"New research shows that when it comes to attitudes to mobile data privacy, smartphone owners in the UK are most concerned about companies having access to banking activities and content of texts and emails, while data collected around apps and web surfing on mobiles is of least concern.

The findings come from a report published by the Internet Advertising Bureau ( IAB) UK , supported by Weve." Continue Reading

"As more and more people use their mobile phones to do their online banking, money transfers, and so on, cyber crooks wielding banking malware are increasingly turning to targeting mobile users.

'Banking Trojans on mobile were largely successful targeting older generation operating systems like J2ME and Blackberry, but haven’t made the headway they’d probably like to on Android and iOS,' says Malwarebytes' Armando Orozco." Continue Reading

Infographic: Mobile Banking Critical to Customer Loyalty
"The findings of new study conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Yodlee Interactive shows that banking convenience “dominates” all options amongst reasons to stay with banks. With the convenience of online and mobile banking, more customers are utilizing these services, while banks are responding by reducing the number of physical branches."

Banking by Voice Gets Test From U.S. Bank
"U.S. Bank (USB_) is testing a voice-banking service that enables customers to check account balances, review transactions and pay bills solely through voice activation. For now, U.S. Bank is limiting the app test campaign to its FlexPerks Travel Rewards program and to its employees. The voice-activated technology comes from Nuance Nina Mobile, and is now limited to iPhone and Android phones."

Intuit Debuts Mobile Banking App for Android Tablets
"Intuit Financial Services has released a tablet banking app for the Android operating system. The new app lets customers check balances, transfer funds, pay bills and find branches and ATMs, Intuit (INTU) said Tuesday. The app works on all seven- and ten-inch tablets and can be downloaded through the Google or Amazon app stores. Sharon Credit Union in Massachusetts has begun offering the app to its customers, Intuit said in the news release."

Four Sure-fire Tips for Mobile Banking Security
"I’m writing this dispatch from the Pacific Coast, where I’ve just seen a fabulous-yet-disturbing documentary at the Newport Beach Film Festival. It’s called “Terms and Conditions May Apply,” and director Cullen Hoback’s movie takes a chilling look at how vulnerable we all are in this digital society. That is, “free” services such as Google, Facebook and Twitter know much more about us than you might think — and they’re holding onto that information indefinitely. They also share it at will with federal espionage services, thanks to the dense legalese written into online terms of service since 9/11 and the Patriot Act."

A year of successful mobile banking
"In just one year, BOV Mobile, the mobile banking service for smartphones introduced by Bank of Valletta, has attracted more than 11,500 customers who have collectively used their phones more than half a million times to make payments, transfer funds and to monitor their accounts. 'We view mobile banking as a natural extension of our overall channel strategy. Mobile combines the best features of online banking, the convenience of an ATM, and the responsiveness of text messaging all in the palm of your hand,' chief operations officer Michael Galea said."

Banks Must Think Differently About Customer Experience In A Branchless Digital Environment
"Banks have offered online accounts for years, but new digital banking technologies, such as mobile remote deposit capture, and a new generation of young customers are driving increased interest in digital bank accounts. Customers in their 20s and 30s have been quick to embrace mobile and online capabilities that are steadily making branches obsolete -- at least for day-to-day banking needs. The fast-paced adoption of mobile remote deposit capture to deposit checks is a recent example of this trend. "The advent of mobile remote deposit capture is eliminating the No. 1 reason for branch visits," says Teresa Epperson, a managing director at AlixPartners, a consulting firm."

How Can Businesses Help Consumers Bank Better?
"It's not easy to pay mobile phone bills with cash. Yet, 24 million households are under-banked and 91% of the underbanked have mobile phones and smartphones, according to the FDIC. With numbers like these, it makes sense for consumer businesses such as mobile carriers to help customers bank up, says Plastyc CEO Patrice Peyret. At FinovateSpring 2013 in San Francisco, Peyret will demo a new banking service platform and discuss practical insights for consumer businesses that want to provide smart, simple banking services to their customers."

American Savings Bank Dials Up Mobile Deposits and Sets Adoption Record
"Monitise plc (LSE: MONI) today announced that Hawaii-based American Savings Bank is experiencing phenomenal user adoption since the launch of its mobile banking and payments solution. As part of Monitise's Bank Anywhere mobile solution, American Savings Bank is the first Hawaiian bank to deploy mobile remote deposit capture, resulting in mobile deposits skyrocketing by 40 percent in March. In a mere four months since deployment, many of American Savings Bank's active online banking customers are already using the Bank Anywhere services developed and deployed by Monitise."

Smart Phone Malware Risk Rises
"Mobile malware is exploding at a time when financial institutions are increasing their mobile banking offerings and consumers are making broader use of smart phones and tablets. A recent study from software and security firm Trend Micro finds that mobile malware attacks hit record numbers in the third quarter, with Android devices as the primary targets."

The Dangers of Mobile Banking
"Advertising for mobile banking has become as popular as traditional banking commercials. Customers like local makeup artist Alisha Cooper are increasingly going mobile these days and for good reasons. 'I travel as a licensed makeup artist and so I do work in North Carolina sometimes in Arizona, Atlanta different places, so for me not carrying a machine, I have to have my cell phone,' says Cooper."

BBB's 6 Tips For Safe Mobile Banking
"Banks have been promoting the use of mobile phones and other devices for banking for several years now, but what happens if you lose your phone? Can a thief empty your bank account by tapping a smartphone against yours? With mobile banking one of the fastest-growing trends in the financial sector, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises consumers to take precautions to keep their money safe, including installing antivirus software on phones. Users should take many of the same precautions they would when banking online with a personal computer."

Mobile Security Revenue for Banks?
"Increased interest in mobile wallets and growing smart phone use are paving the way for more mobile payments, and now is the time for banking institutions to identify what role they'll play in this emerging space. Javelin analyst Alphonse Pascual, who focuses on financial fraud and security, says institutions can't ignore mobile payments, despite the somewhat peripheral role they play. Banks and credit unions that sit by the sidelines will miss out on revenue-generating opportunities, he says."

How Secure Is Mobile Banking?
"Whether you’re paying for that latte with Google Wallet or simply checking your balances, mobile banking is the wave of the future. And with an estimated 30 million people using some form of mobile banking, it’s very much the present, too. With advantages like being able to check balances, depositing checks via text message, monitoring investments, paying for goods and much more — all whenever you like, wherever you are and on a diversity of platforms — this shouldn’t really come as a surprise."

Consumers Readily Adopt New Mobile Banking Tools
"As smartphone and tablet penetration continues to rise, so too does the use of mobile banking, bill paying, money transfer, remote check deposit and other personal money-management services, according to a new eMarketer report, “Bigger Money on the Small(er) Screen: How Smartphones and Tablets Change the Way Consumers Manage Their Finances.” On-the-go consumers are turning more frequently to their devices to keep tabs on their money and conduct increasingly complex financial transactions—simply because they can."

Diebold Aims to Merge Mobile Banking and ATMs
"As mobile banking and payments take off, self-service manufacturers will be increasingly challenged to weave mobility into their ATM and kiosk technology. Diebold (DBD) this week debuted a cloud service that aims to pre-stage and complete ATM transactions without cards. The new tech allows users to scan a Quick Response (QR) code on the ATM and enter an authentication code to initiate withdrawals and deposits. The smartphone is used as an authentication device, which Diebold says reduces security risk related to lost cards, stolen cards and skimming."

Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Mobile Banking Adoption
"Credit unions of every shape, size and type recognize the benefits that mobile banking offers – a lower cost to serve, increased member satisfaction, retention and a higher return on investment. But for many, breaking through the mobile banking adoption glass ceiling has been challenging. The mobile banking glass ceiling lies just beyond the threshold of early adopters, designated as the first 20% of a financial institution’s online banking user base. Many credit unions are on a mobile banking adoption path that attracts the early adopters within a year of offering the service, but the trajectory then stagnates to include just a small additional percentage of adopters over the next two years."

Mobile banking: 9 ways you must protect your account
"If you are among the millions of consumers who have embraced mobile banking, you could be putting your financial life at risk. Many consumers make careless errors with their phones that open the door to having con artists steal from their bank accounts, says Adam Levin, co-founder of Credit.com and IdentityTheft911."

Meriwest Adds Bill Pay to Mobile Offerings
"Meriwest Credit Union announced it has turned on bill pay inside its mobile banking app and, said community relations manager Greg Meyer, adoption has been brisk. Meriwest has promoted the new bill pay feature in an email blast to members. The technology was provided to Meriwest by Access Softek, said Meyer. That company claims some 175 mobile banking customers. Apps for iPhone and Android were released earlier by Meriwest. Meyer indicated that although mobile remote deposit capture is not presently featured, it will be made available to members imminently."

Mobile Banking
"Mukherjee was pacing furiously at the lounge of our building when I arrived after a long day. He generally waited for me there when he wanted to ask me something. He was an impatient man and I knew from experience that I did not have a choice. I will have to answer his questions before I was allowed to proceed to the elevator. Reluctantly, I asked him the reason for his anger. Mukherjee: I had to transfer money to my daughter studying in Delhi for her college fees. It was urgent. I went to the bank so that I could take out cash from my account and deposit it in her account."

With the excitement surrounding mobile banking now in full swing it should come as no surprise that the topic of security is also reaching a feverish pitch. In fact, in the world of finance one of the early warming signs of a potentially successful service is regulatory involvement and mobile banking is no different.

I first wrote about security in an article titled “Mobile Banking & Security.” Later I followed up with an article titled Mobile Banking Security and AntiVirus Protection on the Mobile Money and Banking website.

However, within the last week the information has seemed to pick up dramatically. Here is a sampling of the highlights:
• Mobile Banking Security: The Black Cloud Attached to the Silver Lining
• Reserve Bank of India Studies Mobile Banking
• Financial Sector Technology Vision document (2008-2010)
• Mobile Banking. Mixing Ubiquity With Security.
• The greatest weakness of mobile banking security is the mobile banking users themselves?
• Panda Security launches antifraud service for mobile banking.
• Mobile-Banking Security Checklist Published by Green Armor Solutions.
• Mobile Banking Fraud!

I have an update to an article that I wrote last month titled "Opera Mini Browser & Mobile Banking." I stand behind my opinion that Opera Mini is a very powerful mobile browser, and my favorite for general web browsing. However, I have since learned that it is not conducive to mobile banking.

In fact, I received the following information from a reader:

"...one important thing to note is that Opera Mini provides inadequate security for Mobile Banking - the technology that Opera Mini uses results in the data being decrypted on the Opera server, very similar to the old "WAP gap" problem.

This is clearly documented on the Opera web site:

http://www.operamini.com/help/faq/#security

Is there any end-to-end security between my handset and for example paypal.com or my bank?

No. Opera Mini uses a transcoder server to translate HTML/CSS/JavaScript into a more compact format. It will also shrink any images to fit the screen of your handset. This translation step makes Opera Mini fast, small, and also very cheap to use. To be able to do this translation, the Opera Mini server needs to have access to the unencrypted version of the Web page. Therefore no end-to-end encryption between the client and the remote Web server is possible. If you need full end-to-end encryption, you should use a full Web browser such as Opera for Mobile.

Can Opera Software see my passwords and credit card numbers in clear text? What is the encryption good for then?

The encryption is introduced to protect the communication from any third party between the client (the browser on your handset) and the Opera Mini transcoder server. If you do not trust Opera Software, make sure you do not use our application to enter any kind of sensitive information."

Naturally my question back to the reader was, "Am I reading correctly then that Opera for Mobile is secure? Are there any other free, downloadable browsers that do provide end-to-end security?"

And the response -

"Opera Mobile is available for Windows Mobile and Symbian 60 phones. It is not free however - the cost is 24ドル after a 30 day free trial.

http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/products/winmobile/
http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/products/s60/

You can find a list of Symbian 60 phones here - make sure to search for the ones that are available in North America (note that the RAZR is not on this list):
http://www.s60.com/life/s60phones/browseDevices.do

I am not aware of any free downloadable browsers that provide true end-to-end security."

To bring this full circle -

It has become clear to me over the last 6 months that a significant number of bankers and research companies believe that a 3 channel offering (SMS, Browser-based, Downloadable) is the optimal solution. Yet, we know that many of the mobile browsers pre-loaded on phones are inadequate. Therefore, my recommendation is this. If you are a vendor currently offering a downloadable application, please find a way to incorporate a top-notch web browser into the download.