The mobile money space: Bdaily meets Monitise
"The mobile money sector has grown considerably over the last few years. Earlier this year, the UK Payments Council suggested that mobile payments could soon replace debit and credit cards. AIM-listed British firm, Monitise, have successfully built a reputation as worldwide providers of mobile banking, payments and commerce networks. Bdaily spoke with executive vice president, Lisa Stanton, about this exciting technology space."

Exploring the Mobile Banking Revolution in Tanzania
"In most developed economies, people can be forgiven for taking banks for granted. After all, an ATM machine is rarely more than a couple blocks away with easy access to funds. People can easily connect with their banks online to pay bills without ever handling cash, and loans and lines of credit are readily available. In much of the developing world, however, this infrastructure simply doesn’t exist. Thabiso Mochiko recently laid out the latest statistics on the issue at Business Day:"

Kenyans and poor Americans have this in common: mobile banking
"We’ve reported on how people in emerging markets residents are opening bank accounts and paying for things with their mobile phones, transforming business in those countries. But the US Federal Reserve would like you to know (pdf) that the changes aren’t all in other parts of the world. Poor people in the US are some of the most avid users of mobile banking and mobile payment systems. In fact, they’re likely to be the first adopters. And when you look at why, it turns out to be for similar reasons to why people in emerging markets have embraced mobile banking and payments: a lack of access to traditional banking."

Banks warned to keep up with developments in mobile banking or face losing customers
"ANZ, the country's biggest bank, is a laggard in the key growth area of mobile banking with ASB leading the way. This is a feature of research by Optimal Usability, a user research and design company. And Optimal Usability's CEO Kris Nygren told interest.co.nz in a Double Shot interview that another key finding of his company's research was that some customers may move their business to another bank for a better mobile banking experience."

StanChart launches mobile banking application and fifth EBU in UAE
"Standard Chartered has introduced its mobile banking application, Breeze, in the UAE, making it the first market in the region to offer the product. The lender also launched its fifth electronic banking unit (EBU), at new Dubai headquarters in Downtown Burj Khalifa, as part of its initiative in the digitalization of banking operations. Part of its global focus on socializing personal banking and extending customers' digital lifestyle into banking, the bank is considering launching various digital services and technologies in the market this year."

St George launches new smartphone banking services
"The St George Banking Group has released new mobile banking smartphone services with the launch of a live, account-balance Widget for Android phones and the ability to apply for a personal loan via iPhone or Android phone, with a response in just 60 seconds. St George says the new features are available for St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne customers and follow on from a number of other “Australian-first” innovations from its mobile banking team."

Mobile banking helps to empower Tanzanian women
"The ability to exchange money and make payments with smartphones is placing power in the hands of women. The GSMA mWomen Programme is working in combination with Bankable Frontier Associates (BFA) and Visa Inc. in five different countries in order to help to better use mobile banking to reach women who are underserved and whose needs can be directly met by this technology and its associated products."

Aircel, ICICI Bank launch mobile banking service
"Aircel and ICICI Bank have jointly launched a mobile banking service. Called Mobile Money, the service will be run on Visa’s mobile managed service. Mobile Money has been launched with a range of financial services on a mobile phone such as cash deposits, cash withdrawals and money transfer to third parties."

Leverage on developments in mobile banking — Gono
"THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono has urged the banking sector to leverage on the current developments in mobile banking as an effective distribution network for financial products to various segments of society. Mobile banking is a system that allows customers of a financial institution to conduct a number of transactions through a mobile device such as a mobile phone or personal digital assistant."

Rakbank launches new services on Mobile Banking platform
"Rakbank, the leading retail and small business bank in the UAE, announced the launch of new services on its Mobile Banking platform that allow customers to conduct a wider range of banking transactions on the go via their handset. By introducing added services on its Mobile Banking Application and Service, customers can now use their mobile phones to order new cheque books, transfer balances, apply for supplementary cards, and even report a lost or stolen credit card. Rakbank Mobile Banking saves time when seeking investment details and when applying for an advance against salary."

HSBC enhances its mobile banking offering in its continued commitment
"HSBC has enhanced its mobile banking offering in its continued commitment to helping businesses streamline their banking needs. The new offering will allow customers to initiate payments to existing beneficiaries across the world. The facility adds to the extended suite of mobile solutions the Bank already offers its customers."

Standard Chartered kicks off 2013 Mobile Ventures Fellowship programme
"Standard Chartered Bank today signaled its ongoing commitment to talent development in financial services technology by announcing the 2013 Mobile Ventures Fellowship (MoVe) programme. Now in its second year, the MoVe programme was initiated as a part of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore's (IDA) Company-Led Training Programme (CLT). It aims to train new infocomm graduates and professionals in emerging and critical technologies. In calling for new applicants today, Standard Chartered announced another 10 traineeships for young Singaporean technopreneurs (MoVeRs) in mobile banking technology."

Aussie smartphone owners gravitating toward mobile banking
"An Australian study has found that the proportion of that nation's smartphone users who conduct banking transactions on their phones is now greater than 20 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of smartphone users who bank online has dropped: Fewer than half of smartphone owners now use a computer for banking transactions, said the study from Roy Morgan Research."

Ethiopia to Introduce Mobile Banking
"Ethiopia is one of the few remaining African countries to introduce mobile banking. With the booming economy and a population of 80 million this country could be the next gold mine for mobile banking companies. Mobile banking has proved to be a lucrative venture in the developing world, where large parts of the population belong to the so-called "unbanked." In Africa, only Ethiopia and Zimbabwe do not provide mobile money services. That will change soon for Ethiopia."

Why you can bank on mobile banking
"Several banking activities today can be carried out at the tap of the keys on your mobile phone. But for the uninitiated, the multiple ways of using the mobile phone for banking purposes can be difficult to decipher. Is SMS banking synonymous with receiving alerts for transactions? What is the advantage of using a mobile banking application on your phone over other mobile-based banking services? Is an IMPS transfer different from an NEFT transfer? Here’s a low down on the services , their suitability and the costs involved."

Smart, PlaNet Finance bring mobile banking services to Leyte
"The mobile banking pilot project of Smart Communications Inc. in the province of Leyte has affirmed the Filipinos’ readiness for mobile phone-driven financial services. Dubbed as the Banking the Unbanked (BTU) project, this is the country’s first cohesive attempt to provide branchless, cashless banking services to the countryside, using one of the most ubiquitous tools of today – the mobile phone."

ICICI Bank offers mobile phone recharge via SMS
"After launching its mobile banking app, ICICI Bank has now announced another new service for its m-banking customers which enables them to recharge their mobile phones via SMS. As the internet is not required here, it makes the service relevant for feature phones as well. To avail this service, just send the text message MTOPUP to 9222208888 and you can get recharge of up to Rs 1,500."

EcoCash Mobile Money: Interview with Econet Services CEO
"Last week, after a tour of EcoCash Business (well, EcoCash Commuter mostly), we got the opportunity to interview the Econet Services CEO, Darlington Mandivenga and Econet Wireless Mobile Money Executive, Francis Matseketsa. Econet Services, as we wrote last week, is now managing such strategic services as EcoCash for the entire Econet Wireless group. In the interview, we talked about the uptake of EcoCash services by merchants, Bulk EcoCash transactions, bill payments, the mobile banking services part of the MMT services, the role of traditional banks, the regulation of mobile money services, and also touched on the relationship and role of TN Bank. We post below an edited transcription of the interview."

Tanzania: Amana Introduces Mobile Banking
"Amana Bank, has introduced mobile banking services that would enable customers to carry out banking transactions through mobile phones. 'The service offers convenience of accessing banking services anytime, anywhere. It will enable customers to perform transactions at their fingertips,' says Amana Bank's Head of Business, Mr Sudi Marungu."

Aussies way ahead in mobile banking
"Latest research from Google shows Australians are 65 per cent more likely than the British to do banking via their smartphone and 14 per cent more likely than Americans. St George Bank has more than 390,000 mobile banking customers and growing fast, especially in the demographic of those aged up to 35, who make up 75 per cent of the users.St George Banking Group's head of eChannels, Travis Tyler, says the explosion of consumers who have turned to phone apps to do their banking is continuing to skyrocket."

Namibia: Bank Launches Mobile Banking
"In its continuous efforts to improve the service offering to its customers Standard Bank Namibia (SBN) has announced the launch of Mobile Banking to the Namibian market. The service will be available to customers on Friday 12 October 2012. Mobile Banking offers a more flexible way of banking anytime, anywhere. It involves the access to and provision of banking and financial services through mobile devices."

Carfinance247.co.uk reveals how 86% of Brits shun mobile devices when applying for finance
"While mobile banking and contactless payments are hot topics now, surprising data from car finance and dealer specialist carfinance247.co.uk reveals that only 14% of people would actually feel comfortable applying for finance via a mobile device. An independent study asked: 'Would you feel comfortable applying for guaranteed car finance via a mobile device such as an iPad, mobile phone etc?'"

RHB Bank expects 1.5m internet, mobile banking clients by 2013
"RHB Bank Bhd expects to garner 1.5 million internet and mobile banking customers by next year, said its retail banking director Vince Au Yoong. The bank currently has 850,000 customers who use its online and mobile banking services, almost double the 450,000 users last year."

Mobile Phone & Smart Card banking accounts surge
"The Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Kazi Abdul Muktadir, has disclosed that Mobile Phone and Smart Card banking accounts have surged to nearly 1.45 million in the country, which indicates that Pakistan's financial sector is now going through a dynamic transition led by the latest technology solutions. Speaking at the launching ceremony of a new product, `Easy Paisa Khushaal' of Tameer Microfinance Bank (TMFB) and Telenor at a local hotel on Tuesday, he said: `The existing active players- the Tameer Microfinance Bank (Easypaisa) and UBL (Omni), have so far registered more than 1,447,381 mobile wallet accounts (mWallet accounts) of un-banked and under-banked population of the country."

Say goodbye to the branch — the future for banking is upwardly mobile
"In developed countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, mobile banking — describing the use of mobile phones to make financial transactions — is transforming banking from a physical (requiring visits to a bank branch) to non-physical activity. Visits to banks to deposit cheques, and cheques more generally, appear to be disappearing. A recent report from The Economist cited a finding from JP Morgan that over the past year in the United States, customers deposited 10 million cheques by taking pictures of them rather than visiting a branch. In the Netherlands, only half of all bank customers have stepped inside a branch in the past year."

10-month-old bank launches mobile services
"Customers of the first Tanzania’s fully Sharia compliant bank, Amana Bank, will now be able to use modern technology to access the bank’s products after it launched internet and mobile banking services. Amana Bank’s head of Business, Mr Sudi Marungu, said they have decided to introduce the services to enable their clients to experience maximum enjoyment as they access the bank’s services from wherever they are and in convenience all the time."

Digitization: Banking won’t change until banks do
"Across Asia consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with technology, with growing numbers using smartphones and tablets to bank on the go. Channels have multiplied, giving customers more choice than ever before. However, for all the innovation in banking in recent years, the drop in loyalty rates across Asia suggests banks are failing to get closer to their customers, or provide them with sufficiently useful and convenient products and services."

Wincor Nixdorf: Cross-Channel Integration Brings Mobile Banking to Customers
"To meet the fast-paced lifestyle of their consumers, banks are increasingly networking their services between the branch, Internet, mobile banking and self-service delivery channels so that customers can manage their transactions on the go. To help financial service providers meet their customer’s needs and be competitive in the marketplace, Wincor Nixdorf showcased its PC/EMobile Cash application as part of Wincor World, Oct. 16 in Germany."

Mobile payment platform tPago expands across Latin America to cater for the unbanked
"Mobile transaction platform tPago is expanding across Latin America to cater for the unbanked, its parent company GCS International has announced. As you may know, it has been operating in the Dominican Republic since 2010, and will now be available to users in Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Puerto Rico. Mobile payments are an attractive and fast-growing segment; according to Pyramid Research, the number of users of mobile transaction platforms in the region will reach 140 million in 2015, a huge jump from 18 million today."

Mobile-banking: A win-win combo
"It was August 2002. The Indian mobile market was yet to show its true potential despite the early promise. We were miles away from the revolution we are experiencing today. Though everyone was more or less convinced about the impending communications revolution, the debate over the relative growth potential of ‘fixed line’ and ‘mobile’ still raged."

National Bank to Hire Mobile Banking Consultant
"The National bank of Ethiopia is to hire a consultant to support its plans to prepare a regulatory framework for the launch of mobile and agent banking services in the country. The technology is expected to be helpful but it prudent to be careful in regards to security issues before implementing a new system said an official with the Banking Supervision Directorate of the NBE."

Westpac launches Android NFC payments app
"Westpac Banking Corporation has joined the throng of Australian financial services giants attempting to stay ahead of the growing trend towards payments from mobile phones, launching an app yesterday that will allow those with Android smartphones to make mobile payments through their embedded NFC chip."

APAC Banks Fighting To Gain Mindshare In Mobile Banking
"Banks in Asia/Pacific are ramping up their mobile banking propositions as they race for mindshare among the region's increasingly technologically savvy customers. The mobile channel is the top priority channel for most banks in 2012, and leading banks in Asia/Pacific have deployed their best resources to this "channel of the future", launching standout features and functionalities, ensuring growth in activity rates among customers, and better managing the technology requirements of this channel."

Tanzania: Mobile Phones Help Spread Financial Services
"THE rapid use of mobile phones in Tanzania is seen as an opportunity to expand formal financial services to the market. That is why the Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB) seeks to embrace the technology of mobile phone banking, to serve the remote rural areas. Mr Alphonce Kihwele, the previous TPB'S Chief Executive Officer, says that nearly 25 per cent of Tanzanians have access to a mobile phone. TPB sees that as an opportunity and appropriate technology to include the rural savings into the mainstream of the economy, to enable customers access financial services for improvement of their well being and poverty reduction."

Mobile Technology Creates New Opportunities In Post-Earthquake Haiti
"The one year anniversary of the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake has come and gone. While the efficiency of Haiti's relief and rebuilding efforts have been criticized by politicians and citizens alike, there is a powerful tool that has brought much assistance to the Haitian people and whose market for change continues to expand: the cellular phone."

SBI-Airtel form JV for mobile banking
"SBI and Airtel have joined hands to form a new company that will offer mobile banking services. The initiative is aimed at financial inclusion of the un-banked population in the country. Under the new initiative Airtel outlets and retailers will serve as business correspondents (BC) of SBI (State Bank of India) and the bank's customers will be able to deposit and withdraw money from their accounts at Airtel outlets. They will also be able to transfer this money to others electronically as well from Airtel and SBI outlets. Services in the near future will include loans, insurance, credit cards and purchase transactions."

Deepak Chandnani promoted as Obopay global CEO
"Obopay, a leading mobile banking and payment provider, today announced the promotion of its President, Deepak Chandnani as CEO of Obopay, Inc. Founder and CEO, Carol Realini will assume the new role of Executive Chairman. In his new role, Chandnani will focus on the company’s significant growth in size and geographic scope, while Realini will continue her focus on corporate strategy as well as furthering Obopay’s corporate vision: evangelizing the need for mobile money and building its widespread adoption throughout the world."

Half of Tanzania’s population on phone
"A research team at the University of Dar es Salaam says half the Tanzanian population is currently hooked to mobile phones, and that it takes just a handset to run a business in the country. Led by Prof Ophelia Mascarenhas of the university, there is no need for offices, visiting cards or huge capital investments."

Gates Foundation, USAID Give Prize for Haiti Help
"A 2ドル.5 million prize to get Haitians buying, selling and banking with their mobile phones didn't push the winner into the mobile banking business, but the Gates Foundation's incentive did make the company move much faster. 'It was a real gruesome race,' Digicel CEO Maarten Boute after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Monday that his company had won the money for being first to establish cell phone banking in Haiti in less than six months."