looked at data across hundreds of financial institutions, banks and credit unions, financial institutions that have actively marketed mobile banking have experienced an average adoption rate that is twice as high as financial institutions that have not promoted the service."

Mobile Banking Update - Oct 7

For Credit Unions, Mobile Deposits Are a Lifeline — But Are They a Fee Generator?
"Mobile remote deposit capture (RDC), or the use of the camera on a mobile device to create an image of a check for deposit, is expanding across financial services. While larger banks offered the service initially, credit unions and community banks are also quickly adopting mobile RDC, a move that can boost overall use of electronic channels. While almost all financial institutions want to boost mobile and web banking, it's vital for smaller institutions to do so to reduce service costs and accommodate the lack of a geographic footprint."

Apple iPhone Users Most Likely To Research Products, Buy And Bank On Their Devices
"People who own iPhones are much more likely to research buying decisions, comparison shop, and actually purchase things on their devices than are mobile users on Android, BlackBerry or Windows Phone devices, according to a new study by Forrester which polled over 50,000 mobile device owners. 85% of iOS device-toting adults 18 or older use their iPhones for shopping-related research, and 69% percent have pulled the trigger and actually bought something."

Sound Bytes from SM2: Marketers Place Their Bets and Dollars in Mobile
"The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the leading global trade association for the mobile marketing industry, celebrated its inaugural SM2 conference, Smarter Mobile Marketing, with a stellar line up of speakers including Michelle Peluso, Global Consumer Chief Marketing and Internet Officer, Citigroup, as well as David Kenny, Chairman and CEO, The Weather Channel Company. Sprint also used the SM2 stage to unveil an exclusive mobile announcement."

Customers Increasingly Rely on Mobile Banking
"Smart phone growth has completely remolded the way people manage their accounts and finances day-to-day. The release below reveals powerful numbers reflecting the growth of mobile banking over the past several years, forecasts what's to come as it continues to grow and how Arvest Mobile Banking has become a key product to keep up with customers' needs."

Reader Forum: Top-up, remote payments, mobile banking – not NFC – are the real opportunity for m-commerce
"Most conversations today surrounding mobile payment solutions are overly focused on the opportunities promised by near field communications technology and how this functionality will transform the point-of-sale experience in developed markets. Inevitably, however, these discussions quickly digress into the complexity surrounding handset and chip manufacturing, the security of cardholder data and payment information and the challenges involved in point of sale integration."

Mobile Banking Updates - Jul 17

FUTURE OF BANKING—PART 1: It hinges on ‘intelligent’ use of technology
"How are industry professionals reducing the cost and time of product delivery using emerging technologies? Tech Topics moderated a panel of experts who provided sharp insights into the challenges facing banks and how they are responding. In part one of a two-part series, responses to regulatory pressures, the use of cloud computing, and mobile technology developments figure prominently in the industry’s future."

A Banking Giant Makes a Mobile Payment Bet
"Paying for something from a mobile phone still isn't an option in most U.S. brick-and-mortar stores. But that reality is obscured in San Francisco. The Bay Area has been an early testing ground for a future full of smartphone-based transactions, with all sorts of companies, from Starbucks and PayPal to Google and startups like LevelUp getting involved [see "Battle of the Electronic Wallets"]."

Are Mobile Payments Really as Popular as Studies Suggest?
"For years, we’ve heard that mobile payments will represent the “next big thing” in eCommerce and permanently change the way Americans purchase goods and services. In March, Daily Deal Media covered the freshly published findings of a recent U.S. Federal Reserve survey, which suggested that 20% of Americans used their mobile phones to access bank account, credit card, and other financial account information during the last twelve months."

CUA eyes off mobile payments, but not NFC
"While Credit Union Australia (CUA) might be a late comer to mobile banking apps, it is firmly setting its sights on mobile banking, with its CIO stating it would be "illogical" not to give customers what they want. CUA’s chief information officer (CIO), David Gee, told CIO Australia that the financial services company is currently exploring its options and looking at how to deliver mobile products such as peer-to-peer payments."

Mobile Banking’s Massive Growth Is Supplementary To PC banking
"Mobile banking is on a steep rise in the US. Almost one-third of online bankers currently conduct banking activities through their mobile handsets, and this population is poised to more than double by 2017. As indicated in our recently published Forrester Research Mobile Banking Forecast, 2012 to 2017 (US), younger age groups (Gen Y and Z) and familiarity with PC banking are fueling thisrapid adoption."

A Balanced View
"Viewing a balance is by far the number one transaction conducted in Mobile banking. Eighty per cent of the time it is the only activity done by a customer after they login. That’s right. Eight out of ten times a customer logs in; they view their balance and log right back out. The other 20 per cent of activity is made up of viewing transaction history and making payments or transfers. Why then do banks force customers to jump through so many hoops to just view their balance? Forcing customers to re-use their online banking credentials, card readers and security tokens is just plain lazy. Banks are allowing login procedures to be dictated by a series of transactions most people hardly do."

Mobile Banking Updates - July 1

Microsoft makes a move in mobile payments
"Somewhat sadly, Microsoft has been an afterthought when it comes to the mobile payments battle--until now. With Windows 8, the Redmond, Calif., giant seems bent on taking on Google as an NFC digital wallet provider, a rare chance for it to play the underdog. The company's Windows 8 launch presentation was heavy with plugs for its planned NFC component and it showed off a wide array of features in a bid to offer 'the most complete wallet experience.' That's a big challenge."

Mobile Banking vs. Online Banking
"Tamara here, AllClear ID Investigator. Financial institutions have been working for years to make banking more accessible and convenient for their members. It started with ATMs, then with Internet banking, and now mobile banking. Mobile banking is convenient in that with a phone that has the capabilities, starting with text transaction processing and now moving to online access. Let’s compare mobile banking versus Internet banking."

Big Study Examines Retail Banking Channel Preferences
"Cisco has released findings from a broad, multi-channel study, gauging consumer preferences for branches, mobile, video and social. Released through its Internet Business Solutions Group, Cisco’s survey encompassed some 5,300 consumers across eight developed- and emerging countries: US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Brazil, China and Mexico."

Tablet Interest Builds in Next Phase of Mobile Usage
"Just as one format for mobile banking enters the mainstream, another form is beginning its stampede across the financial services landscape. The word among some industry leaders is that, suddenly, apps for tablet computers are a must- have. Transformational as mobile phones have proven, the changes now are accelerating with tablet computers such as Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire."

Banks to invest more in mobile
"With interest growing in mobile banking, retail banks plan to invest more in mobile technologies, according to a new report by Forrester Research. The mobile investments will focus on alerts, remote deposits and person-to-person payments, according to the survey conducted by Forrester Research of members of Consumer Bankers Association. Almost 20 percent of U.S. online adults are active mobile bankers, according to Forrester."

Mobile Banking Updates - May 31

Bank of America Taking Mobile Banking By Storm
"Bank of America has slowly and steadily become a major force to be reckoned with in mobile banking. More customers, the financial titan said Thursday, now choose Bank of America to bank on-the-go more than any other bank. Over 10 million Bank of America customers are now using mobile banking, representing growth of nearly 3 million active users over the last 12 months."

Wells Fargo Launches Simplified Person-to-Person Money Transfer Service Nationwide
"Wells Fargo & Company WFC +0.16% today announced the launch of Send & Receive Money, a new service that simplifies Wells Fargo customers' payments to other Wells Fargo and Bank of America customers through online and mobile banking using an email address or mobile phone number. Wells Fargo customers no longer need to know their recipient's account number at Wells Fargo or Bank of America. Wells Fargo is the first bank to roll out nationally the clearXchange service for person-to-person payments."

San Antonio Federal Credit Union taps WRG and Vertifi for mobile banking
"The mobile solution, branded as GOTM from SACU, allows members to access their accounts anywhere and anytime with many enhanced functions including the ability to pay bills, transfer money, and deposit checks using the embedded camera on the smart phone. The check deposit feature, GoDeposit, is powered by Vertifi's DeposZip Mobile service, the leading household and business remote deposit service in the credit union industry."

U.S. Bank Tablet Banking App Built on Mobiliti from Fiserv
"The app is built on the Mobiliti Enterprise platform, which the bank also uses to support mobile banking, enabling integrated channel management and analytics. Fiserv, Inc., a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that U.S. Bank's online banking customers now have access to an iPad(R) banking application (app) built on the Mobiliti Enterprise(TM) mobile banking and payments platform from Fiserv. The U.S. Bank app serves consumers' growing interest in tablet banking. According to the 2011 Fiserv Consumer Trends Survey, 45 percent of current and prospective tablet owners use or would like to use them for banking."

Nokia Dreams of NFC Image Sharing, Mobile Banking for its 808 PureView
"Nokia wants to enable image sharing on its 808 PureView using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. Say that tens time fast. Speaking with Engadget, the company expressed interest in the idea and said “picture sharing would be possible across devices.” Devices, meaning the feature won’t be exclusive to 808 PureView users. Who wouldn’t want to share their 41-megapixel mirror shots with friends using NFC? We’re guessing you’ll only be able to share low-res images, since those 41-megapixel shots exceed 100MB."

International Mobile Banking - May 2

Banking app 'unlike others'
"TSB Bank customers now have access to a groundbreaking mobile banking application that will change the way some customers handle their finances. For the past 12 months, TSB's technology services department has been researching and developing a banking app unlike any other, TSB's technology services manager Marie Collins said."

O2 launches revolutionary mobile banking service
"Consumers will be soon able to transfer money to their bank account with just a text message. Mobile network O2 has launched a smartphone app which allows people to transfer up to £500 by simply sending a text. Dubbed the "wallet", the application will help consumers "digitise" their banking accounts and help to speed up debit and credit transactions. The company has also revealed that it intends to follow the example of Barclaycard and launch near-field communication (NFC) chips to allow people to make contactless transactions in high street stores."

The bank of SMS
"AFRICA is the continent where “mobile money”—monetary transactions on mobile phones—is by far the most advanced. According to a new survey of financial habits by the Gates Foundation, the World Bank and Gallup, in 20 countries more than 10% of adults said that they had used mobile money at some point in the previous 12 months; 15 of those countries were in Africa. For the most part, mobile phones are a substitute for traditional banks, enabling people who live miles from a branch or ATM to use financial services."

Hispanics Must Make Banking & Financial Planning Part of Their American Dream
"According to a recent Nielsen's report, The State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative, Latino buying power will have grown 50% between 2010 and 2015, reaching an incredible $1.5 trillion. To put this in perspective, the report notes that if U.S. Hispanics were a standalone country, their market buying power would be one of the top twenty economies in the world."

NBC set to mark anniversary with mobile banking in sight
"The National Bank of Commerce (NBC) is expected to celebrate its 45 years anniversary along with plans to launch its mobile banking system in September this year. Speaking to reporters at the NBC bank ABSA Capital Economic Forum organised by the banks for its corporate clients in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday to share a regional and global economic outlook, NBC Managing Director Lawrence Mafuru said that the bank will celebrate its 45 years anniversary since it was founded early in 1967."

Mobile Banking Updates - Mar 15

Mobile Commerce Market Set to Accelerate With NFC Facilitating $74bn Transactions by 2015
"A new study by Juniper Research forecasts that NFC (Near Fields Communications) will facilitate transactions valued at $74bn by 2015 as NFC is increasingly used for the payment of goods in-store and as transport tickets; this is over treble the estimated value of this market in 2011. The increasing use of mobile devices as an alternative to credit cards and paper tickets is one of the fastest growing segments of the mobile commerce market."

MWC2012: Mobile payment for non-banking customers
"UTIBA, one of the worlds largest mobile payment service providers, reviewing mobile banking future trends. $350 billion market expected to expand to $900 billion by 2014."

BBVA Compass First to Allow Mobile Enrollment from an iPhone
"One issue banks have struggled with as they develop mobile banking apps is: how to get new customers on board? Banks generally require customers to be online banking customers before they will allow them to use mobile banking."

Significant Gaps In Mobile Banking Identified By Keynote – Expanded 2012 Mobile Banking Scorecard Results Revealed
"Keynote Competitive Research, the industry analysis group of Keynote® Systems (Nasdaq:KEYN), today announced the expanded 2012 Keynote Mobile Banking Scorecard, first launched in 2011, as a benchmarking standard for the financial and mobile banking industry. The latest Scorecard measures and ranks 15 large retail banks in the United States based on an expanded list of more than 100 criteria in four main categories, developed from consumer research and extensive interviews with practitioners."

Ally Aims to Release Mobile Banking App in April
"For Ally Bank customers, the wait for a mobile banking application is nearly over. The online bank aims to launch the first versions of its highly-anticipated mobile apps in April. 'Although April is later than we’d hoped to get Ally Mobile Banking out to our community, our primary concern is to make sure that our mobile solution handles your finances in a safe, secure manner,' Ally said in a blog post. In October, Ally Bank first announced that mobile apps were coming."

Update: Arvest Mobile Banking App for Android™
"Good news Android users—your Arvest Mobile Banking App is almost here! The new app for Android devices is in the final stages of development and will soon be available in the Android Market™. What should Android users do to be ready for the new app? In order to use the new Arvest Mobile Banking App for Android when it is released, you will need to be enrolled in Arvest Mobile Banking. If you haven’t enrolled yet, you can do so by clicking here and logging into Arvest Online Banking and clicking the Mobile Banking tab."

Many consumers not ready to adopt mobile banking, says survey
"Growth in mobile banking and payments is being driven by younger consumers, but most adults are more reluctant to adopt mobile banking, said a survey cited at cuna.org. In an online survey of 504 U.S. debit cardholders conducted in January, Auriemma Consulting found that younger consumers are more likely to download a mobile-banking app — 43 percent of respondents under 45 had downloaded a mobile app from their financial institution within the previous year, while only about 22 percent of those over 45 had done so."

International Mobile Banking Updates - Feb 1

Mobile Banking Takes Off In Nigeria
"When he graduated from the Stanford Graduate School of Business with an MBA in 2005, Nigerian-born Tayo Oviosu said advice from the business world in his home country was loud and clear—'don't come back.' At that time, he explained, 'Nigeria was still about who you knew, and people did not yet properly value experience from abroad.'"

Cellulant to run Barclays M-Banking services
"Cellulant Kenya has sealed a deal to provide mobile banking services for Barclays Africa across its markets in the continent. In a venture dubbed, ‘One Africa’ Barclays Bank has entered into a deal with Cellulant to offer satisfying customer digital experience."

Emerging Markets Set Stage for Mobile Wallet Shopping
"Increased use of mobile money in Kenya has created a ripe environment for the use of near field communication (NFC) technology and other forms of mobile wallets which could be more widely accepted as payment systems compared to traditional ones such as credit cards. Adoption of the alternative payment systems could not only further slow the growth of the use of credit cards but could also see the creation of a new market for NFC-enabled devices including point of sale terminals and mobile phones in the country."

Is mobile banking demand on the climb?
"Canadians are increasingly embracing mobile computing but are we keeners to access our bank accounts from smartphones or tablets? The answer to that question depends on whom you talk to. From the customer's perspective, mobile banking is about convenience. For the banks, mobile banking is about providing self-service options and increasing the number of transactions per customer. Thus more transactions will take place but at a lower cost-per-transaction."

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Obopay, Warid Telecom Partner to Launch Warid Pesa Mobile Banking and Payment Service in Uganda
"Obopay, a mobile payments company headquartered in the US state of California, has partnered with Warid Telecom, a Pakistan-based postpaid cellular phone service provider, to launch a mobile banking and payment service in Uganda called Warid Pesa. Warid Pesa allows customers to transfer money to other people and merchants, request money, obtain statements, obtain account balances, change personal identity numbers and top up prepaid phones for themselves or others."

Citi Hungary mobile app with GPS puts branches/ATMs on the map
"Batara Sianturi, Citi Country Officer for Hungary, said, 'Citibank Mobile Banking allows customers to enjoy a superior, secure and smart banking experience anytime and anywhere in the world, including transactions on their Citibank accounts. With this new application, we have made another significant step in reaching our goal to become the world's and Hungary's leading digital bank.'"

New considerations for mobile banking strategies in Europe
"comScore and Telefónica Germany announced the results of "Connected Europe" Study which highlights how smartphones and tablets are shifting media consumption in Europe. With regards to mobile banking, the study shows that over 20% of smartphone users in Europe accessed their bank accounts with their mobile devices and 12% used electronic payment services to pay for goods from their mobile phone."

Mobile Banking 2012 to reach new heights
"Trade Conferences International is proud to bring you the second annual Mobile Banking Southern Africa conference and exhibition. It will be held at the Indaba Hotel, Fourways, from 13 to 15 March and promises to be all that the 2011 event was, and more."

Mobile Banking Updates - Dec 4

MasterCard Backs And Partners With Mobile Banking Company mFoundry To Expand Reach Of NFC
"After announcing a new partnership with Intel, MasterCard is revealing a new collaboration to help spread the use of its NFC technology through its PayPass program. The credit card giant is making a strategic investment in mFoundry, a company that powers mobile banking solutions for more than 500 banks and credit unions nationwide."

Seizing the Mobile Banking Opportunity
"Feature-rich smartphones, high-speed 4G networks, the availability of downloadable apps and an increasingly mobile workforce have driven a huge uptick in information-based mobile banking services, such as transaction alerts and balance checks. In fact, mobile banking recently has begun to displace online banking for such information-based services."

Century launches mobile banking, alerts
"Century Bank and Trust is excited to announce the launch of free mobile banking and account alerts.
Mobile banking and account alerts put customers in the know and in control 24/7. With busy schedules and lifestyles, managing finances can be a challenge. Now mobile banking and account alerts allow customers to stay on top of their finances anytime, anywhere from their cell phones. Manage money on the go- check balances, transfer money, pay bills, receive account alerts and more."

Mobile Banking Can Pave the Way for NFC
"Google, Visa, MasterCard, Sprint, and even Pentagon Federal Credit Union. The list of early proponents of innovative near field communication tap and pay mobile technology keeps growing. But that brings two questions into sharp focus."

Opportunities for banks in this age of ubiquitous mobility
"Perhaps more startling than the penetration of mobile phones into the developing economies, is the fact that mobile phone users have ignored the natural boundaries of the electricity-grid and in 32 countries today the population of mobile data subscribers exceeds their on-grid populations. According to a recent study by CISCO1, this phenomenon will become visible at a regional level by the end of 2011 when the total number of mobile users in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia will exceed their total on-grid populations. By the end of 2013, the same will occur in the Middle East."

Tyfone teams wtih Oregon credit union to offer iCashe Mobile Wallet
"Portland, Ore.-based mobile financial service company Tyfone is working with OnPoint, a credit union also based in Portland, to offer a new mobile wallet product called iCashe Mobile Wallet, the company said in an announcement. The iCashe Mobile Wallet lets OnPoint's mobile banking customers buy gift cards via their smartphones and send them using SMS text messaging or email. OnPoint is the first credit union in the U.S. to offer the iCashe Mobile Wallet, the announcement said."

Mobile Banking Updates - Nov 30

Advancements in Mobile Banking Technologies Helping Make the Virtual Wallet a Reality
"The near insatiable demand for mobile connectivity along with recent advancements in near-field communication (NFC) and memory card technologies have helped expand the market for mobile banking exponentially in the last few years. In fact, Gartner (News - Alert) estimates that mobile payments will increase to more than $1.1 trillion by 2014, up seven fold from current numbers."

Banks Embrace the Tablet Revolution
"Most financial institutions dragged their feet moving from traditional banking to mobile banking, and from mobile banking to providing a richer experience on smartphone devices. Some banks have learned those lessons, though, and are trying to stay on the cutting edge by rolling out apps designed specifically for tablets."

Banking by smartphone catches on, will increase
"With telephones now serving as de facto personal computers for many, financial institutions are rapidly jumping on the mobile banking bandwagon. 'It’s exploding the way Internet banking exploded a few years ago,' said Debbie Jemison, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Bankers Association. A 2010 survey showed that, while just 27 percent of banks in Illinois offered mobile banking, 89 percent of the others were looking to add it in the near future."

U.S. Bank Unveils New Mobile Banking Strategy
"U.S. Bank has announced several upgrades to its mobile banking strategy, including the debut of a completely new application optimized for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. 'Customers are blending all of their business into their smartphones, and in many cases, mobile devices are now the first point of entry for consumers,' noted U.S. Bank executive vice president Meheriar Hasan. 'With this new app, we have made banking even more convenient for our customers by delivering service right to the palms of their hands.'"

Mobile RDC product updated
"Mitek Systems, Inc. announced version 3.0 of its Mobile Deposit product that enables mobile-banking customers to make deposits simply by taking pictures of checks with their smartphone cameras. The new version improves the user experience and performance of Mitek’s mobile remote deposit capture product, which now runs on Windows Server 2008 R2. Six of the top ten retail banks in the United States and more than 80 financial institutions are using Mobile Deposit as their mobile RDC application of choice and a cornerstone of their mobile strategies."

Put the X factor back into generation Y banking
"In my previous blog, I discussed the current hype surrounding mobile banking and how a fundamental step change in consumer behaviour means that mobile financial services is undoubtedly more than just a fad. At the same time, there are also those consumers who have grown up with all things digital and don’t know any other way to behave. I’m referring to the growing breed of generation Y consumers and ‘digital natives’ such as those two year olds you see on the train navigating an iPad better than they can put pen to paper!"

Five things you need to know about mobile money
"1. What is mobile money?
The term refers to the ability to perform financial transactions on your cellphone. This includes accessing bank accounts, remitting money and taking payments of any amount without using a conventional bank. So, for instance, you can now pay for your latte with a swipe of your contactless-technology-enabled phone."