Wells Fargo Updates and Expands Mobile Banking

Wells Fargo Launches New Mobile Banking Applications, Expands Text Banking Enrollment Options
"Wells Fargo & Company today announced the launch of new mobile banking applications for Android(TM), BlackBerry(R), and Palm. These additions to its existing portfolio expand Wells Fargo's mobile banking applications to four and provides customers with more choice in how they bank.

'We are listening and responding to our customers by broadening our mobile banking services,' said Arah Erickson, head of Wells Fargo Retail Mobile Banking. 'Our goal is to make it even more convenient for customers to access their account information -- anytime, anywhere -- helping them save time and providing peace-of-mind. Wells Fargo Mobile Banking makes it fast, easy, and secure for customers to stay in touch with their finances.'"

Mobile Banking Updates - Jun 27

Delta Community Credit Union - Mobile Banking
"We're excited to introduce our Mobile Banking service. You'll now enjoy safe and convenient account access directly from your mobile phone. Like our Online Banking service, Mobile Banking is free* and available to all credit union members. Whether you're traveling, out and about running errands, at work or at home, Mobile Banking can be used at anytime from just about anywhere."

Wells Fargo’s new mobile-focused online site
"Our new RA Aleia sent over a quick summary of Well’s new online marketing for their mobile capabilities. Because this included mention of their new Palm Pre app it even includes features for contrarians (according to Wired magazine) like yours truly (there are just 5% of us special people, you know). Seriously, what follows is an informal and brief preview of in-depth analysis we’re about to begin for our upcoming mobile banking scorecard (comparison of bank and CU mobile offerings), which will build on our newest report that compares vendor’s mobile banking offerings."

US lags in mobile commerce despite strong consumer demand: Sybase
"The United States is lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to mobile usage, including mobile commerce, according to a study by mobile messaging and mobile commerce services provider Sybase 365.

Looking at modern mobile services, the U.S. finished near the bottom of the pack for ability to access information, use of mobile commerce, and use of mobile communications, with an average of 12.9 percent of U.S. respondents making use of today’s services, just edging out Canada (11.9 percent of users) and Australia (12.1 percent of users). By contrast, mobile users in China are almost four times as likely to make use of the same services (49.2 percent), pointing to a highly mobilized culture."

Barclays adds enhancements to its mobile banking service
"To celebrate the first anniversary of Barclays.mobi service, Barclays provides a series of further enhancements to its UKs mobile phone banking service. The service is said to attract more than four million hits a month.

The updated service now includes:
* Currency conversion calculator as the summer holiday season kicks off
* 'At a glance' balance screen has been updated for easier customer views
* Introduced 'tappable' bars to support finger friendly principles for mobile phones
* Bookmarks feature - customers can save the mobi link to support access and navigation; IPhone users can also save the link as a Barclays icon 'lozenge'
* Introduced a mobile business site specifically for business customers."

Mobile Banking Updates - Jun 23

Report:Juniper Research Predicts Increase in Popularity of Mobile Banking
"In an in depth study conducted by it, Juniper Research (News - Alert) has found that mobile banking has become more popular with mobile subscribers. According to a study, the number of mobile users using mobile banking was expected to exceed 400 million globally by the year 2013. The results of Juniper's detailed Mobile Banking Technology Strategies Survey showed that banks were increasing services by using SMS and relying more and more on Web apps to provide additional channel choices for their customers."

One-Fifth Of Android Apps Said To Pose Security Risks
"Everyone would do well to show a little caution when browsing the Android Market, according to a new report. SMobile Systems - which specializes in security issues pertaining to mobile phones and the wireless infrastructure - believes 20 percent of the available applications allow third parties access to info better left unshared."

An Overview of Mobile Payments and Their Regulation
"Mobile phones today perform more like handheld computers. Mobile phones now are poised to function as payment devices, allowing users to pay for goods and services and transfer funds. By 2012, an estimated 190 million people will use their phones to conduct mobile payments, or m-payments.1 The end game is a world where consumers no longer carry a wallet: instead, all cards, including credit, debit, gift and membership cards, are stored on mobile phones."

Compass Plus Launches TranzWare Mobile Banking
"Compass Plus, an international provider of electronic funds transfer (EFT) and retail banking technology to financial institutions, today announced the release of its enhanced TranzWare Mobile Banking product to enable its clients to provide an end-to-end mobile banking solution to a broader range of consumers.

TranzWare Mobile Banking enables banks and credit unions to expand the convenience of online banking to consumers’ mobile devices, providing access to Internet banking features such as details and statements for multiple accounts; management of debit and credit cards; bill pay functionality; person-to-person payments; and the ordering of the institution’s products and services. The platform can be accessed by any smart phone user.

New text banking service launched for Citibank customers
"A new service that delivers account updates on demand is now available to Citibank and credit card customers in the US under the name Citi Text Banking. Citi Text Banking represents the newest addition to company’s award-winning US mobile banking platform, Citi Mobile(SM). Citi Mobile includes a downloadable app for iPhone devices and a mobile version of citi.com that customers can access from their smartphones' browser."

Mobile Banking Updates - Jun 20

Mobile banking vulnerable to laundering, terror funding: RBI
"Reserve Bank Governor D Subbarao today said mobile banking should be driven by banks, not telecom operators, considering money laundering and terror financing threats. 'The Reserve Bank has a clear preference for the bank-led model,' RBI Governor D Subbarao said at a Banking Technology Excellence awards function hosted by the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT). 'Given the growing concerns about money laundering and financing of terrorism, a bank-led model is decidedly safer and more sustainable,' he said, adding, however, that a mobile operator-led model helps accelerate financial inclusion."

Fiserv Signs Over 100 FIs for ZashPay Person-to-Person Payments Service
"Fiserv has announced that more than 100 financial institutions have already committed to offer its ZashPay person-to-person (P2P) payments service. Fiserv says that 'banks and credit unions across the United States, ranging in size from small community institutions to top 50 banks, have signed up to offer the service, with continued interest and signings expected throughout the summer.'"

Mobile Users Want Android, Banks Don't Have It
"Jeff Peiffer was so frustrated that his bank didn't offer an app for his phone that he made one himself, put it online — and watched it become one of the top finance downloads for Android handsets. The success of Peiffer's software offers an important lesson for financial companies that have not yet developed apps for phones using Google Inc.'s operating system: Android users are among the most active mobile banking users. Many banks are not meeting that demand, however, and observers say that by neglecting that market banks are training people to be more accepting of third-party software, an approach that could cost them users in the long run and, in the wrong hands, might also open the door to fraud."

Fraud and Mobility are Top Priorities for Bankers, According to Fundtech Survey
"While only 10% of the bankers said they have already deployed mobile business banking services, 39% said they will be deploying mobile services within 6-12 months. This is in sharp contrast to the strong growth of consumer mobile banking, where 57% of American banks are expected to offer a solution by the end of 2010. This can be attributed to the moderate interest bankers see from among their business clients. Only 26% of respondents said that there is strong interest in mobile business banking services among their clients, and nearly 60% said that curiosity was driving this interest and that these are "early days." Polling results also indicate that the adoption of mobile financial services will be evenly adopted across large, mid-sized and small businesses and corporate clients."

Vodafone Mobile Banking: From M-Pesa to M-Kesho
"M-PESA, Vodafone’s game-changing money transfer technology, now provides customers with the ability to link to an interest bearing savings account and buy insurance via their mobile. The service, which is operated by Safaricom in Kenya offers customers the chance to save money using a direct link to Equity Bank. It will provide a safe and secure service for many millions of Kenyans who currently do not have access to a bank account and so are unable to save money in a secure environment."

Job Mobile Texas

Mobile Professionals:

Dell is looking to grow the mobile team. If you meet the required qualifications and you're interested in being considered for the position please send your resume to brandon_mcgee@dell.com

E-business Senior Consultant

GENERAL SUMMARY
The Consumer & Small Business online Mobility & Downloads team is responsible for developing innovative programs to enhance the user experience and improve business performance for consumer and SMB mobility & download customers globally. As a member of this team, the Online Mobility Senior Consultant will manage m-commerce integration and strategy globally.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Online Mobility Senior Consultant will be responsible for the dell.com customer experience on small screen devices. This includes mobile commerce site integration with Dell IT applications, evaluating & improving mobile commerce vendor performance, expanding mobile commerce globally, and integrating mobile commerce with Dell’s small screen device strategies. Responsibilities include:
• Implement m-commerce on Dell.com for a best in class user experience.
• Responsible for managing program schedules, beta roadmaps, deployment plans for m-commerce
• Responsible for measuring financial impact of assigned programs and implementing improvement and stabilization plans if programs are not meeting forecasted results.
• Responsible for working with product management org to ensure business requirements are given & understood
• User Acceptance Testing including creating test cases, executing UAT, providing feedback, and re-testing after fixes.
• Coordinate deployment of launches with regional stakeholders, vendors, IT, legal and other partners to ensure successful launches.
• Work globally to change processes based on new programs deploying.
• Incubate new programs until regional team hand off occurs.
Qualifications
SKILLS
• Strong grasp of the online/eCommerce space & mobile commerce
• Graduate or post-graduate degree, preferably in business or marketing communications
• At least 3+ years in relevant mobile programs & or m-commerce experience. 7+ years work experience.
• Proven strategy setting and implementation success.
• Strong project-management and problem-solving skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organizational agility and interpersonal skills; ability to work independently, quickly and thoroughly under multiple deadlines
• Strong eye for detail and organization as well as the ability to focus on the “big picture”
• Must be flexible and possess the ability to balance the management of multiple projects simultaneously

Mobile Banking Updates - Jun 15

Mobile banking needs more sensible data plans
"The greatest competitive differentiation a mobile operator can give me today is an always on data plan across devices. Right now I have an iPhone, a Blackberry, an iPad and a Mac and I effectively have to manage different data plans for each device. This sucks. I also maintain a broadband connection at home, although I would abandon that gladly if my wireless data deal were better.

Not only does multi-device connectivity cost me more than I believe it should, but I actually have different plans with different providers for different devices. Some are monthly WiFi deals, others are mobile data deals that actually limit my downloads on a monthly basis, and others are pre-paid deals that I pick up when I am visiting other countries."

Citi Cards Introduces Citi Shopper for Mobile Users
"Citi Cards has announced a new location-based mobile application called Citi Shopper that delivers 'local offers and deals, compares prices, provides maps to nearby retailers, as well as reminds Citi cardmembers of offers and benefits specific to their Citi credit cards.' The application was built by GPShopper and is available on the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and via browser."

JPMorgan Chase Hires Jack Stephenson to Expand Mobile and Internet Payments Services
"JPMorgan Chase today announced it has hired payments industry veteran Jack Stephenson as Director of Mobile, E-Commerce and Payments to expand how the firm serves clients from consumers to businesses.

Stephenson, who has been the Senior Vice President of Strategy, Partnerships, Analytics and New Ventures at PayPal, will lead the continuing evolution and implementation of a company-wide strategy for mobile devices and internet payments."

Mobile Banking Updates (Part 2) - Jun 13

Out of thin air
"IT IS like magic. By clicking a few keys on a mobile phone, money can be zapped from one part of Kenya to another in seconds. For urban migrants sending money home to their villages, and for people used to queuing at banks for hours to pay bills or school fees, the M-PESA money-transfer service, operated by Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile operator, is a godsend. No wonder it is used by 9.5m people, or 23% of the population, and transfers the equivalent of 11% of Kenya’s GDP each year; or that it has inspired more than 60 similar schemes across the world.

But despite the apparently frictionless transfer of money through the air, making a money-transfer system work smoothly requires a great deal of backstage effort. Jake Kendall and Ignacio Mas of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Frederik Eijkman of PEP Intermedius, a financial-services firm, explain how it all works in a paper presented in late May."

Dubai Islamic Bank launches Al Islami Mobile Banking
"In line with its commitment to customer service and product innovation, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced today the launch of Al Islami Mobile Banking, which provides a wide range of secure and convenient banking services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through a customised mobile-based website.

Customers will be able to check their account and card statements and details, including Murhaba accounts, investment accounts and funds. Customers can also open an investment account, request a chequebook, and issue or cancel a card through this same service. Additionally, customers may make payments and fund transfers to any predefined beneficiary, while also registering for additional e-channel services, such as SMS and Phone Banking and E-Statements."

Scotiabank unveils its mobile banking
"SCOTIABANK is this month introducing mobile banking services for its Bahamian customers, allowing them to perform banking functions from web-enabled mobile devices. 'We understand that Bahamians rely on the convenience of mobile devices to help them manage their busy lifestyles. Scotiabank customers have asked for that convenience to extend to banking services, and that is exactly what we will be delivering,' said Leah R Davis, the bank's senior manager for marketing and public relations."

U.S. Bank Reveals Mobile Roadmap
"Executives from U.S. Bank opened the kimono yesterday at SourceMedia's 4th Annual Mobile Banking and Emerging Applications Summit, laying out the bank's mobile roadmap in great detail.

On the agenda for the rest of 2010 are mobile P2P payments, facilitated by a deal with CashEdge; mobile RDC in partnership with Firethorn; a mobile rewards program called FlexPerks mobile that will send offers to consumers via their mobile device; Micro-SD based payments, and a mobile shopping concierge that will used location-based information to send specific coupons to a customer based on where the customer is in a specific retail store, according to Dominic Venturo, chief innovation officer for U.S. Bank's retail payments group."

Mobile Banking Summit Illustrates Topic is Hot
"You don't need to look any further than the attendee list to realize the importance of mobile banking to our industry. Not only is almost every major institution in attendance at this year's Mobile Banking and Emerging Applications Summit, but the number of participants has increased by more than 50% according to officials from SourceMedia.

The program kicked off Sunday with a workshop by David Eads, Founder & CEO of Mobile Strategy Partners LLC where he discussed the basics of getting a Mobile Banking strategy off the ground. He also shared the first of a wave of industry statistics that made it clear to the SRO attendees that this year and next will be pivotal to the mobile banking industry. He also shared keys to developing a business case for introducing mobile banking. He emphasized that while cost reduction (mainly from offloaded balance inquiry calls) could many time justify the investment in mobile banking by itself. a drop in attrition and an increase in revenue from increased interchange and cross-sales will also improve the ROI. "