eMarketer: Mobile Payments Take Hold Around the World
"A sixfold increase in the volume of mobile payment transactions is on the way in the next four years, according to one research firm. A forecast from Yankee Group predicts the worldwide transaction value of mobile payments will total 984ドル billion by 2014, up from 162ドル billion last year. That includes transactions from mobile banking, international and domestic remittances, contactless cards, mobile coupons and near-field communications."

Chase Taps Mitek’s Image Innovation
"Mitek’s patented mobile remote deposit technology has found another taker in Chase, which will team with the tech firm to develop a series of new mobile RDC products that work across multiple smartphone operating systems.
Chase will expand its QuickDeposit feature—which enables consumers to deposit checks by clicking their mobile phone camera—by deploying Mitek’s mobile banking and image capture analytics. The deposit services will join other mobile financial services offered by Chase, including text banking, mobile banking apps for iPhone and Android and instant action alerts."

NFC: The Power to 'Touch and Transact'
"Ever-evolving mobile technology has demonstrated the ways in which it is changing lives by connecting friends and families around the globe, consistently introducing new handset-centric applications that simplify our everyday lives and delivering critical services such as mobile banking and mobile health. However, while both smartphones and traditional mobile phones offer basic voice and SMS, the divide begins to widen when you introduce capabilities for additional services such as ring tone, music, video, billing top-ups, etc."

Fifth Third Bank Selects ClairMail as Mobile Banking Provider
"ClairMail, Inc., the leader in mobile banking and payment solutions, today announced that Fifth Third Bank has selected ClairMail to power its new mobile banking technology and services. With the new support from ClairMail, Fifth Third Bank customers will enhance their mobile banking experience with better access to their accounts, bill paying capabilities and real time personalized text alerts, thereby gaining greater control over their accounts and overall finances. Using ClairMail's robust and scalable mobile platform, Fifth Third also has the flexibility to connect to multiple financial systems and future-proof their mobile powered offerings."

ePayments Week: More Androids banking
"As the number of Android users swells past the number of iPhone users, it should come as no surprise that as of December, 2010, there's more mobile banking on Android than on iPhones. However, Carlo Cardilli suggests that could change as the number of Verizon iPhones grows and those users take up mobile banking.

A recent Forrester survey says 12% of the US online population banks on their phones, up from 5% two years ago. Forrester says that's about 10 million users, and predicts that will grow to 50 million by 2015. That growth seems reasonable, given that users who discover mobile banking tend to, over time, use it more as they get used to it, especially for simple transactions like checking balances and transferring funds between accounts. Still, Penny Crosman with Bank Systems & Technology notes that 35% of online users shy away from mobile banking because they worry it's not safe and 24% don't see the point and would just as soon wait until they reach the ATM."

Mint Paves the Path – This Time in Mobile
"Think again if you ever wondered if Mint would lose its edge after its acquisition by giant Intuit. The “startup” once again is setting the benchmark, this time in the realm where personal finance management hits mobile.

Mint upgraded its iPhone app this month to enable consumers to register and add accounts from the mobile device – relieving consumers of the dual-channel hassle of logging online so that they can be mobile. The news is worth watching because it will provide a measure of whether banks and credit unions are short-sighted if they force customers to sign up for online banking even if they prefer mobile banking instead. But Mint also understands that it’s a mistake to think that mobile can simply mirror the online experience. The critical question is which personal finance tools work better online, and which ones work better in mobile."

Fifth Third Bank to Launch Popmoney® P2P Payments
"CashEdge, Inc. (www.cashedge.com), the leading provider of Intelligent Money Movement® services, announced today that Fifth Third Bank, one of the largest banks in the U.S., will launch Popmoney®, CashEdge's person-to-person email and mobile payments service, to its customers. The service will be offered online through Fifth Third's online banking platform www.53.com beginning in mid-2011."

TCF Bank Announces Checking Product Enhancements and Introduces Mobile Banking
"TCF Bank, Your Convenience Bank, announced important enhancements to several checking products and the introduction of TCF Mobile Banking. 'TCF Bank has been working diligently to simplify our product line-up and to make our accounts easy and accessible to all of our customers.'"

Mobile Payments Gear Up
"According to a recent research study by SYNERGISTICS RESEARCH CORP. entitled, Mobile Payments – The Consumer Perspective, it was found that almost one-fifth (18%) of Internet households report that they have done some type of mobile payment, including online bill payment, transfers or payments to individuals, online loan payments, and online purchases."

Mobile Transaction Security Still a Concern
"A report by ABI Research shows that consumers’ concerns over the security of mobile transactions were not appeased in 2008. The U.S. Mobile Phone Purchases Trends report compared two surveys taken at the end of 2007 and 2008, each of which sampled more than 1,000 U.S. mobile phone users aged 14–59."

IPhone Users Download Five Apps Each, Use Web Most
"Smartphone users around the world generally download about five software applications each, even iPhone users, according to market researcher InStat."

dotMobi Allocates First Two-Character Mobile Domain to Fifth Third Bank
"dotMobi, the company behind .mobi - the only Internet address created specifically for locating content that works on all mobile phones - today announced the allocation of the first two-character mobile Internet domain to Fifth Third Bank: http://53.mobi."


Visa in Hot Water Over SMS Alert Service
"Sounds as though Visa has encountered a little bit of trouble today. Word is they’re being sued by a small US business for infringing a patent which covers the use of SMS messages used to alert spenders of transactions."