Mobile Banking Grows Slowly

“We Don't Want to Be Left Behind, But We Don't Want to Be on the Bleeding Edge of It Either.” Tracy Kitten (Read More)

More M-Commerce Proof, From China: $4.4 Billion In Mobile Revenue Last Year; StorefrontBacktalk

As retailers plunge ahead with Mobile-Commerce plans, they are continually looking for market evidence that there’s gold in them thar hills. (Read More)

Consumers Union Calls on Regulators to Require Mobile Payment Providers to Abide by Strong Consumer Protections: IT News Online

Recent news stories have highlighted how consumers in the U.S. soon will be able to pay for products and services with a wave of their smart phones. (Read More)

Google, Apple Joust for Mobile Payments via Android, iPhone; eWEEK

Google is reportedly chatting with PayPal on mobile payments for the Android Market. Apple has hired a near field communications expert, possibly prepping the iPhone to be used as a wallet. (Read More)

Should Carriers Cut Out Credit Cards? Light Reading Mobile

Interest in mobile commerce in the US has exploded, especially in the past few weeks, but the space could be growing too large for its own good, according to one alternative payments provider. (Read More)

Advanced Mobile Banking Defined: A Mobile-Centric Financial Institution (Jibun Bank) Case Study: Report Published by Celent

In North America and the EU, mobile banking has made great strides in the past three years. The largest of banks down to the smallest of credit unions now offer it, and mobile banking functionalities that were considered innovative in 2007 have been commoditized. On a seemingly weekly basis, banks and technology vendors alike compete with each other to make announcements about offering the most advanced mobile banking services. (Read More)

PayPal Said to Be in Talks With Google About Android: Bloomberg Businessweek

EBay Inc.’s PayPal business is in talks to add its payment service to Google Inc.’s Android smartphone software, making it easier for users to pay for applications, three people familiar with the matter said. (Read More)

What, precisely, constitutes mobile commerce? Internet Retailer

The question follows Amazon’s announcement that it hit $1 billion in mobile commerce. (Read More)

US telcos team on contactless m-payments venture – Bloomberg: finextra

US wireless firms AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have teamed up on a contactless mobile payments venture, according to Bloomberg. (Read More)

How m-commerce made Amazon $1bn: Econsultancy

Since their first faltering online steps back in 1995, Amazon have often been at odds with prevailing web trends, and with their latest earnings report showing a fall-off in profits recently, many stockholders are considering selling up and moving on. (Read More)

Report: AT&T, Verizon, Others Prepping Pay-by-Phone System: PCMAG.COM

AT&T and Verizon Wireless are reportedly working with Discover Financial Services and Barclays on a smartphone-based payment system intended to replace credit and debit cards. (Read More)

Award: Future Mobile Award for Mobile Commerce; Juniper Research

Three companies at the forefront of new developments in the Mobile Commerce field have been awarded Gold in the Juniper Research Future Mobile Awards for Mobile Commerce. (Read More)

Amazon Hits $1 Billion In M-Commerce In Last Year; by Mark Walsh, Online Media Daily

Highlighting m-commerce growth, Amazon announced that it has sold more than $1 billion worth of products sold through mobile phones and devices such as the Kindle e-reader in the last 12 months. (Read More)

M-banking may soon move beyond checking a/c status; Joji Thomas Philip & Deepshikha Sikarwar, The Economic Times

The UPA government may allow cellular operators and other corporate entities to offer financial services on mobile phones as it looks to speed up its efforts to ensure that the weaker sections of the society have access to such facilities at affordable costs. (Read More)

SK Telecom-KDDI-SOFTBANK MOBILE Agree to cooperate on Mobile NFC Service; Source: Korea IT Times

Seoul, Korea, 15 July 2010 - SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) announced today that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a Korea-Japan mobile payment cooperation with flagship mobile operators of Japan, KDDI Corporation (KDDI) and SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. (SOFTBANK MOBILE). (Read More)

Visa to Increase Stake in Monitise; Source: Yahoo Finance

(NYSE: V - News) has announced that it will increase its stake in London-based Monitise plc to 14.4% by investing £6.6 million. (Read More)

WAUSAU Financial Systems, Mitek Systems Announce Agreement To Use Mobile Deposit® For Mobile Remote Deposit Capture; Source: WAUSAU Financial Systems

Technology Allows Financial Institutions’ Customers to Deposit Personal or Business Checks via Smartphones. (Read More)

PayPal expects $500M in mobile payments volume by year-end; By Dan Butcher, Mobile Commerce Daily

PayPal, an eBay company, has rolled out a mobile version of its Express Checkout service that lets merchants offer the same PayPal experience for their on-the-go customers. (Read More)

61 percent of Fortune 500 will offer mobile commerce capabilities: study; By Dan Butcher, Mobile Commerce Daily

Sixty-one percent of Fortune 500 companies plan to incorporate sales and commerce capabilities into their mobile offerings, according to a Kony Solutions Inc. study. (Read More)

Mitek Sets the Standard for Mobile Check Deposits; Source: Mitek Systems

Growing Number of Integrators, Banks Sign On To Deploy Mobile Deposit(R) App; Company Publishes White Paper to Help Banks With Technical Considerations (Read More)

US lags in mobile commerce despite strong consumer demand: Sybase; By Dan Butcher, Mobile Commerce Daily

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. (Read More)

Asians make the most payments with mobile phones: research; Source: AFP

WASHINGTON undefined The number of people using mobile phones to make payments is expected to rise 50 percent this year to nearly 109 million with Asians leading the pack, technology research firm Gartner said Monday. (Read More)

Square’s mobile credit card reader hits speed bump; Source: MobileBeat

Square attracted plenty of attention for its mobile payment technology when it launched last month, but it looks like the company has been running into some difficulty getting its credit card reader out into the world. (Read More)

French retailers begin the move to NFC loyalty programmes; By Sarah Clark, Near Field Communications World

Three retailers in Nice are using Fidbook, an NFC loyalty application that works with a simple reader costing under €100 and avoids the need to upgrade to a contactless payments terminal. (Read More)

June 14, 2010

Boston and Atlanta Feds co-host mobile payments industry roundtable meeting; Source: Federal reserve Bank of Atlanta

It is an established fact that the United States lags Asian and African countries in embracing mobile payments technology. The question is why. To examine the reasons for the lag, the Atlanta Fed's Retail Payments Risk Forum and the Boston Fed's Consumer Payments Research Center convened a meeting on January 27 and 28 of key industry stakeholders involved in the emerging mobile payments industry. (Read More)

June 10, 2010

Banking on mobile phones; Out of thin air; Source: The Economist

The behind-the-scenes logistics of Kenya’s mobile-money miracle. (Read More)

June 10, 2010 Press Release

In-App Payments for Android are here! By Rain Rannu, fortumoblog

We’ve been working hard on this and now it’s ready: our in-app payments for Android. (Read More)

June 10, 2010 Press Release

New mobile banking research report; By Javelin Strategy & Research

2010 Mobile Banking Behaviors: Fewer Handsets in the U.S., yet Smartphone Growth Exceeds Expectations. (Read More)

June 10, 2010

How Mobile Commerce and Communication Will Change the Fashion Business; By Imran Amed, The Business of Fashion

Now that most luxury brands have come to accept that the internet is a powerful tool for commerce and that social media provides an opportunity for a new kind of brand engagement, along comes another technological wave that will feed the ongoing digital revolution in fashion undefined and take it mobile. (Read More)

June 8, 2010

Mobile Internet exploding, online ads about to take off, says analyst Mary Meeker, The Washington Post

Internet research analyst Mary Meeker delivered a full plate of mobile and online advertising optimism Monday in the form of her 48-page Internet Trends slide presentation. (Read More)

June 8, 2010

Mobile Payments: A Guide to the Growing Market in Your Pocket; By Liz Gannes, GIGAOM

Cell phones represent the killer combination of their owner’s identity, presence and wallet undefined and they are nearly ubiquitous, with an estimated five billion global active subscriptions predicted before the end of 2010. As such, using phones to pay for things provides a huge growth opportunity in the mobile market. Generator Research recently predicted that the worldwide market for mobile payments would grow to $633.4 billion by 2014, up from $68.7 billion in 2009. (Read More)

June 7, 2010

Stream media has made its debut in the mobile payments arena with the release of MoVend.

According to Chua Zi Tong, founder and CEO of Stream Media, the company “wanted to create something that will make payment much easier for the users. This would mean an in-app payment system that will enable users to make transactions and payments without exiting the app. Hence, the user experience would be a seamless one.”

June 7, 2010 Press Release

Ceridian Stored Value Solutions Unveils New Mobile Capabilities For Gift Card Providers; Source: Ceridian

Integrated mobile capabilities allow clients to market and increase sales through growing medium. (Read More)

June 2, 2010

China Moves Toward Mobile Payment Standard By Mike Clendenin; InformationWeek

The nation's largest wireless carrier is pressured by regulators to drop its proprietary technology and adopt the global standard. (Read More)

May 26, 2010

Square's proposition for small businesses: Analytics; By Meghan Keane, Econsultancy

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey is getting a lot of attention for his latest venture. Square, his mobile payments platform is already the darling of the startup world. The company was valued at $40 million before it even launched. (Read More)

May 24, 2010

UnionPay & China Telecom To Promote 3G Mobile Payment; Source: Capital Vue

China Telecom recently signed a cooperation agreement with China UnionPay to cooperate in bank card payment in the telecoms and e-commerce sectors, according to information obtained from the website of China UnionPay. (Read More)

May 19, 2010

Are mobile payments reaching a tipping point in the US? By Dan Butcher, Mobile Commerce Daily

The growth of mobile payments in the United States has stalled largely because the market’s diverse stakeholders have been unable to build compatible business models. But is the tipping point at hand? (Read More)

May 19, 2010 Press Release

PayPal’s Mobile Payments Library Now Available for Android at Google I/O #io2010; Source: PayPal

Hi all – it’s Osama Bedier here, PayPal’s VP of platform, mobile and new ventures, with good news for our Android developers. (Read More)

May 17, 2010

ANZ drops m-banking due to low user take-up: Retail Banker International

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) is to drop its mobile banking service because of low take-up, insisting customers can use SMS text messaging and online banking channels instead. (Read More)

May 14, 2010

A week is a long time in mobile payments; By Alex Kwiatkowski; Source: ovum

And they say a week is a long time in politics. On current evidence, the same is true where mobile payments are concerned. The last seven days have seen a raft of announcements regarding new products, technology trials, strategic investments in start-ups, and hopelessly optimistic market-growth forecasts. Oh, and a sneak-peek on a casing that can turn Apple's iPhone into a contactless-payment device. But amid all this noise, is there anything actually worth listening to? And more importantly, how can banks attune themselves to picking out the right notes rather than being overwhelmed by a deafening wall of sound? (Read More)

May 13, 2010

txtNation Launch Mobile Payments in Asia; Source: PRWeb

txtNation today announced that they have launched premium rate, mobile payments across several Asian countries, to expand a massive footprint that already includes SMS in China. (Read More)

May 12, 2010

E-commerce hardly exists in Africa. But that's about to change: the first online shops that accept the widely spread mobile phone-payments are opening up now. By Vanessa Vermeulen, RadioNetherlands Worldwide
 
"Look at this; this 4GB iPod costs 75 euros at the Dutch online Apple Store. And now look at this Kenyan webshop: here, the same iPod costs 108 euros." We're in Nairobi, at the office of Agosta Liko, founder of the new African online payment system Pesapal. It is the fifth example of major price differences between online shopping in Holland and Kenya. (Read More)

May 12, 2010

Mobile Banking Set to Soar; Source: eMarketer

For consumers, mobile banking is about convenience: the ability to check account balances, pay bills and transfer funds from a device they take with them everywhere. For financial institutions, it is a means to deepen customer relationships, streamline operations and cut costs. (Read More)

May 11, 2010

PINless Debit, Card Acceptance for Consumers from Obopay; Source: Digital Transactions

Online PINless debit transactions could get a boost if a package of four new mobile-payments services from Obopay Inc. proves to be a hit. Dubbed Mobile Money for Banks, Obopay’s new white-label service has another interesting twist besides PINless debit in that it will enable consumers to accept payment cards. (Read More)

May 5, 2010

Pay by mobile phone; By Tan Weizhen, The Straits Times

IF AT first you don't succeed, try and try again. After several failed attempts at promoting mobile phones as a contactless payment medium, industry players believe they have finally hit the jackpot. (Read More)

May 4, 2010 Press Release

Mobile Payments Market to Quadruple by 2014, reaching $630bn in value, although still only accounting for around 5% of ecommerce retail sales; Source: Sourcewire

A new study from Juniper Research has found that the value of mobile payments for digital and physical goods, money transfers and NFC (Near Field Communications) transactions will reach almost $630bn by 2014, up from $170bn this year, representing the gross value of all purchases or the value of money being transferred. (Read More)

May 4, 2010

Eye on Mobile: An Apple-ViVOtech Rumor; Google Invests in a Gateway; Source: Digital Transactions

In an example of how fast news can spread in the overheated atmosphere of mobile payments, news items and blog postings appeared on Monday and Tuesday suggesting that Apple Inc. is angling to buy Vivotech Inc., a vendor of hardware and software for contactless payments. At the same time, Google Inc.’s new investment arm, Google Ventures, unveiled its first 10 investment targets, among them a mobile-payments gateway startup called Corduro, triggering speculation about what the startup could mean to Google’s strategy in electronic payments.  (Read More)

May 3, 2010

Restaurants downloading more mobile apps; By Mark  Brandau, Restaurant News

Hans Hess, the founder and chief executive of organic hamburger concept Elevation Burger, typifies an emerging movement toward mobile commerce. When he’s on the go, he uses his iPhone to download driving directions rather than relying on maps, and he places takeout orders from one of the eight restaurants on Elevation Burger’s iPhone application. (Read More)

April 29, 2010

RBI says Yes to Nokia mobile money transfer; By M. Ramesh, BusinessLine

Mr Tero Ojanpera remembers the day when he wanted to pay for his purchases at the departmental store using his mobile phone but the woman at the counter told him the store did not accept phones in lieu of money. (Read More)

April 29, 2010

If My Phone Was My Wallet: Reflections from NACHA Payments 2010; By Bob Meara, Celent Banking Blog

It’s hard to imagine a business trip without a Smartphone. This week at NACHA Payments 2010, an embarrassing event caused me to consider the practical risks of overreliance on mobile devices. (Read More)

April 27, 2010 Press Release

Sybase 365 and FirstCaribbean International Bank Bring Industry-Leading Mobile Banking Technology to the Caribbean; Source: Sybase

Bank Introduces First Regional mBanking Service Across 17 Markets, With Sybase mBanking 365 Platform (Read More)

April 26, 2010

Tesco Mobile exceeds two million users; By Ben Robinson, IntoMobile

New is reporting that Tesco Mobile now has over 2m users, after reporting a 14% increase in the last year! For those of you that don’t know Tesco, they are an all-pervasive Supermarket chain in the UK that basically does anything you could want to buy – including Mobiles! (Read More)

April 26, 2010 Press Release

Owners of the Newest Touch-screen Smartphones Drive Mobile Banking Adoption; Source: NACHA

Consumers’ use of their Internet-capable mobile phones to access online banking and pay bills online climbed significantly over the past 12 months, according to new research released and jointly sponsored by FIS, NACHA, and eCom Advisors. This research is being unveiled at NACHA’s PAYMENTS 2010 Conference at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. (Read More)

April 23, 2010 Press Release

ClairMail Announces Record Quarter-End Numbers, Continuing Growth and Leadership in Mobile Financial Services; Source: ClaireMail

 270 Percent Growth in Bookings and 400 Percent Increase in Transactions Builds Strong Momentum for Remainder of 2010; (Read More)

April 22, 2010

PayPal Australia sees growth in mobility By Stephen Withers, ITWire

PayPal's Australian business has grown to $A2 billion in five years, but the message from the local managing director is that 'you ain't seen nothin' yet.' (Read More)

April 21, 2010 Press Release

Mobile Payments for Digital & Physical Goods, Players, Markets & Opportunities, 2010-2014; Source: Juniper Research

This global market sizing report focuses on two major sectors within the mobile payments industry: digital goods payments (mobile entertainment such as a music track and SMS/barcode ticketing) and physical goods payments (mobile purchase of almost any consumer product such as a book or DVD using mobile internet or an app). (Read More)

April 20, 2010

Apple patents point to assault on coupons, NFC and mobile marketing value chain by Paul Skeldon, InternetRetailing

Following hot on the heels of Apple rolling out its iAd mobile advertising offering, patent applications filed in the US by the company suggest that it is now looking to offer a range of mobile commerce services covering payments, NFC and marketing. Together these and the iAds show the company is limbering up to ‘own’ the complete value chain from marketing to purchase in the m-commerce channel. (Read More)

April 20, 2010

Will FaceCash, the mobile payment application, kill the credit card? Source: MobileBeat

A Silicon Valley company with a noteworthy founder has created a mobile payment system called FaceCash that it hopes will one day displace credit cards. (Read More)

April 19, 2010

U.S. Mobile Banking Grew 20% in Q1 2010; By David Eads, Mobile Manifesto

Mobile banking adoption in the U.S. is grew by 20% last quarter according to research we have done on large and regional banks in the U.S. USAA is a good published example of this industry growth we think is fueled by the proliferation of smartphones and a growing consumer comfort and familiarity with mobile technology. (Read More)

April 16, 2010

A bridge to mobile payments; By Steve Brunswick, finextra

What’s it going to take to get contactless payments off the ground? Contactless card payments have been proving more of a slow burner than a big bang, and the introduction of mobile phones with embedded NFC capabilities that could be used for contactless payments has also been slow. (Read More)

April 16, 2010

If you thought you went through money quickly before, try the Zoompass Tag; By Gillian Shaw, Vancouver Sun

 Canada's major wireless carriers have announced a new mobile money system that can turn your cellphone into a wireless payment machine. (Read More)

April 15, 2010

iPay, iBuy and iCoupons? Latest patents show Apple has a clear business model for NFC-enabled mobile payments and promotions; By Sarah Clark, NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com

A series of new patent applications demonstrate that Apple has a clear business model in place for the introduction of a comprehensive mobile payments, mobile commerce and mobile marketing business based around an NFC-enabled iPhone. (Read More)

April 14, 2010 Press Release

Mobile Money Industry Leader Reaches Key Milestone; Mobile Money

Monitise Americas, the leading mobile banking and payments provider, has announced its parent company, Monitise, has achieved over 2 million registered users for its services in the UK and the US, driven by increased uptake of its smartphone apps. (Read more)

April 8, 2010

NRF introduces initiative to retailers diving into mobile commerce; By Rimma Kats, Mobile Commerce Daily

National Retail Federation has introduced its new mobile retail initiative to offer best practices and learning opportunities for retailers diving into mobile commerce. (Read More)

April 8, 2010 Press Release

Alpine Bank Boosts Competitive Edge With Diebold's MobiTransact(TM) Mobile Banking Solution; Source: Diebold

Colorado financial institution offers customers broad array of mobile services without requiring an online banking account (Read More)

April 8, 2010

As 2-D Barcodes Gain Steam for M-Payments, a Novel Twist Emerges; Source: Digital Transactions

The use of two-dimensional bar-code technology for mobile payments appears to be picking up momentum. On the heels of a major expansion of the technology, announced last week by Starbucks Coffee Co. and Target Corp., a startup company this week announced it is launching a so-called private beta for a barcode system that will let consumers make payments online and in stores, as well as person-to-person. The beta is expected to become a commercial service in the third quarter.  (Read More)

April 6, 2010

The Critical Mobile Banking Decision; Monotise Americas White Paper

Download the White Paper to examine how mobility should be regarded as a strategic solution that can offer a solid return on investment.  (Read More)

April 6, 2010 Press Release

Parkmobile USA, Inc. Unveils Its iPhone Mobile Application Today; Source: The Parkmobilizer

With the launch of Parkmobile’s application customers are now able to conduct their parking transactions via mobile application. (Read More)

April 6, 2010

Is China ready to dial ‘M’ for money? By Daniel Bardsley, The National

When China Mobile bought a 20 per cent stake in Shanghai Pudong Development (SPD) Bank, it was making more than just another strategic investment. (Read More)

April 5, 2010

In Bypassing iPhone for iPad, Square Shows Its HandundefinedOr Some of It; Source: Digital Transactions

The mysterious Square Inc. payment service made a name for itself Monday by joining a somewhat exclusive club of companies to offer the first applications for Apple Inc.’s iPad notepad computer within a couple of days of the iPad’s much-hyped April 3 debut. Square also revealed its pricing. (Read More)

April 5, 2010

The Very Mobile Future of Banking; Source: The Financial Brand

Take a look at these videos and interactive demos and you’ll swear the future of banking hinges on the marriage of two ideas: “mobile” + “touchscreens.” (Read More)

April 5, 2010

Paying For Everything With Your Phone; By Kolja Reiss, Forbes.com

The U.S. lags behind Europe in mobile payments. It's not likely to stay that way. (Read More)

April 1, 2010

NFC: Never Mind Credit Cards, Pay With Your Phone; By Richard MacManus, ReadWriteWeb

One of the emerging trends of the Mobile Web is using your phone to interact with the real world. We're not just talking about 'checking in' to locations, either. There's a world of more practical functionality that hasn't yet ramped up in the West - using your phone as a payment device (for example mobile ticketing), getting special offers from retailers, downloading data from the Web via 'smart posters' on the street, and more. (Read More)

April 1, 2010

TNS Enters a Crowded Market for Card Acceptance on Handsets; Source: Digital Transactions

(April 1, 2010) Transaction Network Services Inc. this week announced its entry in what is becoming an increasingly crowded marketundefinedapplications that let smart phones act as credit and debit card acceptance devices. But TNS, which specializes in providing the transaction-transport systems for point-of-sale and ATM networks, says it will set itself apart by helping to bring order to what it sees as a messy business. “We’ve heard that it’s gotten sort of a Wild West feel out there,” Gerry Grealish, vice president of global product marketing, tells Digital Transactions News. (Read More)

April 1, 2010

Mobile banking? Personal banking, By Jan Chipchase, CGAP

Today we welcome a new series of blog posts from Jan Chipchase. Jan has spent a decade exploring the intersection of technology, people and culture for Nokia, and specializes in turning insights into opportunities. Jan sits on the advisory board for the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion. (Read More)

March 31, 2010

Starbucks launches largest mobile payment product in U.S.; Source: fanminder

Wow, great day for Mobile Marketing. Starbucks officially launched its prepaid card as a virtual mobile iPhone application in all 1,000 stores and Target locations. (Read More)

March 30, 2010 Press Release

TNS AND BLUE BAMBOO PARTNER TO PROVIDE SMARTPHONE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS FOR SYNAPSE CUSTOMERS; Source: Transaction Network Services

Transaction Network Services (NYSE: TNS) is partnering with Blue Bamboo to enable ISOs, acquirers and processors across North America to offer their customers the ability to accept credit and debit payments through smartphone devices. (Read More)

March 29, 2010

260 Million Indian Mobile Internet Users By 2015? Dream Or Reality? By Rajiv Dingra, WATBlog.com 

Mobile penetration in India is above 500 million and thats not a new story. Its been oft repeated that in India a large mass would access the internet via mobiles but still the serious active mobile internet population was recently pegged at just 2 million! (Read More)

March 29,2010

Buy online – charge to mobile bill in 15 seconds or less; Source: Poulos Ponderings

If you are a CSP fearing OTT (over the top) digital content providers addressing your customer base and cutting you out, are concerned by financial services companies offering payment capabilities that don’t include you or would like to generate incremental revenues leveraging your key skill sets, then read on. (Read More)

March 29,2010

Free Report  2010 American Mobile Consumer Report; Source: Experian Simmons

Mobile phones have become an essential part of everyday life with nine in ten U.S. adults today using at least one mobile device. Experian Simmons provides marketers with the much needed insight into the rapidly evolving behaviors and attitudes of mobile consumers with the release of the Mobile Consumer segmentation solution and three new mobile psychographic scales. These new systems are available now with the release of the Fall 2009 National Consumer Study/National Hispanic Consumer Study. (Read More)

March 26, 2010

Wells Fargo, Western Union: Mobile financial services all about convenience; By Dan Butcher, Mobile Commerce Daily

LAS VEGAS – A panel at CTIA discussed trends in mobile banking, payments and other financial services, agreeing that it is all about providing convenience to customers. (Read More)

March 25, 2010

MasterCard, PayPal reveal conflicting views of mobile financial services; Dan Butcher, Mobile-Financial.com

At the CTIA conference this week, leading financial services companies participated in a panel session about mobile financial services - "“Mobile Money 101: The overview course on what’s now and what’s next” . The panel was moderated by Tom Wills, senior analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research. The panelists included representatives from MasterCard, PayPal, First Data, and ClairMail. The panel was a lively one with different perspectives shared about the future of mobile financial services based on what role each panelists plays in the industry’s ecosystem. For instance, "MasterCard is investing heavily in mobile because the company believes the channel is a game-changer for financial services." (Read More)

March 25, 2010

US, UK Consumers Prefer Mobile Banking To Branch Banking; Source: Banking Business Review

Mobile banking is increasingly gaining foothold in the US and UK markets surpassing both branch and telephone banking in terms of popularity, according to a consumer research released by mobile transaction network mBlox. The US/UK research was carried out by global research company OnePoll between March 15-18, 2010. (Read More)

March 24, 2010

Healthy Banks Gear Up to Buy Weaker Rivals; By ROLFE WINKLER and ROBERT CYRAN, The New York Times

As the list of America’s problem banks balloons, healthy institutions are gearing up to capitalize on the misfortune of others. Just look at First Interstate BancSystem, the first bank to begin an initial public offering since before the financial crisis. It may use the proceeds to pick off failed rivals. (Read More)

March 23, 2010

iPad will revolutionise mobile commerce, says expert; Source: velti.com

The world of mobile commerce will be revolutionised by the impending launch of the iPad, an industry expert has claimed. (Read More)

March 22, 2010 Press Release

Verizon Wireless Plans eCommerce Mobile Payment Service; Source: Verizon Wireless

Coming This Spring, Customers Can Choose to Bill Online Digital Purchases to their Wireless Accounts Using BilltoMobile (TM) from Danal. (Read More)

March 22, 2010 Press Release

Mobile Money from Fiserv Selected by SunTrust; Source: Fiserv

SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI) has selected Mobile Money™ from Fiserv to provide their clients with broader access to mobile financial services. (Read More)

March 22, 2010

The do-it-all phone is just over the horizon; By Mark Prigg, London Evening Standard

FreedomPlus.comIt could be bad news for the wallet and purse. Mobile phone makers are preparing to start selling phones that can act as your credit card and Oyster card, and even open your front door. (Read More)

March 19,2010

Mobile payments offer big benefits to Canadian business, consumers: By Nestor E. Arellano, itbusiness.ca

Purchasing items, paying bills, or remitting funds using your mobile phone isn't a common practice in Canada, as it is in other parts of the world. But if mobile payments do become pervasive here, the payoff - for business and consumers - can be huge. Our Voices panel talks about this and much more. (Read More)

March 18, 2010

Gartner takes a swipe at Citi mobile trial data; Source: finextra.com

Gartner analyst Kristin Moyer has taken issue with recent reports praising Citi's 'Tap and Pay' mobile payments trial in India, arguing that the data released fails to back up claims made by the bank and researchers over the success of the programme. (Read More)

March 17, 2010

How QVC Rings Up Sales with Mobile Commerce: Source: NETWORKWORLD

At QVC, home shopping first meant customers watched TV and dialed an 800 number. The company added a website in 1996 and many consumers migrated online. Now QVC offers the ability to buy items in seconds by sending a text message from any cell phone. (Read More)

March 17, 2010

Europe gears up for SMS- based mobile payments; Source: Wireless Federation

Europeans now seem to be willing to pay for goods from their phones and with the successful trial in Sweden; the continent seems to be ripe enough for SMS-based mobile payments to take off.  20% increase in sales of the seven vending machines in two Stockholm underground stations was reported where the service was trialed by the payment and messaging equipment provider, Ericsson IPX, besides boosting carrier’s ARPU through increased SMS traffic.  (Read More)

March 16, 2010 Press Release

PayPal Launches New Send Money App for iPhone® Source: PayPal

PayPal today unveiled a new Send Money application for iPhone. Version 2.0 of the PayPal Send Money app gives PayPal and iPhone customers around the world secure mobile access to their money and convenient features for everyday life, including Bump money transfers, Split Check and Collect Money.  (Read More)

March 16 2010

Mobile commerce 'used by 90% of handset owners'; Source: velti.com

Mobile commerce services have been used by the vast majority of people surveyed in a recent poll. Some 90 per cent of mobile users in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Western Europe and the Middle East have used their phone to directly purchase products or services, according to a report from BuzzCity. (Read More)

March 16, 2010

First Data: Embrace of SD Cards Won’t Weaken Sticker Commitment; Source: Digital Transactions

First Data Corp., which for the past couple of years has been pushing its Go Tag contactless-sticker technology, announced on Tuesday it will promote a new contactless technology for mobile phones based on Secure Digital memory cards. But the massive Atlanta-based processor says the move will have no impact on its Go Tag initiative, which relies on small, flexible tags embedded with chip-and-antenna inlays that can affix to handsets and link via radio waves to point-of-sale readers to process transactions.  (Read More)

March 16, 2010 Press Release

Business Strategy: The Canadian Mobile Payments Ecosystem; Author: Robert Burbach, IDC Financial Insights

This IDC Financial Insights report examines the attitudes and behaviour of possible participants in the ecosystem to the introduction of mobile payments into the Canadian marketplace. (Read More)

March 15, 2010

Key talking points at the Mobile Financial Services conference; By Shailendra Pandey, telecoms.com

Informa Telecoms & Media held its annual Mobile Financial Services conference on March 9-10 in London. The conference presented a good opportunity to hear views from leading industry experts on the status of the mobile banking and payments industry. (Read More)

March 15, 2010

Orange and Barclaycard to roll out NFC mobile payments by end of 2010, Paul Skeldon, Mobile-Financial.com

Barclaycard and Orange to launch an NFC based mobile payment service in the U.K. later this year. (Read More)

March 11, 2010 Press Release

TIO grows its multi-channel bill payment processing strategy with mobile bill payment apps for smartphones

TIO Networks (TSX V: TNC)(“TIO”),North America’s leading multi-channel expedited bill payment processor, today announced the launch of its own mobile bill payment platform. This new addition to TIO's list of payment channels enables participating billers to empower their customers to manage and pay bills anytime and from anywhere using their mobile smartphone. (Read More)

March 11, 2010 Press Release

2010 Mobile Marketing and Advertising: Financial Institutions Losing Revenue Opportunities, While Telcos Charge Ahead; Source: Javelin Strategy & Research

Despite coming out of a recessionary year in which advertising and marketing budgets were slashed, mobile marketing remained steady, and in some cases showed gains. Financial institutions, however, lost ground to wireless operators, ISPs and merchants. SMS text remains the means to reach the greatest numbers of consumers, but the rapidly rising percentages of smartphone users and the success of the Apple app store has increased the need for developing a greater mobile web and in-application advertising presence. This report covers the mobile marketing and advertising landscape, including consumer likelihood, preferences and adoption of mobile marketing and location based services, consumer methods of response, and segments to target. (Read More)

March 10, 2010

China Mobile Bets $5.8B on E-Commerce; By Maisie Ramsay, WirelessWEEK

China Mobile is investing $5.8 billion in a Chinese bank in an effort to get into the mobile finance and e-Commerce markets. In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the operator said it had bought a 20 percent stake in the Shanghai Pundong Development bank through its subsidiary Guangdong Mobile. (Read More)

March 10, 2010

ABI: RFID Market To $5.4 Billion This Year, $8.3 Billion By 2014; By Evan Schuman, StorefrontBacktalk

Although true item-level RFID is still years away, ABI Research is still confident that RFID sales will hit $5.4 billion this year. And it projects that number will reach $8.3 billion by 2014. The tagged segments expected to lead the way include real-time location systems, baggage handling, animal ID and a smidgen of item-level use in high-end fashion and other similar high-priced retail offerings. (Read More)

March 10, 2010 Press Release

Target Launches First-Ever Scannable Mobile Coupon Program; Source: Target

Target is the first national retailer to offer a scannable mobile coupon program that allows guests to receive exclusive offers directly on their mobile phones. Coupons are redeemed by scanning a barcode on the phone at checkout. (Read More)

March 10, 2010

What will it take to make mobile payments mainstream in the US? Source: VentureBeat

This story is part of our Microsoft-sponsored series on cutting-edge innovation. Steven Klebe is senior VP of business development at on-demand billing company Vindicia and writes regularly about mobile payments on his Payment Talk blog. (Read More)

March 9, 2010 Press Release

Contactless arrives for Barclays business customers; Source: Barclays

Barclays has become the first bank in Europe to launch commercial contactless debit cards to its business customers. From March, all Barclays Business customers receiving new or re-issued cards will find that they come with contactless technology as standard. This enables them to pay for low value transactions by holding the card over a reader, without the need to enter a PIN or insert the card into a terminal. (Read More)

March 4, 2010

China Mobile eyes m-payments with bank stake; Source: finextra.com

China Mobile has entered into talks to buy a stake in Shanghai Pudong Development (SPD) Bank as the state-owned giant looks to diversify its business and tap the lucrative m-payments market. (Read More)

March 2, 2010

5 Burning Questions; ViVOtech's Mohammad Khan; Source: PYMNTS.com

In this exclusive NEXTcast interview, ViVOtech's President and Founder, Mohammad Khan answers five burning questions on "what’s next" with mobile payments.(Read More)

March 2, 2010

Sending money by cell phone; By Niles Howard , Bankrate.com

Your daughter calls from college to say she needs $200 for textbooks -- in the next 15 minutes, if you please. You need to reimburse a friend for movie tickets and don't want the hassle of mailing a check. You owe your golfing buddy on a friendly wager, but there's no ATM nearby. (Read More)

March 2,2010

Are Banks From Mars, Mobile Tech Vendors From Venus? By Red Gillen, Celent Banking Blog

Since 2007, there has been exciting growth in the U.S. mobile banking sector.  The number of FIs that have implemented mobile banking during the last 3 years continues to rise, and the number of mobile banking active users is one of the most promising adoption metrics in the banking industry. (Read More)

March 2, 2010,

Ingenico Debuts Innovative Mobile Commerce Applications; Source: MarketWatch

Mobile Merchants to Conduct Business Anytime Anywhere Without Changing Phones or Carriers (Read More)

March 1, 201

E-Commerce Sites Discover Fast Track To Commerce; Source: SPACE DAILY

With 77% of retail chains seeing high value in mobile commerce, many say their top priority in 2010 is giving smartphone shoppers better access to their online stores.  (Read More)

February 25, 2010

Axis Bank launches mobile payment solution; Press Trust of India; Source: Business Standard

Private sector lender Axis Bank today launched mobile payment solution for debit cards--'Axis Call and Pay on atom'. (Read More)

February 24, 2010

Nokia to pilot m-commerce project in India; Akhilesh Shukla, Voice & Data

The handset leader has tied with YES BANK and would pilot the project in Pune, the decision will fillip the m-commerce in India (Read  More)

February 23, 2010

Smartphone Sales Surge as Dumbphone Demand Dips; By Richard Adhikari, E-Commerce Times

Research In Motion, Apple and Android were the smartphone winners in 2009, according to a recent Gartner report. Meanwhile, the Windows Mobile and Symbian smartphone OSes lost ground. Overall mobile phone sales fell year-over-year, but the fourth quarter was strong, and the smartphone category in particular grew about 24 percent for the year. (Read More)

February 23, 2010

Banking Alerts Are Failing To Satisfy Consumers’ Need for Control of Their Finances; Source: Javelin Strategy & Research

Financial alerts currently lack the timeliness, convenience and control required to deliver a win-win between consumers and financial providers, according to Javelin study (Read More)

February 16, 2010

Visa to Test a System that Brings Payments to Phones; By Kate Fitzgerald, MobileBanker

February 16, 2010

Nokia trials its Nokia Money mobile payment service in India; Ecommerce Journal

February 12,2010

Mobile Remote Deposit Capture Will Eliminate Over 1.5 Billion Check Deposit Transactions From U.S. Bank Branches By 2014; Mercatus Study Indicates Strong Consumer Interest in Mobile Remote Deposit Capture, Creating Platform for 'Thin Branch' Expansion Strategies Source: Mercatus LLC

Strong consumer interest in Mobile Remote Deposit Capture (Mobile RDC) will dramatically alter the current deposit-taking activities of retail banks and provide a viable roadmap to banks pursuing 'thin branch' strategies, according to a study released today by Mercatus LLC, a strategic consulting and investing firm focused on retail financial services. (Read More)

February 12, 2010

HomeATM Builds on Square's Buzz With CircleSwipe; By Will Hernandez, American Banker  

HomeATM ePayment Solutions is shifting its focus to portable card readers that can be used with mobile phones.

The Montreal company has been promoting its SafeTPIN card-swipe and PIN-pad device that consumers can plug into home computers, and has modified that to create 12 prototypes it is showing to merchant acquirers, according to Kenneth Mages, HomeATM's chairman and chief executive. (Read More)

February 11, 2010

The New Market Player VoiceCash Makes Mobile Banking a Reality; Analysis: Mobile Banking - Made in Munich; George Wyrwoll, PR Union

Juniper Research estimates that there will be a total of 612 million mobile banking users globally generating more than $587bn (£299bn) worth of financial transactions by 2011. A Munich company gets ready to become one of the key players. (Read More)

February 11, 2010

China Mobile begins commercial rollout of mobile contactless payments system, By Sarah Clark, NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com 

RF SIMs are now widely available for subscribers to purchase from China Mobile stores and the first major retailer has signed up to accept the new mobile contactless payments technology. (Read More)

February 11, 2010

More secure mobile phones unveiled; By Angus Montgomery, Design Week

Three prototypes have been developed as part of an initiative from the Home Office, the Design Council and the Technology Strategy Board to develop new ways to secure mobile phones against thieves and fraudsters. (Read More)

February 11, 2010

Rigid Regulations Retard Mobile Wallet Era; By Kim Tong-hyung

Intelligent smartphones may end up rendered retarded by Korea's crusty Internet regime. Once a hard sell here, smartphones are now flying off shelves, thanks to the emergence of intriguing devices such as the Apple iPhone and Samsung Electronics' Omnia II. (Read More)

February 11, 2010

PayPal to Introduce Easy Way for Developers to Accept Payments in their iPhone Apps; Source: The PayPal Blog  

Hi all – Osama Bedier here with some exciting news that we first told you about at PayPal X Innovate 2009. Today we’re announcing a limited beta version of our Mobile Payments library – an important element of the PayPal X global payments platform. Basically, the Mobile Payments Library is a quick and easy way to add checkout functionality for physical goods and services sold through the iPhone (other platforms are coming soon).  And the best part is, developers don’t have to worry about collecting and storing debit or credit card information. PayPal takes care of that for you. We think this will open up a whole new way to monetize iPhone applications and build profitable mobile commerce businesses with PayPal. (Read More)

February 11, 2010 Press Release

CellTrust Unveils SecureSMS Mobile Banking and Payment Pilot in Africa to Secure Branchless Banking for the Under and Un-banked; CellTrust Pilot Addresses the Central Banks’ Call for More Security; Source: CellTrust

CellTrust Corporation (www.celltrust.com), the leading supplier of secure mobile messaging and applications, has announced the launch of its SecureSMS Mobile Banking and Payment Pilot for the African region. CellTrust recently partnered with Maxim-Pro Ltd. (www.maxim-pro.com), based in Abuja, Nigeria, to secure and mobile enable their successful banking platform with the view to extending secure mobile banking and payment services to under and un-banked populations. (Read More)

February 10, 2010 Press Release

Monitise Americas Brings Mobile Money to Android Phones; Source Monitise Americas

A cutting-edge mobile banking application for Google Android phones is to be launched by Monitise Americas, the leading mobile banking and payments provider. (Read More)

February 10, 2010 Press Release

CONNECTHINGS TO MAKE FIRST PUBLIC DEMO OF WAVE-ME NFC SERVICES PLATFORM AT MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS;

First Result of a Partnership with INSIDE Contactless to Transform How People Interact With and Use Their Mobile Devices; Source: Connecthings

CONNECTHINGS, a pioneer in providing systems that deliver contextualized services and content based on location and time, today announced the first public demonstration of the Wave-Me™ NFC services platform will take place at the upcoming GSM Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona, Spain February 15-18, 2010. The first result of a partnership with INSIDE Contactless, the Wave-Me NFC services platform is built upon CONNECTHINGS’ AdTag™ server and is designed to give near field communication (NFC) the intelligence it needs to enable a broad range of mobile services beyond payment and transit applications. (Read More)

February 10, 2010 Press Release

Nuance Mobile Care Achieves Milestone with Over Eight Million Handsets Shipped in Twelve Months; Nuance is Chosen as the Preferred Self-Service Method in Customer Focus Group; Source: Nuance

Nuance Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAN) today announced that its Nuance Mobile Care solution has shipped on more than eight million mobile handsets in the past twelve months. Nuance Mobile Care is the market leader in on-device, self-service customer care worldwide. This success builds on Nuance’s existing deployments of speech recognition and T9 predictive text solutions with the world’s leading handset manufacturers. (Read More)

February 10, 2010

Leave The Credit Card, Take The Cell Phone; By Gene Marks, Forbes.com

New mobile payment services bring huge benefits to small businesses and their customers. (Read More)

February 9, 2010

Visa Europe to invest €200m in mobile payments and contactless cards; By Sarah Clark, Mobile-Financial.com

"M-commerce is a strategic priority," says Visa Europe's head of UK and Ireland, "we are working and talking with all the mobile operators and handset manufacturers to develop standards for payment on mobile phones." "Visa spent €800 million over the last five years on R&D, out of which €170 million went into chip and PIN.  "We envisage spending a further €200 million on R&D into low-value contactless payments by card and mobile device." (Read More)

February 8, 2010

Ready to bank on your smart phone? By Tara Perkins and Iain Marlow, The Globe and Mail

Mobile banking has been slow to catch on in Canada, but experts say it won't be long before the service is more popular than online banking (Read More)

February 5, 2010

Mobile Industry Gears Up For Advertising; By REUTERS; Source: The New York Times

Mobile phone operators in Britain have teamed up with digital market research firm comScore to measure mobile Internet usage in the first exercise of its kind, which they hope will jump start the mobile advertising market. (Read More)

February 5, 2010

Trial of true mobile payment begins in Shanghai; Source: GoMO News

 “Mobile payment” is a large category. It covers everything from using SMS to confirm your credit card in a retailer, to simply ordering an item over the mobile internet. But for me, the true meaning of “mobile payments” has always been to actually use your device as a payment method. Combining NFC with mobile devices, you could just wave your mobile over a reader at check-out to pay for your goods. This already works well with cards (like the Oyster card for the London Underground), and the same technology can simply be placed in your phone. Today, China Mobile and a Shanghai-based tech firm, SEIMMA Tech Co., have launched a mobile device payment trial in Shanghai. (Read More)

February 4, 2010

Uganda: Mobile Commerce Attracts More Players; By Faridah Kulabako; Source: allAfrica,com

Kampala undefined As the number, power and flexibility of mobile devices increases and barely three years after national commercial platforms for mobile commerce were launched in the country, more players have continued to show interest to tap into the small but growing market. (Read More)

February 4, 2010

‘Mobile wallets’ getting dialed in; Cell phones used as gift cards, tickets, coupons; By Mike Freeman, The San Diego Union-Tribune

The Web site Fandango is testing a system for sending movie tickets for two theaters in San Diego to cell phones.

Now showing on cell phones undefined movie tickets, gift cards, coupons and airline tickets. (Read More)

January 29, 2010 Press Release

Active Blaze Mobile Users access Digital Wallet a staggering 9 times daily; Source: Blaze Mobile

Blaze Mobile, a leading application for mobile banking, today announced that active Blaze Mobile Wallet users access their digital wallet an average of nine times each day and over 50% of the active users viewing their account balance and receipts. With consistent continued increase in Blaze Wallet downloads over the past year, the active access rate has continued with strong retention and usage rates. With access to over 8,000 financial institutions, Blaze Mobile offers convenience to customers who maintain multiple bank accounts and need access to review bank balances and view transaction history on the go. (Read More)

January 28, 2010

VeriFone’s Square Competitor Hits The App Store. Hands On With The Hardware. By MG Siegler, TechCrunch

As we noted back in December, VeriFone wasn’t just going to sit back and let Square , the new startup by Twitter creator Jack Dorsey, dominate the iPhone/iPod touch payment space. Unfortunately, their announcement of PAYware Mobile looked rushed (and Photoshopped), and Dorsey himself didn’t seem too worried. Since then though, VeriFone was nice enough to send us the hardware they are going to use to accept payments on the iPhone undefined it’s very real. (Read More)

January 26, 2010

Twitter creator Dorsey’s Square counts Mayer, Rose, Dyson among angels; By Kim-Mai Cutler, MobileBeat

Square, the mobile payments startup from Twitter creator Jack Dorsey, revealed an impressive roster of angel investors today. (Read More)

January 26, 2010

ClairMail Expands Optimized Mobile Web Support to Android and BlackBerry Devices

New Support Provides Optimized Mobile Web Experience for Android & BlackBerry Users, Extends ClairMail's Reach to a Broader Audience of Smartphone Users (Read More)

January 25,2010

New Payment Apps Help Shoppers Go Mobile. By Greg Holden, auctionBYTES

Phones are becoming smarter than ever, and so are consumers. Shoppers with phones or devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch that can conveniently and quickly surf the Web are beginning to conduct everyday commerce online. eBay said its mobile app has been downloaded 7 million times and generated over $600 million in sales on eBay in 2009. (Read More)

January 21, 2010

Citi(R) Cards Customers Given Anywhere, Anytime Access to Their Accounts Through Citi Mobile(SM) for the iPhone(R)

Source: TradingMarkets.com

Millions of Citi(R) credit card customers in the U.S. can now manage their card accounts via the downloadable Citi Mobile(SM) application for the iPhone(R) device. (Read More)

January 21, 2010

GoPayforit Brings Mobile Payment Service Payforit Online. New service to replace Premium SMS as online payment method. Source: realwire

London, 21st January 2010: A new service from GoPayforit (www.gopayforit.com) has been launched to allow easier access to the Payforit and Web Payforit technologies. Now mobile application developers, blogs, WAP sites and websites can use GoPayforit to charge for content, membership, physical goods, or anything they may wish to sell. (Read More)

January 21, 2010

Blaze customers access their mobile wallets nine times a day. By Sarah Clark, NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com  

Blaze Mobile, the US mobile banking and mobile wallet services provider, has revealed that its active users are now accessing their Blaze Mobile Wallets an average of nine times a day. (Read More)

January  20, 2010

Who Wins The Mobile [Payments] Platform Wars? Source: Business Wire

The PYMNTS.com Briefing Room on Mobile Platform Wars focuses on the varying and sometimes competing approaches to mobile commerce currently in play, including NFC, barcode, SMS, and the development of applications for mobile platforms such as the iPhone and Google's Android. Leading mobile players such as Fiserv and Mocapay express their views on "what's next" in mobile payments. (Read More)

January 13, 2010

Mobile Payments Getting Traction On Social Networks, But Fees Are Sky High. By Michael Arrington, TechCrunch

Users are increasingly choosing dead simple SMS mobile payments for micro-transactions on social network applications and gaming sites (it fills the void while they wait for more direct options), but super-high transaction fees are limiting growth. (Read More)

January 13, 2010 Press Release

Arcot first to extend MasterCard’s Chip Authentication (CAP) to mobile phones

Arcot announced a new EMV authentication solution for cardholders to authenticate “Card Not Present” transactions using their mobile phone. This new solution, ArcotOTP, lowers the cost of providing EMV authentication and increases the convenience for cardholders on the go. ArcotOTP can be used by the hundreds of millions of EMV cardholders and allows them to use their mobile phones to secure e-banking, e-commerce, telephone orders or a whole host of other transactions where the customer is not face-to-face with the bank or merchant. The new ArcotOTP mobile application combined with the Chip Authentication Program (CAP) solution from MasterCard increases security, reduces the risk of fraud and makes it easy for cardholders to shop or bank online no matter where they are in the world. (Read More)

January 10, 2010

From Print to Phone to Web. And a Sale? By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD: The New York Times

Print may be a flat medium, but that has not stopped magazine publishers from trying to add dimension to their pages. For at least a decade, they have been experimenting with bar codes and icons that could take readers to Web sites, trying to add a bit of Internetlike interactivity to their pages. (Read More)

January 7 Press Release

Citibank, First Foreign Bank, to Serve Customers on the Move

Bangkok – Citibank Thailand's customers will now need only their mobile phones to check their account information, pay bills and transfer money. (Read More)

December 11, 2009 Press Release

Obopay Introduces New iPhone Application

Obopay announced that its Obopay Mobile Payments application for the iPhone will be available from the Apple App Store beginning today. The free download will enable iPhone users to send money to friends and family more quickly and easier than ever with Obopay's application.

Read More

December 8, 2009

VeriFone Brings a Terminal Maker’s Savvy to Mobile Payments

Source: Digital Transactions

With a number of processors and software houses having introduced applications over the past year to let merchants process cards on smart phones, many observers wondered how long it would be before the established point-of-sale terminal vendors entered this market. On Tuesday morning, the answer came with VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s announcement that it will start shipping next month an app for the iPhone that pairs with a mag-stripe reader that attaches to the USB connector at the bottom of the device.

Read More

December 8, 2009 Press Release

ClairMail Appoints ebpSource as Master International Distributor

Novato, Calif. & London, UK undefined December 8, 2009 undefined ClairMail, Inc. the leader in mobile banking and payment solutions, together with ebpSource Limited, the leading experts in the field of international e-billing, e-invoicing and payment, today announced that they have entered into a distribution partnership. Under the terms of the agreement, ebpSource Limited will be the Master International Distributor of the ClairMail mobile banking and payment platform.

Read More

December 8, 2009

Mobile Payments: the battleground of the future

Source: The Financial Services Club Blog

Thomas Bostrøm Jørgensen, CEO of mobile payments and financial solutions firm Luup, presented at the FSClub the other day.

Read More

December 7, 2009

By Jennifer L. Schenker: BusinessWeek

Obopay Turns Mobile Phones into Banks

Source: BusinessWeek

I

n much of the developing world, bank branches are scare. Obopay aims to fix the problem by making increasingly ubiquitous cell phones into virtual bank offices.

Read More

November 24, 2009 Press Release

Scotiabank Partners With M-Com to Bring Mobile Banking To Canadians

- Mobile banking to be available to Scotiabank customers in spring 2010

 TORONTO, Nov. 24 /CNW/ - Scotiabank today announced a new partnership with M-Com, an international mobile banking and payments solution provider, that will bring mobile banking to Scotiabank customers in the spring of 2010.

Read more

November 24, 2009 Press Release

eBay’s Mobile Technology Puts Holiday Deal Hunting at Shopper’s Fingertips; Apps Released in Time for eBay’s “12 Days of Deals” Holiday Promotion. eBay Press Release

Read more

October 28, 2009

SAA customers have deposited more than 100,000 checks totaling $61 million with their iPhones since the service became available in August.

Banks are turning to mobile technology for remote deposit and iPhone applications are leading the way.  Source: The Sacramento Bee; Forget the ATM -- some banks allow check deposits via scanner, iPhone

October 2009

Zong launches Zong+ combining carrier billing with credit, debit and prepaid cards

Zong (www.Zong.com), the leading mobile payment service used by online gaming and social networking web sites, today announced that is has launched Zong+, the first online mobile payment platform combining carrier billing with credit, debit and prepaid cards. Now, in addition to making online purchases through their cell phone bill, Zong customers will also be able to link any type of payment card to their Zong account through a one-time entry process and continue to purchase goods by simply entering their mobile number and confirming the security transaction code sent to their phone. Source: Reuters; Zong Announces Zong+: Next Generation Mobile Payment Service