International Mobile Banking - May 22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Mobile Banking Updates - May 21

Forrester: How do the top U.S. banks rank in their mobile services?
"Mobile is the new black: In 2011, the number of smartphone subscriptions in the U.S. grew by about 50 percent. Today, U.S. smartphone penetration is approximately 40 percent. This technological sea change is having an impact on the banking industry: In the past five years, U.S. mobile banking adoption has more than quadrupled, hitting 17 percent by the end of 2011. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 33 percent."

Finovate Spring 2012: Digital Financial Services Innovation
"I attended Finovatethis week to get a preview of new financial services digital technology vendors. I say preview because if you have ever been to Finovate, you know it’s a little like speed dating, where 63 vendors have 7 minutes each to show you their best moves. The themes at Finovate this year were not much different as previous years with the focus being on mobile banking, personal financial management, and payments. However, this year, a few new topics emerged: rewards, coupons, and mobile banking services for Pre-Paid Visas customers. Apparently, Pre-Paid Visas are the new black."

What will be the biggest mobile banking trends of 2012?
"Pieter De Villiers - CEO of Clickatell - told MyBroadband BusinessTech that the biggest mobile banking trends this year will be person-to-person payments, mobile cheque capture and customised apps. As you can see, businesstech.co.za is a South African site, but Clickatell is a global company - 'the largest Online SMS Gateway covering 819 networks in 221 countries and territories'."

RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Extends Mobile Banking to Android(TM), Expands Online Banking and Mobile Banking Platforms
"RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. today unveiled enhanced online and mobile banking platforms for Citizens Bank and Charter One customers, with updates including person-to-person payments on the web and expanded mobile functionality that is now available to Android users in addition to iPhone users. 'Our customers have embraced the ease and convenience of online and mobile banking, and these enhancements are a direct result of our commitment to invest in the services that customers tell us are important to them,' said Brad Conner, Vice Chairman of Consumer Banking, RBS Citizens Financial Group. 'People are busier than ever, and we are committed to putting our customers in control and showing them how to take care of their banking needs anytime and anywhere.'"

Global Study Identifies Impact of Smartphone Use on Mobile Banking and Payments
"A study of mobile banking and payment adoption rates in 14 countries by ACI Worldwide ACIW -1.30% and Aite Group has discovered a new category of consumer, known as Smartphonatics, that is driving the demand for mobile payments and banking. A Smartphonatic is someone who changes their shopping, financial and payment behavior as a result of owning a smartphone. The report identifies a stark difference between mobile adoption among Smartphonatics and other consumers: while 80 percent of Smartphonatics have used their smartphones for mobile banking only one-third of non-Smartphonatics report doing so. Similarly 70 percent of Smartphonatics have used their smartphones for mobile payments, less than a quarter of non-Smartphonatics have done so."

Citi to Sponsor U.S. Olympic Team, in Campaign Promoting Mobile Banking
"For the first time, Citi will sponsor the United States Olympic and Paralympic teams, in an effort that includes an advertising campaign that will begin on Monday to help the company support athletes and advertise its mobile-banking products. It joins a number of other financial-services firms as an Olympics sponsor, including Visa."

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Mobile Banking Updates - May 17

Post PC Era: Mobile Banking and Payments in Emerging Markets
"Mobile phones offer numerous benefits in emerging markets; they ensure the safety and security of money, make payments more convenient and promote M-Commerce opportunities for local entrepreneurs. They also present opportunities for western companies looking to move into these markets, as well as learning’s for those who want to implement similar mobile finance models in developed markets."

MOBILE BANKING INCREASING IN EMERGING MARKETS
"On Device Research, which use the mobile Internet to access consumer opinions, released a report looking at the mobile finance activities of mobile Internet users in emerging markets. The report found that 53 percent of mobile Internet users in India, Kenya, Indonesia, Ghana and Nigeria have engaged in mobile banking and payment activities. This is especially high in Kenya, where 96 percent of mobile Internet users have engaged in a financial activity via their cellphone. In addition, the report found that using mobile phones for financial activities is also popular in rural areas, with almost equal penetration compared to urban usage in some countries."

Clairmail breaking down barriers to mobile banking"With more people turning to their smartphones for purchases, web browsing and up-to-the-minute notifications, banks are scrambling to get their services to their customers in a reliable, customizable and secure way. By providing those services to banks and financial institutions, Clairmail Inc. has soared, managing more than 500 million transactions for 7 million users in 2011. 'We realize there is no single mobile banking experience that is a fit for everyone, which is why we provide a custom platform tailored to the needs of each of our financial institutions,' CEO Pete Daffern said."

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Mobile Banking Security - May 16

Mobile Banking: Mitigating Consumer Risks
"Which security concerns should institutions be bracing for, as more consumers adopt mobile banking? BITS offers a collection of recommendations from some of the industry's top institutions. Most banks and credit unions know they can't shy away from mobile. But that doesn't mean they don't still have serious concerns about security risks. Paul Smocer, president of BITS, the technology policy division of the Financial Services Roundtable, says banking/security leaders increasingly just want to wrap their brains around the best way to mitigate the risks of mobility."

Major bank considers new security for mobile banking
"JPMorgan is considering implementing new technologies for its improved mobile banking solution that will keep sensitive information protected and ensure data quality remains high. Currently, the bank is looking into biometric technologies, specifically voice and fingerprint recognition, as a way to keep confidential records protected, according to a report by Bank Technology News."

Zeus Botnets Are Taken Down by Unique Team
"The NACHA session opened with dramatic video. Microsoft lawyers accompanied by U.S. marshals swooped into a characterless office building in Scranton, Pa., where they proceeded to seize computers that had been used to host giant botnet networks of zombie computers that–unbeknownst to their owners–were under the control of the so-called Zeus virus."

Security's not the biggest problem with m-banking
"There's a bigger worry than security when it comes to offering m-banking to the un- and underbanked. That is, how can banks make m-banking a going business concern? This according to Thabiso Moerane, mobile commerce ecosystem leader at Alcatel-Lucent, who will address the ITWeb Security Summit, taking place from May 15–17 in Johannesburg, South Africa."

Clairmail Leads New Era of Mobile Banking Security With RSA Certification
"Clairmail, Inc., the leader in mobile banking and payment solutions, today announced its acceptance to the Secured by RSA (R) Certified Partner Program and has certified interoperability between Clairmail's Mobile Banking Solution and RSA Adaptive Authentication software from RSA(R), The Security Division of EMC EMC +0.84% . Already an RSA Secured(R) Partner, the new interoperability partnership comes after rigorous RSA certification testing of Clairmail's Mobile Banking Solution and reinforces Clairmail's commitment to continually advancing platform security for end users and Financial Institutions (FIs)."

Protecting personal information extends beyond the Web, to mobile devices
"For most people, it is rare to go a day without going online or using a mobile device. While having access to the information you want and need makes life a lot easier, it's most important to use the Web wisely. Today, keeping personal information safe is a concern for virtually anyone using a computer or a mobile device to access the Internet. Given the fast pace at which technology develops, staying up to date on the latest ways to protect yourself is vital to guarding your personal information."

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International Mobile Banking Updates - May 15

Mobile money transfers reach 16 percent of sub-Saharan African population
"Money transfer via mobile phones has expanded to 16 percent of the total population in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new World Bank study that provides a global picture for how people save, borrow, make payments and manage risk. The Global Financial Inclusion Database, or Global Findex, has found only 3 percent of the population in the rest of the world take advantage of money transfers through mobile phones."

A bank that can go anywhere, anytime, and fits in the pocket
"This bank can go anywhere, is open anytime, and fits inside the pocket of your jeans. And this is what Citibank has unveiled – its complete suite of Mobile Banking Applications for today’s widely popular smartphones such as iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones. Aneth Ng-Lim, Citibank Country Corporate Affairs, said in a roundtable discussion with the media that their free mobile app was designed to fit the lifestyle of their clients who are always on the go and have a need to constantly access their accounts."

Uganda: Housing Finance Set to Introduce Mobile Banking
"Housing Finance Bank (HFB) has moved to introduce a virtual Bank account scheme which enables clients to effect payments and money transfers. The all inclusive account which is a partnership with MCash Uganda limited was unveiled last week and allows HFB customers to save and send money within Uganda."

International Finance Corp., MasterCard Foundation working to expand microfinancing in Africa
"The World Bank partner devoted to developing the private sector and The MasterCard Foundation will spend millions of dollars so more impoverished Africans can get loans and other financial services, officials said Monday. At a Johannesburg news conference Monday, officials from the International Finance Corporation, which is part of the World Bank group, and The MasterCard Foundation said they would spend $37.4 million over five years to support banks and other institutions across Africa that provide small loans, a strategy known as microfinancing. People around the world have used such loans to lift themselves out of poverty by starting or expanding small businesses, sending children to school or buying fertilizer for subsistence farms."

Rabobank releases mobile banking app for Windows Phone
"Rabobank, one of the largest banks in the Netherlands, has released a mobile banking app for Windows Phone. Like its counterparts for Android, Blackberry and iOS, the Rabo Banking App lets users take care of their banking needs, be it checking their balance, viewing account history or making transfers, wherever they may be."

Bank of Ireland launches mobile banking app
"From midnight tonight, those who bank with Bank of Ireland will be able to download a new mobile banking app for the iPhone from the Apple App Store. According to Bank of Ireland, the new app will deliver high-speed, secure bank account access to the 500,000 personal customers who have signed up for its online banking service."

Commonwealth Bank tapping into growing mobile banking market
"Commonwealth Bank Indonesia, a subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, is tapping into growing mobile banking market in the country, benefiting the increasing number of middle-class people in the largest economy in Southeast Asia. 'Up to 80 percent of [the Indonesian] population is less than 40 years old, 35 percent of whom use social media. If you look at the way people interact and travel in Indonesia, mobile is the key part of that,' Commonwealth Bank director of retail and business banking, Ian Phillip Whitehead, said in Singapore on Friday."

Kiwibank app fights 'soulless' banking
"All banks want their customers to love them – but the drawcard feature of Kiwibank's first mobile banking app may make banking relationships even more intimate. Due to be released this week, the bank's iPhone app has the unique feature, when it comes to mobile banking, of assigning customers their own online relationship manager to help deal with any queries via text or email."

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Mobile Banking Updates - May 13

Biggest trends in mobile banking
"Clickatell CEO, Pieter Streicher predicts that mobile check capture, person-to-person payments and customized apps will be the biggest trends in mobile banking this year. Streicher told MyBroadband BusinessTech that 90% of the banks they deal with have, or will have, a mobile strategy by the end of 2012. This is driven by the need to serve their customers in a more cost-effective manner and the need to offer more value added services."

Refundo offers mobile banking for Spanish speakers
"Roger Chinchilla and Grimaldy Dominguez grew up watching Latin American families struggle in Queens, New York. As entrepreneurs, the two have created a free mobile banking system to help Hispanics keep track of their money. Chinchilla came as a toddler from Honduras in 1986, and Dominguez arrived from the Dominican Republic as a child in 1993. As they tell it, both grew tired of watching workers pay sharp fees to cash paychecks at check cashers."

NACHA Conference: Mortal Danger for Small FIs
"Call this the loud message out of NACHA 2012: Financial institutions can choose to innovate. Or to die. And the pressures are higher on community banks and credit unions for a painful reason. 'The crux of the community bank and credit union model is to focus on customer relationships. But now that is all electronic,' said Carey Whaley, a vice president at the Independent Community Bankers of America, who put on a panel titled, 'Innovation: The Key to Smaller FI Survival?'”

Millennial Media Releases Comprehensive Report on Mobile Advertising in the Finance Industry"Millennial Media MM, the independent leader in mobile advertising, today released a report containing an in-depth look at mobile advertising in the finance industry. The report was produced in conjunction with comScore, and is the third edition of the Mobile Intel Series; it follows previous reports on Retail and Automotive. The Mobile Intel Series: Finance report contains detailed information on the mobile finance audience, how this audience uses mobile, what advertisers are currently doing to reach this audience, and what best practices brands can use to succeed in the space."

VISA President: we’ve “moved beyond” NFC
"This morning at the 2nd full day’s keynote at CTIA 2012, VISA President John Partridge offered the company’s view on how the mobile world will expand in the very near future. In and important step in the story of banking across the earth, mobile banking specifically, 2.5 billion “unbanked” adults across were introduced to mobile banking in the very recent past which has “transformed the lives of millions of people” said Partridge. “NFC technology has been the global mobile payment standard technology” noted Partridge, “this is a critical step,” through “VISA has moved beyond this method” with V.me by VISA."

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Mobile Banking Updates - May 11

Great Western Bank Mobile
"Put your money where your mobile is! Great Western Bank’s FREE* mobile banking app** lets you bank on the go when it’s convenient for you. To begin using this app, you will need to enroll in Mobile Banking by creating a new account on the app. You cannot log into Mobile Banking with your Online Banking credentials. You will need to create an account to use Mobile Banking."

Report: Banks Should Do More To Optimize Websites for Tablets as Adoption Skyrockets
"Tablet adoption is set to grow 40% by 2016 and tablet users conducting mobile banking is growing at twice the rate of non-tablet users. These trends underscore the need for banks and other firms with B2C commercial and commerce websites to continue to invest to table-enable their websites, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. The Javelin report, entitled “2012 Tablet and Banking Report,” also points out that tablet-focused investments need to focus beyond the iPad, and take into account the growing use of Andriod-based devices, including Amazon’s Kindle Fire, said Javelin’s Mary Monahan,executive vice president and research director mobile."

Mobility Matters – Tracking the Mobile Banking Revolution: Online Only
"Stopping Mobile Fraudsters. What if the hunt for ways to stop theft in the mobile banking channel has been looking in all the wrong places? That tantalizing idea now is being floated by new-style fraud stoppers. One reality: right now, mobile banking suffers much less criminal theft than does online banking. That is fact and, yes, it also has a lot to do with the 15-year head start criminals have in stealing from online banking channels. Mobile criminality will catch up, no doubt about it."

Chase’s mobile banking strategy leads the pack: Forrester
"With 17 percent of adults actively banking via mobile devices, financial institutions are meeting basic needs but few offer more advanced functionality, according to a new report from Forrester Research. In the report, 2012 US Mobile Banking Functionality Rankings, the research shows that Chase is the highest scorer among leading U.S. banks when it comes to mobile banking. Out of a score of 100 on the Mobile Banking Functionality Benchmark, the financial institution had an overall score of 74 compared with the average of 64."

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