Mobile Payment Magazine

BNP Paribas and Orange Partner to Launch First Entirely Mobile Bank

by

BNP Paribas and Orange have formed a partnership and signed a trademark licence agreement to launch innovative mobile banking services in November 2011.

This strategic business partnership allows the groups to share expertise in their respective areas of excellence. It brings together the world of information and communication technologies and the world of banking.

Starting in November, BNP Paribas customer advisors will be able to offer mobile banking services – unique in France – in all 2,250 branches (also available through Internet banking). Customers will be able to access the most innovative m-banking and m-payment services to manage their accounts and make payments using their mobile phones. The aim is to equip thousands of BNP Paribas customers with smartphones over a three-year period to combine the very best mobile services and banking services.

Innovation is a key factor of differentiation for the banking industry. As part of its Internet and Mobile acceleration programme, BNP Paribas was the first bank to be on the iPad in May 2010. It also created ‘La Net Agence’ – the first completely on line branch, which now has over 12,000 customers. 2 Opéra, the BNP Paribas Concept Store, opened its doors in December 2010 and each month over 300,000 customers do their banking using their mobile phones. BNP Paribas was one of the first banks to offer contactless mobile payments services in Nice in June 2010 and has further invested in order to extend this pilot to other large French cities.

Orange wants to combine partner services, which in addition to their specific benefits are from well known and recognised brand, with it mobile telephone offers. This partnership is in line with Orange’s ambition to develop new innovative services. The launch of the Citzy Pass in the spring of 2010 in Nice to develop new near field communication technologies (NFC) is also part of this approach.

When signing this partnership deal on 25 July, François Villeroy de Galhau, Head of Retail Banking in France, said: “Thanks to this partnership we are promoting new uses and we are creating a new way of managing bank transactions. Orange’s expertise means that we can offer all our customers mobile banking and as a result of this inclusive and innovative offer, BNP Paribas has now become the first mobile bank in France”.

“For Orange, this partnership is an opportunity to explore new territories and to continue offering our customers more and more innovative services. It relies on Orange’s and BNP Paribas’ expertise to propose the best of both our worlds” explained Delphine Ernotte, Executive Vice President of Orange France.

via News – BNP Paribas and Orange partner to launch the first entirely mobile bank… | BNP Paribas Bank.

Cachet Financial Solutions Targets Mobile Check Cashing and Prepaid Cards Market

by

Cachet Financial Solutions, a provider of remote deposit capture (RDC) solutions will target the growing market for mobile check cashing and reloadable prepaid cards, which traditionally serve a large portion of the U.S. unbanked and under-banked population.  Several financial service organizations will begin offering Cachet’s mobile check capture solution to their customers by the end of the third quarter of this year.

Previously, RDC technology was directed toward banks and credit unions.  With Cachet’s proprietary technology, robust demand for mobile financial services, and changing customer preferences and demographics, the check cashing and prepaid card industries are can also participate in remote checking technologies.

Cachet currently offers a full suite of RDC solutions, including a front-end, mobile check loading application for the Android, Blackberry, iPhone smartphones and tablets.  The application can be branded for check cashers, program managers and processors to allow their customers to be able to load checks on their prepaid debit cards.  Cachet also offers a back-end product (CheckReview) that allows check cashers and load solution providers to review high-resolution images of the check’s front and back with full image quality analysis, CAR/LAR and Virtual MICR detection.  Cachet has developed an API which allows the check cashers to import the information into their risk/fraud mitigation tools or central database for decision/guarantee purposes.

The foundation of Cachet’s mobile check capture application is convenience and simplicity for the consumer.  Mobile check capture allows consumers to load checks onto their prepaid card using their camera-equipped smartphone or tablet.  Users can load checks from anywhere at any time, allowing for quicker access to funds on their reloadable prepaid cards.  Cachet’s mobile check capture is easy to use.  Users simply click the branded application on their smartphone or tablet, endorse the check, agree to any applicable fees and snap photos of the front and back of each check that is being submitted.

“Cachet is one of the few RDC companies that understands the dynamics of this industry and has both a front-end and mobile solution and a back-end check imaging/verification solution for the various solution providers,” said Jeffrey Mack, President and CEO of Cachet Financial Solutions.  “Our strategy is to create strategic partnerships with the program managers, processors, check cashers and guarantors/loaders.  We believe there is a great opportunity in this space and we’re poised to take the lead in it.”

Cachet’s strategy comes at a perfect time as industry data shows more and more consumers are moving away from traditional banking relationships in favor of alternative financial services such as check cashers and reloadable prepaid cards.  According to a 2009 FDIC National Survey, over 25% of U.S. households are under-banked or unbanked and that number appears to be rising as a result of the recent economic troubles.  According to research by Mercator Advisory Group, Americans will put an estimated $70.7 billion on reloadable prepaid cards this year.  That’s a 153% increase from the $28 billion loaded onto the cards in 2009.

“Our technology allows us to develop and execute a host of solutions for a variety of financial organizations – from check cashing companies to reloadable prepaid card issuers and processors,” said Mack.  “Financial service providers have to develop new methods to retain and satisfy their customers, and mobile check capture is just another example of that initiative.  We are proud of our work and will continue to innovate and develop new solutions on behalf of our customers.”

Hypercom Mobile Payments Terminal to be Marketed by Avant-Garde Marketing Solutions

by

Hypercom Corporation today announced that Avant-Garde Marketing Solutions, Inc., an independent sales organizations,  is now marketing Hypercom’s Optimum M4230 multi-application mobile payment terminal and Mobile Network service to its thousands of merchant customers nationwide. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Avant-Garde will market the M4230 mobile terminal with Hypercom’s Mobile Network as an affordable bundled solution that increases businesses’ revenue by enabling them to extend their payment acceptance reach beyond fixed locations.

“The M4230 with Hypercom’s Mobile Network dramatically simplifies activating, conducting and managing wireless transactions, eliminates unnecessary gateway transaction fees, and is a reliable high-security solution that can be deployed anywhere,” said Michael Varian, Director, Avant-Garde Marketing Solutions, Inc. “Demand for mobile payments is clearly increasing as merchants themselves become more mobile. Hypercom’s Mobile Network service and terminal is a perfect package to address the increasing mobile needs of our customers.”

“Avant-Garde’s selection of Hypercom’s GPRS terminal plus network service package is an innovative, highly secure, cost effective and easy to use solution to support the soaring demand for mobile payment acceptance,” said David Cronin, President and Managing Director, North America, Hypercom Corporation. “Many ISOs, distributors and payment processors serving thousands of merchants nationwide have already chosen Hypercom’s mobile solution over all others. And demand continues to grow.”

Unlike competing solutions, Hypercom’s Mobile Network service features simple, usage-based billing with no roaming charges, no additional transaction fees, fast and simple browser-based SIM activation, and 24/7 technical support from a single, secure, reliable source.

Hypercom’s global GPRS network connects to more than 200 networks in over 90 countries.

Source: Business Wire

InterDigital Appreciates 50% With Apple-Google Rush for Patents

by

Patents are becoming so valuable that Apple Inc. and Google Inc. may have to pay a 50 percent premium to buy InterDigital Inc., even after a decision to put itself up for sale sparked a 72 percent jump in the stock.InterDigital, whose engineers invented some of the technology for high-speed mobile phone networks now used by the world’s biggest handset makers, has gained $1.4 billion since saying last week it hired banks to explore options including a sale.

via Bloomberg.

Jumio Turns Any Smartphone Cam or Webcam into a Credit Card Reader

by

Payment company Jumio today announced a new technology solution for businesses to increase security and ease of use for online and mobile credit card payments, the company says. Jumio’s  Netswipe solution allows a webcam to be used as a secure credit card reader, enabling merchants to accept payments online.

“Jumio bridges the gap between the security and trust of credit card payments at the point of sale and the availability and convenience of modern day online transactions,” says Jumio founder and CEO Daniel Mattes. “Consumers love the ease-of-use and the smooth experience associated with completing a transaction. At a time when both consumers and businesses are looking for more efficient and safe ways to make credit card purchases, Netswipe promises to usher in a new era of disruption that makes online payments easier than ever before.”

Netswipe enables online card-present-transactions: Checking out just like at the point of sale (POS). To complete a transaction, consumers briefly hold their credit card in front of their webcam. Through secure videostreaming, the credit card details are recognized and verfied. No snapshot image is taken, no data is stored on the computer that is used for the payment.

Business owners can implement Jumio’s Netswipe service into their payment process to reduce fraud and increase sales due to a heightened user experience.

“During our pilot phase, we have conducted a customer survey with a focus group who have used Netswipe. Amongst other impressive numbers, the churn rate decreased significantly from 52% to 21%,” said Mattes.

With the launch, Jumio has introduced three products for merchants that simplify the online payment process: Netswipe Start, Netswipe Scanning and Netswipe Processing. Additional products including a mobile solution will be released later this year.

Jumio’s pre-launch negotiations attracted an impressive list of partners. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, member of the Jumio board of directors, previously led a Series A funding round of US$ 6.5m and will oversee Jumio’s rollout into the Asian market. Additionally, Jumio’s advisory board includes former executives from Google, Amazon and NASA.

Says Saverin, “I am very excited to be involved with Jumio, which has developed a ground breaking technology that fulfills two of the most important aspects of payments processing: heightened security and a simplified user experience.”

Source: Jumio

How ISIS Consortium Screwed Itself Out of Mobile Payments Market

by

There has been a huge scrum amongst the smartphone players to capture the market for phone-based purchases. In a very surprising move, the major US-based carriers simply gave up. Isis, the mobile payment system sponsored by Verizon, AT&T and TMobile, announced that it had signed deals with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover to its touch and go payment systems.

Why are US carriers not going after this incredibly lucrative market?

There’s actually a very simple reason. Payment providers require trust, and the US carriers decidedly do not have their customers’ trust.

Read more, via VentureBeat.

MNO’s Collaborate to Establish Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association

by

Hugary’s Magyar Telekom, Telenor and Vodafone have joined with three market leading operators–MasterCard, OTP Bank and SuperShop–to establish the Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association. The aim of the Association is to design and articulate recommendations for mobile NFC service standards in Hungary, and to submit proposals towards the successful implementation of the service.

Designed to operate over very short distances, Near Field Communication is a wireless switching technology, which facilitates contactless communication and exchange of data between two or even several devices over a secure channel.

The use of contactless bank cards (e.g. PayPass) through the mobile phone constitutes only one pillar of the service. Equally important are other features such as loyalty cards, coupons, travel and entrance tickets, etc. Services that are based on NFC technology are capable of ensuring new and highly attractive customer experiences through their speed, ease of use, innovative features and the possibilities provided by the large and interactive screen of the mobile phone.

This united move of Hungary’s MNOs  may help establish Hungary among the first countries where mobile NFC services are  launched in Europe.

Source: Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association

Daily Deals Get Mobile Payment Solution from Aggregator Monster Offers

by

Monster Offers, a mobile solutions company and Daily Deal aggregator, announced today its mobile payment strategy is well-positioned to meet the current needs of the Daily Deal industry. As Daily Deal providers converged at last week’s Deals 3D Conference in San Francisco, creating better mobile experiences and integrating mobile payment solutions prevailed as hot topics as the next phase of business development for the group buying industry.

Monster Offers’ ZalaPay mobile payment solution proved to resonate with Daily Deal providers as current payment methods lack tight integration with providers’ sites and distracts users from completing the purchase process, especially from mobile devices. The ZalaPay solution provides a truly integrated “in-app” purchase experience for the user, resulting in significant conversion of sales for the deal publisher.

According to Paul Gain, Monster Offers CEO, “Recent announcements for payment solutions from MasterCard, Google, American Express and Facebook all substantiate the power of our business model. We aim to provide an even greater value proposition to the user, deal provider, and merchant with our ZalaPay platform which provides an “in-app” purchase experience across all mobile platforms. When customers can purchase deals within the application, user conversion increases exponentially. With Monster Offers’ ZalaPay mobile payment solution, we are perfectly positioned to offer Daily Deal publishers a mobile payment solution that can increase sales and boost revenue.”

Monster Offers’ mobile financial services include “EZ-Click” Mobile Cashier, Pre-Paid Debit Cards, P2P Mobile Money, Redemption, and Daily Deal Wallet. The first of these integrated in-app mobile solutions is expected to be available later this summer.

Source: Business Wire

 

Worldwide Mobile Payment Volume Up 76% to Reach $86 Billion in 2011

by

Worldwide mobile payment users will surpass 141.1 million in 2011, a 38.2 percent increase from 2010, when mobile payment users reached 102.1 million, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide mobile payment volume is forecast to total $86.1 billion, up 75.9 percent from 2010 volume of $48.9 billion.

Despite these strong growth projections, Gartner analysts said the mobile payment market is growing slower than expected.

“In developing markets, despite favorable conditions for mobile payment, growth is not as strong as was anticipated. Many service providers are yet to adapt their strategies to local requirements, and success models from Kenya and the Philippines are unlikely to be translated to other markets,” said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner. While developing markets have favorable conditions for mobile payments, such as high penetration of mobile devices and low banking penetration, this is no guarantee of success, unless service providers adapt their strategies to local market requirements.”

“In developed markets, companies are trumpeting the prospects of Near Field Communication (NFC) without realizing the complexity of the service model. We believe mass market adoption of NFC payments is at least four years away,” Ms. Shen said. “The biggest hurdle is the need to change user behavior by convincing consumers to pay with mobile phones instead of cash and cards.”

Gartner expects Short Message Service (SMS) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) to remain the dominant access technologies in developing markets due to the constraints of mobile phones. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) will remain the preferred mobile access technology in developed markets, where the mobile Internet is commonly available and activated on the phone. Mobile app downloads and mobile commerce are the main drivers of WAP payments, and WAP will account for almost 90 percent of all mobile transactions in North America and about 70 percent in Western Europe in 2011.

Money transfers and prepaid top-ups will drive transaction volumes in developing markets. These are seen as the “killer apps” in developing markets, where people value the convenience of sending money to relatives and topping up mobile accounts. This is most obvious in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where these two services will account for 54 percent and 32 percent of all transactions in 2011.

“Thanks to the success of mobile application stores, such as Apple’s App Store, and the efforts in driving mobile sales by major retailers, such as Amazon and eBay, merchandise purchases far outweigh other use cases in developed markets, which include North America and Western Europe,” Ms. Shen said. “We predict that in 2011, merchandise purchases will account for 90 percent and 77 percent of all transactions in North America and Western Europe, respectively.”

Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Market Trends: Mobile Payments Worldwide, 2011.”

B.Shark Mobile Payment API Drives Up the China Phone Market

by

Just one month after launching the B.Shark mobile payment API, hundreds of mobile application developers and manufacturers have started the integration work, and shipped out the mobiles and have started generating income. Particularly the South East Asian market is showing a sharp increase at the beginning of July.

Most of the mobile manufactures integrated with B.Shark’s mobile payment API sell their mobiles to Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam in South-east Asia, to Brazil and Chile in South America, and to Nigeria and Ghana in Africa.

“It was very difficult for the mobile manufacturers to make any revenue on the pre-load mobile content before, because we do not have a connection with the operators and other service providers’ solutions cannot work on our mobile OS,” said a manager from the value added service department from one of the biggest manufacturers of China phones.
”Mobile users can now enjoy better and constant updated mobile content through GPRS networks, and with the B.Shark API, we can collect the revenue from the pre-loaded content, which would increase brand loyalty and the competitiveness of the manufacturers. With this kind of fierce competition in the industry, this extra income means a lot to us,” he added

The up-to-date data shows that hundreds of mobile manufactures have downloaded the B.Shark mobile payment API. With this API, they will be able to explore more areas in the overseas mobile market, and push the China phone market forward.

Source: B.Shark