"There’s no doubting it. Mobile threats around the globe are evolving. Korea was recently targeted by an Android trojan masquerading as the Google Play app that overwrites legitimate banking apps with malicious fakes poised to steal the user’s banking credentials.

Over in Spain, an Android trojan has stepped in, trying to pass itself off as an official mobile app from the Spanish bank, Banca March." Continue Reading

"It's no secret that a new generation of technology-enabled competitors -- both new companies such as Square or Dwolla and familiar players such as Google, PayPal and Walmart -- are shaking up the financial services business and attracting customers who aren't finding what they need from traditional banks.

But new research from Accenture suggests this upheaval is more extensive and happening more rapidly than many in banking may have thought. And the efforts banks are putting into efficiency, productivity and stronger financial performance, while essential, are not enough to stem the tide." Continue Reading

"Bankers have a lot to worry about these days: stress tests, bad loans, cutting costs and increasingly trying to drive their customers toward new technology in the hope that they can close more branches. But a recent conversation with a couple of senior Irish bankers revealed to me how worried they are about technology companies such as Google, Facebook, PayPal and Apple, who they see as potentially eating a large slice of the banker's lunch." Continue Reading

"Facing customer complaints about the privacy settings in its new mobile banking app, Royal Bank of Canada promises that it does not sell client data and guarantees that its requests for access to information on the mobile devices simply lets the app function as advertised.

The concerns emerged this week after RBC launched an updated version of its mobile banking app. Customers with smartphones powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system who attempted to install the program quickly realized RBC requested permission to access their call logs and contacts, as well as pinpoint their location via GPS." Continue Reading

Will 2014 be the year that mobile payments succeed?
"2011...2012...2013… each have been touted as the year that mobile payments will reach a tipping point, yet it would seem that adoption is lagging behind the news hype, at least in the UK. While mobile banking is now mainstream and accepted (even demanded for by some consumers), we just don’t seem to have taken to mobile payments at the point of sale as quickly. But is all this is about to change?"

Will Consumers Cash in on Mobile Payments?
"Whether it’s checking the weather, getting directions or sharing photos, people use their smartphones for just about everything these days. However, there’s one function that has yet to capture widespread attention: mobile payments. Despite a relatively slow start, a Gartner report predicts a 44% global increase in mobile commerce by the end of 2013, totaling 235ドル billion in transactions. However, mobile consumer purchases will remain a distant third to bill payments and money transfers."

Mobile Banking: American Express and Chase offer receipt management
"The task of organizing receipts for business expenses can be overwhelming and time-consuming endeavor. American Express and Chase have found a way to make this task easier for small business owners who may need to organize receipts for bookkeeping or tax purposes, by allowing them to manage their receipts online and on-the-go."

Banking Consultant Nuciforo: Google Is 'Biggest Threat' to Banking Industry
"Google is threatening to disrupt the banking industry in a big way. Its products, including Search, Shopping, Offers and Wallet, are a virtual slap in the face for banks and PayPal when they are integrated with Google Glass. Combined with Google Glass, they could be a knock out punch, writes banking consultant Michael Nuciforo in an article for American Banker."

Mobile Banking Outpaces Traditional Banking in Kenya
"Kenya’s mobile networks last year collectively held more in deposits than the country’s largest bank. The telecoms regulator CCK reported the mobile networks held Sh226 billion (2ドル.70 billion) in deposits at the end of last year while the largest commercial bank held Sh223 billion (2ドル.66 billion). The report said the number of mobile money transfer subscribers grew to 21.1 million from 19.3 million in the previous period, a growth of 9.4 percent."

Absa banking app sees impressive uptake
"Absa‘s banking app, which launched on 10 April 2013, has already been downloaded over 50,000 times, the bank has announced. The bank’s app is the last to market out of SA’s big four banks, though according to Absa, it is the first native financial services app for smartphones and tablets in South Africa that is available for both retail and business customers alike. Customers can link multiple devices to a single account or conversely multiple accounts can be linked to a single device."

Mobile commerce is at an inflection point: Bipin P Singh, CEO, Mobikwik
"What kind of services does Mobikwik offer? Mobikwik is a digital (mobile/web) closed wallet services provider. Adding money to the wallet allows users to make payments for products/services in one click via the mobile app, via the website or via a SMS or by dialing a number. Mobikwik can helps to make payments for things like recharging mobiles and pay bills in India across - prepaid and post-paid mobiles, television and DTH, data cards, broadband/landline phones, electricity, gas and insurance. A vast majority of our wallet users use the mobile (SMS, IVR or Android App) for making their payments. Mobikwik currently boasts of about two million customers and adding nearly 200,000 users every month and and do 30,000 transactions per day, most of them via the mobile."

Mukuru launches mobile prepaid debit card in South Africa
"Mukuru.com has just announced the launch of a new cellphone based debit card in South Africa. It is something like mobile banking services locally, except this is optimised for existing Mukuru services in addition to using the card for regular banking and point of sale. The new card is backed by Standard Bank. According to a video posted on YouTube, the new product addresses the need by migrants to have regular bank accounts in South Africa. Migrants, apparently, find it hard to ‘open’ a bank account in SA, which then makes it difficult to transfer money securely to relatives in the greater Southern Africa region."

Mobile Banking Lessons from the Developing World
"Mobile banking adoption is growing far more rapidly in developing parts of the world, such as Africa, than it is in the US. What can US banks learn from mobile banking usage in the developing world? Plenty, according to Steven Lewis, director of banking and capital markets at Ernst & Young. Mobile banking is offering many convenience to US customers, including remote deposit of checks (even if it’s not free) from the comfort of home. But saving US customers that 10-minute drive to the branch pales in comparison to the effect mobile banking is having on customers that didn’t have bank accounts before mobile phones existed. Kenya, for example, has a very limited branch network that was not useful to most customers."

Banks in a rush for mobile apps
"IT WILL limit cash heists and save money — but cut margins from fees. Banks have had a busy April, with some taking their first plunge into the increasingly crowded pool of mobile banking applications. Already, more than 13% of South Africans access banking services on their phones and tablets, according to research company FinScope — something that is both good and bad for the banks."

Apps disappoint despite vast tech spend
"The problems consumers have encountered with mobile banking applications may inform the financial services industry as it looks to produce its own investment and superannuation apps. According to BanterMob director of mobile marketing and strategy Kelly Slessor, the wealth creation sector is not as advanced as the transactional banking sector. 'Most of the apps are superannuation calculators and they don't offer a great user experience, because they are not going to be used very regularly,' she said. A new report by mobile marketing specialist BanterMob revealed that banking apps are falling short of consumer expectations."

Beware the sting in smartphone banking
"If you've recently discovered the convenience of paying bills on a smartphone, you're not alone. Australians are embracing mobile banking at a cracking pace. About 6 million people manage their finances through a mobile telephone, according to a recent report from the Market Intelligence Strategy Centre. For all the time saved by banking through digital channels, however, this boom comes with some costs. You may notice this most if you're someone who does a lot of their banking at a branch or through automatic teller machines. As this week's graph shows, the value of online transactions with the country's biggest bank, the Commonwealth, has surged almost tenfold in the past decade. The other major banks experienced a similar trend."

Standard Bank completes migration of another 3.5m South Africans onto SAP banking system
"Standard Bank in South Africa has just completed moving 3.5 million customers onto a mobile-enabled banking system that now allows a total of 7 million people to quickly bank. The AccessPoint system allows anyone to register for a Standard Bank account in about ten minutes through street agents in poor townships, malls and other places. Standard Bank pays AccessAgents a basic wage plus a commission for each customer they sign up."

Google Testing Replica of M-Pesa, Kenya's Mobile Banking Solution
"How is a third world tech country paving the way when it comes to the future of mobile banking? 90 percent of Kenyans use their phones to access the internet and M-Pesa is bringing mobile banking to the nation. Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman explains."

The World's Largest Mobile Pay Network Is ... in Kenya?
"When it comes to mobile banking, Kenyans are the early adopters. About 90 percent of the people in the developing nation access the Internet using mobile phones. Combine that with the popularity of mobile banking service M-Pesa, and Kenya is leading the way. Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman reports."

Keynote Mobile Banking Scorecard Reveals Top Retail Banks Fast Adopting Mobile Strategies
"Keynote® Systems (NAS: KEYN), the global leader in mobile and web cloud testing and monitoring, today announced the results of the Fall 2012 edition of the Keynote Mobile Banking Scorecard, first launched in 2011 and the standard in benchmarking consumer mobile banking offerings. Chase Bank achieved its second consecutive win for Overall Score, while second place went to Wells Fargo and third place to Bank of America. Leaders for individual modes include BB&T for Text banking, Wells Fargo for Mobile Web, Chase for iPhone and BlackBerry App banking and Bank of America for its Android App. Looking across the five modes, the Scorecard found Chase offers the best overall Functionality and Ease of Use while Wells Fargo leads in Privacy & Security and Quality & Availability."

Everything significant we are working on is around mobile?
"Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, famously said that “everything significant we are working on is around mobile,” reflecting the current core focus on mobile in the technology industry – something mirrored throughout financial services and retail. Schmidt’s quote also highlights the multitude of different mobile offerings currently on the market, and the fact that the largest companies are already choosing to keep several irons in the fire. At a recent Digital Banking Club event, this led the room to the question – should banking strategy now be mobile led?"

Mobile Banking and Payments Study: Multi-Device Mobile Support Becomes Ubiquitous; Rewards and Payments Grow
"First Annapolis Consulting’s third annual Mobile Banking and Payments Study reveals that 81 of the top 100 U.S. financial institutions currently offer some form of mobile banking, an 11% increase over the same figure one year ago. In addition to offering access through smartphone applications and the mobile web, 60 of the FIs offer some form of alerts or account management functionality via SMS (text message), and 26 banks have also launched an application optimized for tablets. This data highlights the omni-channel approach financial institutions are pursuing as mobile banking services become more widely accepted by customers."

This Exec Has An Outrageous Plan To Make SAP Bigger In Mobile Than Apple
"SAP, the enterprise software company, has a crazy ambition. It wants to get a billion people using its software by 2015. That's about double the footprint the company has now—and a lofty goal for a company that, despite its reach into the innards of businesses, is hardly a household name. The plan largely rests in the hands of Sanjay Poonen, who heads the company's mobile division and is also responsible for its analytics, database, and technology products."

Tech Companies Start Creating Windows 8 Mobile Banking Apps
"On the heels of Windows 8 officially hitting the market, financial services technology vendors have begun supporting Microsoft’s (MSFT) overhauled operating system for laptops, desktops and tablets. Harland Financial Solutions and Kony Solutions are among the first to create mobile banking apps for this platform."

80% of Consumers Deem Mobile Banking Important: Survey
"It’s a mobile world, and more and more consumers are hoping to use their devices to take care of their banking business. Indeed, new research shows that 80% of those surveyed say mobile banking is important. The survey of 200 consumers, published by Verve Mobile, a U.S. mobile advertising company specializing in location-powered solutions, also shared some insights on the most commonly used location services related to mobile banking, including an ATM locator by current location (51%), branch locator (19%), ATM by zip code (19%) and branches filtered by services (12%)."

Social Banking: When Financial Innovation Helps the 99 Percent
"For the world’s 2.5 billion people living on less than 2ドル a day, 80% of whom do not have access to a formal bank account, savings may seem like a foreign concept. Yet, in the book, Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on 2ドル a Day, the authors reveal that, despite limited formal options, lower-income populations do engage regularly in savings behavior — from informal networks and family ties to sophisticated savings clubs."

Young adults drive popularity up
"The popularity of mobile banking has increased significantly since 2010, the American Bankers Association (ABA) said in a recent report. According to a recent survey from the ABA – conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs in early August – mobile banking is now the preferred banking method of six percent of banking customers, which represents a 100 percent increase from 2010. In the age group of 18-34 year-olds, 15 percent of banking customers preferred mobile banking."

Legally blind
"Most major banks have treated mobile banking as an enigma wrapped in a paradox over the last two years. They have convinced themselves that the growth of mobile banking was an unpredictable occurrence. In insurance terms they would probably claim it was "an act of God." The real truth is that this so called overnight sensation was at least a decade in the making. Since South African bank Absa launched the first mobile banking solution in 2002, leading experts, analysts and futurists have predicted the mass adoption of mobile banking services."

Google, Apple Expand Micropayment Systems for Web Content and Mobile Purchasing
"Efforts to monetize web content have largely failed in the past, with users preferring to switch rather than pay for information. Earlier this month, Google Wallet expanded its micropayment capabilities to include web content. Websites can now set up their pages so that users can sample some portion of the web content and then see a banner (bottom figure) that tells them that seeing more of the content will require paying a fee. The system also works for buying other types of products over the web."

Mobility Matters: Tracking the Mobile Banking Revolution in Credit Unions
"What mobile banking users are actually doing – and how much real money they are moving - now is starting to come into focus as more players in the field hike their kimonos, at least a bit. A big data dump from Malauzai, the Austin, Texas, mobile banking apps developer with ties to Catalyst Corporate, has offered many – sometimes surprising – insights into what is happening in the mobile channel."

Global Digital Economy - The E-Commerce and M-Commerce Landscape
"The global e-commerce market has been recently invigorated by the growing use of smart phones leading to a fast growth in mobile commerce. E-Commerce and m-commerce have become very important areas of focus for mobile operators, IT, Internet media players, financial institutions, retail, and payment processing firms alike. With so many interested parties, the sector has become very competitive and created a heady mix of industry activity."

EXPLODING MOBILE-BANKING INDUSTRY WORTH BETTING ON
"There's a big opportunity for service providers and application developers in emerging markets. A new report from Berg Insight says that the number of active mobile money users in emerging markets will grow from 61 million last year to 381 million by 2017. That's a compound annual growth rate of 36 percent. Several of the most successful mobile money services today are in Africa, Berg noted, but Asia-Pacific is expected to become the most important regional market, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the active user base in 2017. The total value of mobile money transactions is projected to grow from 44ドル billion in 2011 to 395ドル billion in 2017, a CAGR or 44 percent."

Are Americans Ready for Banking via Social Media?
"A bank in South Africa announced this summer that its mobile banking customers will now be able to conduct transactions and monitor their accounts through Facebook. This type of cross-pollination between banks and social media does not yet exist in the United States, but it could be coming."

Retail banking's new threat
"This is an increasingly crucial issue for banks. Mobile banking is a major technological development, and history suggests that incumbents can be reduced to obscurity as new players, or “market disruptors”, use improved technology to upset the old order. For example, companies such as Netflix, which uses postal and later online distribution of rented films, are revolutionising the way consumers access movies. A consequence has been that Blockbuster, a traditional bricks-and-mortar DVD rental company, has lost enormous market share."

MOBILE BANKING (First of two parts)
"THE popularity of cell phones in the Philippines is undeniable and palpable. Ask any person on the street if he has a cell phone, and 7 out of 10 would probably say yes. Sadly, while access to mobile phone services has rocketed in recent years, access to financial services remains a major barrier to economic growth. If only banks here were as easily accessible as cell phones, particularly in the rural areas!"

Anytime-anywhere banking, courtesy RBI
"Customers can now pay for their taxi rides, pizzas, kirana store purchases anytime, anywhere with their mobile phones, reports CNBC-TV18's Gopika Gopakumar. Have you run out of cash while shopping? Don't worry! You can pay anyone including your neighbourhood kirana store with your mobile phone. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the organisation set up by the RBI for all retail payments, has now launched the inter-bank mobile payment service for all merchants. This will allow customers to pay their bills for as little as 25 paise for each transaction."

Mobile banking expands in rural areas
"In 2011, Philippine rural banks processed over P4.9 billion (roughly 116ドル million) worth of banking transactions which were enabled by mobile banking. In fact, the former head of the Microentrepreneurs Access to Banking Services (MABS) program John V. Owens said a 58-percent increase in the volume of transactions through mobile banking has been noted in the first four months of 2012. Since mobile banking or access to banking services through the mobile phone technology was introduced in 2006, a total of P16 billion (approximately 363ドル million) had been processed."

KBank boosts mobile and cyber-banking services
"Art Wichiencharoen, first senior vice president of Kasikornbank, said that the company usually invests about Bt100 million to keep the bank's technologies up to date in order to provide a wide new range of secure cyber-banking and mobile-banking services. Currently, the bank has more than 1.4 million users of its cyber-banking services, with 400,000 active users per month. Meanwhile, it has more than 1.2 million registered users of its mobile-banking service, with about 500,000 active users per month."

SBI, ICICI lead the pack as m-banking gains currency
"Mumbai: Anand Chaturvedi, a 27-year-old analyst with a brokerage firm in Mumbai, started using his mobile phone for banking about six months back “because it is easy to use and accessible from anywhere”. When in office, he does Internet banking, but uses the mobile banking (m-banking) services of ICICI Bank Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd when travelling. Vinaya Venugopalan, a 26-year-old information technology (IT) manager with an Indian bank, started using m-banking in May. He is comfortable with the service, but limits it mostly to checking his bank balance."

Australians slow to embrace mobile banking
"A cashless future where the bulk of consumers rely on mobile phones for their banking needs may be further away than many in the financial services industry claim. That's because consumers in Australia have not shown wide acceptance of mobile banking at a time when technical barriers persist and the challenge of an ageing demographic looms."

Way to beat a cash economy
"In a predominantly cash-run economy, electronic payment methods that provide convenience to users while lowering the transaction cost of banks make immense sense. Mobile banking, or m-banking, that started with small SMS transactions, is one such mechanism. Today, with more than 900 million cellphone subscribers in the country and hundreds of tablet PCs, there should ideally be many takers. According to a August Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report, in fiscal 2012, however, only 13 million people across 49 banks used m-banking services, and made 25.6 million transactions valued at Rs.1,820 crore."

Capitec mobile banking hits 2 million clients
"South African commercial bank Capitec Bank Holdings reported on Wednesday (26 September), that it had signed up more than two million clients to its mobile banking service. 'Capitec promotes the use of mobile banking, and at the end of August 2012, in excess of 2.0 million clients were registered for this service.'"

Mobile tellers take banking by storm
"Since taking the reins as chief information officer for Westpac, Clive Whincup has presided over the launch of the bank’s first iPad application; a trial to turn Android smartphones into contactless payment devices; the introduction of an iPad app to replace printed board papers; a 1000 iPad pilot for bank executives; and a St George innovation that allows payments to be made from a smartphone using only the recipient’s mobile number."

Mobile devices change the face of banking
"How about taking a picture of a cheque with your smartphone to deposit it? What about getting online advice about your investments when you're on your tablet? And then there's paying for small purchases with smartphones. The use of smartphones and tablets in consumers' everyday lives is helping push changes in how they bank, pay for bills and even how they can get investment advice, say experts."

The rise of mobile money is driven by the poor
"As Google, Apple, Paypal, Mastercard and the entire banking community fights over mobile money, we decided to look to the power users to find out what the near future of monetary exchange might look like. The World Bank’s treasure trove of open data on mobile banking is a well stocked pantry for the data hungry. Welcome to our first data snack and enjoy the graph we created below."

BATTLE OF THE GIANTS Tech-industry power struggle could impact mobile pay development
"A little-publicized but highly intense battle among the top technology companies could affect the continuing development of mobile banking and mobile payments, according to Accenture research. Its recent report, Competing in a High-Tech Industry ‘Superstack,’ claims that mobility, cloud computing, and consumer electronics companies are being heavily impacted by a new business model it dubs 'superstacks.'”

Do mobile-based payment options really benefit you?
"You must have watched the mobile money commercials on TV channels. These advertisements tell you that you can transfer money to your loved ones, make bill payments and even shop using your mobile phone. The noise is going to get louder in the coming days as many banks and telecom companies are betting big on mobile-based payment options."

Guides on Contactless Cards And Mobile Banking
"With the growing use of contactless cards and mobile phones, the Banking Ombudsman is receiving enquiries about the security of these forms of banking. Banking Ombudsman Deborah Battell today issued new guides on using contactless cards and mobile banking to help customers avoid problems. 'Contactless cards will gradually become the norm and smartphone use is increasing rapidly,' Ms Battell says."

Telco MERCHANTS ENCOURAGED TO GET MOBILE BY GOOGLE AND MOBANK GROUP
"Mobile technology company, The MoBank Group has been confirmed as a vendor for Google’s “Get Mobile” or GetMo initiative. GetMo is a Google-led initiative dedicated to helping UK businesses ‘Get Mobile’ by providing them with the tools and resources they need to make their websites more mobile friendly. It aims to make the integration onto mCommerce easy for businesses by providing them with recommended technology and expertise. As part of this, MoBank, as a supplier in the mCommerce space is confirmed as a vendor for Google’s newly launched GetMo initiative in the UK."

NAB upgrades mobile banking app
"The Bank says this is more secure than using an Internet banking password. The new versions also now allow customers to set future-dated bill payments and funds transfers, without having to log-on via a PC. According to NAB's executive general manager of direct banking, Sam Plowman: 'Mobile banking is NAB's fastest growing channel, with 300 percent growth in the last year and one in three NAB Internet banking logins are now done on a mobile device.'"

SBI to allow mobile banking without a/c
"Mumbai: State Bank of India has started a pilot project that would allow banking through mobile phones even if the customers do not have a bank account. The scheme, called ‘Mobicash’, had been introduced in New Delhi and Mumbai. The service, much like a mobile prepaid cards, allows money to be “loaded” on customer’s mobile that he can then spend. “We have launched the product on a pilot basis and will introduce them in more cities in a few week,” said Praveen Kumar Singh, assistant general manager, New Business, SBI."

Eko’s Mobile Banking: Demonstrating the Power of a Basic Payments Product
"Eko was the first company dedicated to a mobile phone-based basic savings account and payment service for the unbanked in India. Launched in 2007, Eko has carefully developed a mobile-based service usable on the most basic of handsets and continually revised and re-fashioned its approach. At first, Eko experimented with a basic deposit and payment service from one Eko account to another."

Go slow on mobile wallet
"Airtel Money’s latest advertisement is hard to miss. For the first time, the virtues of mobile banking are being conveyed to customers. Banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bank of India, Corporation Bank and Standard Chartered are offering this service. However, not many know the manner of transacting or the kind of transactions that can be done using mobile phones and the charges involved."

Mobile-Banking-in-Pakistan
"Globally,-Mobile-Banking,-or-mbanking,-has-emerged-as-a-commercially-viable-and-customer-friendly-alternate-distribution-channel-for-financial-services.-Generally,-mobile-banking-is-about-using-one's-mobile-handset-to-avail-financial-services,-which-include-banking-services-like-account-transactions-&-balance-inquiries,-and-other financial services like brokerage and stock market transactions."

Mobile Banking: Is It Heating Up Or Mostly Hype?
"Banks have been rolling out mobile wallet apps at a furious pace in recent days. The big question is whether they'll ever convince skeptical consumers to begin to zapping money around."

Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon to lead m-payments gold-rush?
"Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google - the 'gang of four' - have been driving forces behind a new technology cycle, dominated by the mobile phone and social media, which is merging the online and physical worlds, says Javelin. These huge companies are now seeking to use their strengths to crack a payments market currently led by financial institutions, card schemes and, increasingly, wireless carriers. In a bid to predict the potential success of the competing factions, Javelin polled 5878 Americans to gauge public opinion on what it claims are three crucial ingredients for success: trust, innovation and privacy."

Mobility Matters – Tracking the Mobile Banking Revolution: Online Only
"Mobile Everywhere. Ask Mark Sievewright, a senior executive at Fiserv, to pinpoint three big trends changing the credit union landscape and here is what he said in late February at the New Jersey Credit Union League’s “Reality Check” conference: “mobile, mobile, mobile.” Mobile is not just about a new channel – although it is that – it fundamentally is about changed relationships. And it is growing incredible fast. Another “Reality Check” speaker, CUNA Mutual’s John Lass, flashed a slide that showed mobile users eclipsing the number of online banking users within a few years."

Should Mitek Systems Acquire Top Image Systems?
"One of the discussion topics on Micro Cap Club, has been about the possibility of Mitek Systems (MITK) acquiring Top Image Systems (TISA). Both Mitek Systems and Top Image Systems have similar stories via a history of working with large banks and leveraging those relationships to market and launch mobile banking applications. Mitek Systems was incorporated in 1986 and went public in the early 1990's. The company historically provided financial institutions with advanced imaging and analytics software to authenticate and extract data from checks and other documents."

Google, Citi discover first-mover advantage comes with a price
"The mobile industry let out a big “oops” this week when flaws were exposed in mobile applications from Google and Citi that put consumers at risk, suggesting that the rush to be first in mobile payments and mobile banking may come with a price. Two security flaws were identified last week in the Google Wallet mobile payment app that potentially let hackers access consumer accounts."

Fraud: The Latest Threats
"What are the top emerging fraud threats via mobile banking, and how must security leaders respond? In an RSA Conference preview, Julie McNelley of the Aite Group offers tips for fighting the newest threats. By 2014, Aite Group estimates 44 million consumers will be using some form of mobile banking. And as more institutions roll out mobile banking and payments, more consumers will jump on the mobile bandwagon, making mobile banking an increasingly inviting target for fraudsters, McNelley says."

Support Grows for Mobile Banking Apps, But Security Still a Concern
"Mobile banking applications enable smartphone and tablet users to do everything from scan and deposit checks to transfer large amounts of money, but many consumers and business professionals remain concerned about the safety of using such apps."

Fraud Fight: How to Pick Your Battles
"From mobile malware to the Anonymous hacktivist attacks, how can banking institutions tackle the changing threat landscape? Joe Rogalski of First Niagara Bank has some new ideas. One of the challenges: Proactive risk assessment often takes a backseat when banks and credit unions feel pressure to quickly launch new offers like mobile banking."

Regulators Update Online-Authentication Guidance, But What About Mobile?
"Federal banking regulators on Tuesday updated their 2005 guidance about authentication for Internet banking. Officially a supplement to the original guidance, the new document addresses social media, malware, and other security issues that have cropped up in recent years. It also allows financial institutions about seven months to comply."

Young in U.S., UK turning to mobile banking -survey
"Consumer research by mobile web and application specialists Antenna said 40 percent of those who accessed the Internet via mobile phones or tablet computers in the U.S. were using mobile banking services. That compared with 25 percent in Britain.

The United States was also ahead in terms of how many users were accessing banking sites via a specific mobile application created by the bank, as opposed to reaching a mobile site via a browser on the Internet."

25% of smartphone owners use mobile banking
"25 per cent of UK mobile internet users now utilise mobile banking services, according to online consumer research released today by mobile web and app specialists Antenna. With the number of mobile-internet enabled handsets continuing to grow worldwide, banks that address the demand for both mobile apps and mobile web usage will have the sharpest competitive edge in the battle to attract new customers."

Yankee Group Sees Global Mobile Transactions Exceeding 1ドル Trillion by 2015
"Yankee Group's latest Mobile Money Forecast finds the value of global mobile transactions will grow from 241ドル billion in 2011 to more than 1ドル trillion by 2015, a CAGR of 56 percent. That growth, coupled with 500 million mobile banking users around the world in the same time frame, presents an enormous opportunity for both new and established players in the mobile money ecosystem. To help companies capitalize on this rapidly evolving opportunity, Yankee Group unveiled an innovative new service today called Mobile Money Strategies (TM)."

Eric Schmidt: Mobile payments at retail to explode
"Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is bullish on the growth of mobile payments in the coming year. Speaking at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity today, Schmidt said he believes one-third of all restaurants and retail outlets will allow for mobile payments within the next year, the Financial Times reports him as saying. He reportedly told those in attendance that that number should be enough for widespread adoption of mobile payments."

The Future of Mobile Banking - Part 1 of 5
"One question recently posed to me at a BAI conference was “where do I believe the retail banking industry will be in 3-5 years with mobile commerce?”

http://www.youtube.com/user/verizonbusiness#p/a/u/0/Be1573sfzPQ

In addition to my video answer, here are some other thoughts from the ole crystal ball... Let me start by stating that we're still early enough in the mobile channel evolution that folks aren't necessarily even clear on the definition of mobile commerce."

What Is E-Money's Future? Economists Identify Implications for Financial Systems Where Mobile Banking is on the Rise
"Many developing countries are rapidly adopting cellphone technology as a means for delivering financial services to their citizens without a heavy investment in infrastructure. Now, a team of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgetown University says important economic considerations loom on the horizon for policymakers, mobile banking companies and central banks."

Mobile Banking: Will Smartphones Replace Your Wallet?
"Analysts discuss how your smartphone could become your digital wallet as banks bring new technologies and apps to these devices."

Google Wallet: Search giant introduces automatic cellphone payment system
"Google unveiled a new digital wallet program Thursday that enables a cellphone to act just like a credit card, giving the search giant its first footing in the business of providing consumer financial services.

A chip inside new Android phones — for now, only one model has it — will allow shoppers to wave their devices in front of a reader to pay for clothes and food at the mall or grocery, the company said. Eventually, Google said, it envisions the cellphone to act as a personal financial hub for coupons, merchant loyalty points, payments and receipts."

MasterCard debuts ATM mobile offering on Android platform
"MasterCard is letting customers search for and find the nearest ATM via an application for Android-enabled devices. Consumers can customize their search based on their banking needs, including the ability to search for a specific financial institution if they need to make a deposit. The application is available as a free download in Android Market and is also available on iPhone and BlackBerry devices."

Preparing for the Big Mobile Revolution - Eric Schmidt, Google
"Second, we must attend to the development of mobile money. Phones, as we know, are used as banks in many poorer parts of the world—and modern technology means that their use as financial tools can go much further than that."

Mobile challenges to the financial sector
"What's big in payments right now? I don't think we have to guess. Our good friends at PaymentsNews have already pointed out that 'Two payment-related themes are emerging from NRF conference being held this week in New York: POS encryption/tokenization and mobile payments acceptance.'"

Fifth Third Bank taps mobile payments service to accommodate consumers
"Fifth Third Bank is accommodating tech-savvy customers via a new email and mobile payments service. The bank is using CashEdge’s Popmoney email and mobile payments service which will be offered to consumers in mid-2011. Customers can send money from their online or mobile banking by using a recipient’s email, phone number or bank account information."

iPhones Ring at HSBC, CBOE
"While most iPhone banking apps to date have been more informational than transactional, First Direct has launched a transactional app, making it an early adopter among global banks. The UK-based online banking unit of HSBC, First Direct’s free app will allow consumers to use their iPhones and iPod Touches to view balances, the previous 20 transactions, make payments and transfer money between accounts. Apps for other smartphones are in the pipeline."

HSBC (First Direct) does do mobile
"Back in May last year, I complained about HSBC and its apparent lack of a mobile strategy. My complaints were purely selfish, because I wanted to be able to bank on my iPhone, and couldn’t find a way to do it. As an HSBC customer, I was jealous that other banks were offering something I couldn’t use. Well, last week, HSBC released their iPhone app to customers of its direct banking unit First Direct. It is an excellent first step."

Google Acquires Mobile Payments Company Zetawire
"It was revealed Monday that Google has acquired Zetawire, a small stealth startup focusing on mobile payments. Zetawire was in an extremely early stage when snapped up by the tech giant; we know little about what it was working on. However, an analyst with 451 Group revealed the startup had been granted a patent for “mobile banking, advertising, identity management, credit card and mobile coupon transaction processing” — in other words, all the puzzle pieces needed to let users treat their smartphones like a credit card."

Mobile Web Will Change Mobile Banking
"In a press release, Steve Eliis, Change Sciences partner, said, 'The mobile web will to be a robust mobile platform for the consumers. There will be no hassle in downloading the applications to any mobile devices. If the banks run on one platform then the costs can be significantly reduced.'”

Charles Schwab Releases iPhone & iPad App
Charles Schwab — in an effort to keep up with technological trends — has announced the addition of their Charles Schwab iPhone App. Charles Schwab has now joined the handful of other banks now offering mobile banking services.
Accessibility has come just in time for the holiday season with Charles Schwab’s mobile app for the iPhone. Holidays mean something different for everyone, but for a lot of people the holidays mean travel. Whether that traveling is for business or pleasure, having the capability of accessing all of your financial accounts brings a calm sense of convenience to the current hectic of the environment.

4 Key Regulatory Issues of 2011
"Authentication, mobile banking and consumer protection. These are among the key areas that may see new regulatory guidance in 2011. In an annual preview of things to come, a panel of federal regulators and industry experts weighs in on what are likely to be the top 4 regulatory issues of the new year."

The three pillars of banking apps
"Recently, we carried out YouGov research that revealed that one in four of generation Y (aged between 18 and 34) would hold their bank in higher regard if it offered mobile phone banking services. Additionally, we polled the attendees at a recent breakfast briefing where a majority of the UK banks were represented – 36 per cent of respondents cited increasing customer satisfaction as their primary driver for providing mobile banking services. Thus, evidence suggests that banking apps have a key role to play for banks focused on their customers and their experience."

Capital One Launches iPhone App
"Timely for all of Capital One’s card holders planning their holiday shopping extravaganzas, Capital One Bank has announced the release of a new iPhone application. Capital One’s decision to release the app is part of the growing trend of bringing convenience through mobile banking."

Emerging Payments Options Open Doors for Mobile
"Facebook, PayPal and companies like Bling Nation, an innovator in near-field-communications mobile payments, are expected to revolutionize payments over the next six to 12 months. But security and fraud will be a big concern. How will innovators in payments, as well as financial institutions, balance convenience and innovation with security?"

Next Android Version Includes E-Wallet for Real World Purchases
"Android 2.3, codenamed Gingerbread, will be released in a “few weeks,” Schmidt said on stage at the Web 2.0 Summit conference in San Francisco. Schmidt showed off how so-called Near Field Communication would work using an unnamed smartphone he called an unannounced product. Using the software from Android and a NFC chip in the phone, Schmidt was able to “check in” to the conference, launching Google Maps, by touching the phone to a conference sign that had a built-in antenna."

U.S. Carriers Create Pay-By-Phone System, for Real This Time
"You know that thing where you just tap your credit card to pay for stuff at the store? That functionality will be coming to smartphones in the U.S., this time apparently for real, via a national phone payment network called Isis, spearheaded by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

Besides negating the need to pull out your credit card, the "mobile wallet" in your phone is planned to incorporate reward cards, coupons, tickets, and transit passes. Isis will use near-field communication (NFC) technology to make payments. NFC encrypts data for very short-range transmission – a matter of inches. When you need to pay, just launch the Isis app, wave your phone over the machine and you've paid up."

Does iWallet iPhone mean Apple versus PayPal?
"We've talked before about Apple's plans for the iPhone as an iWallet, now it looks like former ally turned foe, Google's preparing to take Apple on in the same space, with big boss Eric Schmidt telling a panel at the Web 2.0 conference his company feels its got to get NFC (Near Field Communication) into Android's life. Will PayPal endure the new war?"

Study: 40 Percent Of Blackberry Users Want iPhones, One-Third Want Nexus Ones
"I came across an interesting study today that claims Blackberry users are wishing for other smartphones in large numbers- particularly the iPhone and Google’s Nexus One.

While, like most studies, the data should be taken with a grain of salt, the study indicates that roughly 40 percent of BlackBerry users would rather have an Apple iPhone, while one-third are eying Google’s Nexus One as their next smartphone purchase, according to the study released by Crowd Science."

Google announces AT&T-compatible Nexus One
"Google’s Nexus One smartphone is the flagship of the Android fleet. Sold by Google itself via its online store, the phone was unveiled in January for use on the T-Mobile network, with future versions planned for other carriers. On Tuesday, the first of those took its bow as Google announced a Nexus One compatible with AT&T’s 3G network.

Unlike the T-Mobile version of the Nexus One, the AT&T-compatible model isn’t available at a subsidy from the carrier. Customers have to buy the unlocked AT&T-compatible version of the phone, which costs 529ドル. By contrast, those who wish to use the phone on T-Mobile have the option of buying a T-Mobile-compatible unlocked phone for 529ドル or signing a new two-year commitment with T-Mobile and getting the phone for a discounted price of 179ドル."