Mobile Payment Magazine

Chinese Mobile Payment Company B.Shark Launches Payment API for Tablets

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With more than 300 partners registered in the first week after B.Shark launched its mobile payment API, B.Shark continued to introduce the payment API for tablets. With the B.Shark’s BSpay API, tablet manufacturers will be able to charge consumers from other countries, which would be a new option to increase tablet manufacturer revenue.

The latest IDC report shows that the worldwide shipment of tablets has reached 18 million in 2010. Market research Company IMS expects a growth of 242% and 58 million shipments for tablets in 2011. All of this shows the rapid increase of popularity for tablets– and the Android driven tablets are  taking up the market share dramatically. Analyst Toni Sacconaghi has predicted that the shipment of tablets worldwide will reach 215 million units by 2015. He believes that 15% of the tablet sales are derived from consumers from the PC market; consequently, between 2010 and 2015 the growth rate of PC sales should decline by 2%. [Read more…]

PR Newswire for Journalists :: All Releases

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SmartSoft, a provider of card payment, card issuance, NFC payments and EMV chip-based training technologies and services to the global banking and payment industries announced a major breakthrough in NFC payments today. Together with partners Turkcell and Plastkart, the companies unveiled Europe’s first MNO (Mobile Network Operator) Trusted Service Manager (TSM) mobile solution for NFC Payments approved by MasterCard. The announcement will help accelerate interest and deployment of NFC payment systems in Europe and the Americas, regions in which SmartSoft continues to strengthen its product and technology development and sales and marketing channels.

In collaboration with its supporting technology partners SmartSoft and Plastkart, Turkcell becomes Europe’s first top mobile operator to successfully launch and commercialize an approved TSM solution by MasterCard. With the rapid deployment of contactless payment technologies, particularly in Europe, the new mobile platform offers consumers a secure, fast and fun way to shop using their mobile phones. With the new platform, customers will not be limited to daily shopping, since the new platform will also be offered to customers with transportation, campus, and loyalty applications in the very near future.

Turkcell continues to invest in mobile payments with its NFC-enabled Mobile Wallet service “Turkcell Cep-T Cuzdan” as well as the NFC Gateway and OTA Platforms developed by Turkcell Technology, Turkcell’s fully owned subsidiary and one of Turkey’s technology centers. “With our own NFC Gateway, OTA Platform and TSM that we developed, we are now providing an end-to-end solution for service providers who want to offer contactless services,” commented Ali Salcı, Head of Mobile Financial Services, Turkcell. “Our NFC Gateway infrastructure allows multiple applications over one SIM card. As a result, the mobile phone can be used as a mobile wallet and within the framework of the Turkcell Cep-T Cuzdan Service, you can load bank cards onto your SIM card from participating banks. At Turkcell, helping our customers take full advantage of the evolving mobile world remains a top goal.”

SmartSoft provides end-to-end solutions in banking payment systems. It has collaborated on a broad array of payment systems technology development projects for the entire banking and payment ecosystem for many years.

“This MasterCard approved platform is handset independent, and in full compliance with mobile payment standards,” commented Murat Guzel, General Manager, SmartSoft. “Our unique position in which our technology development teams view and work with the entire payment ecosystem has helped us collaborate with our partners to develop the banking back office infrastructure to seamlessly integrate and transfer the system’s banking needs to the mobile payment platform, the result of which is Europe’s first MasterCard approved, MNO owned TSM for NFC mobile payments. We have become both an enabler and a facilitator for banks and mobile operators and we value that trust our partners place in us.”

Integrating, then launching Europe’s first mobile MNO TSM solution for NFC payments underscores the leadership and innovation SmartSoft and its partners at Turkcell, Plastkart and MasterCard continue to showcase in NFC Payments,” commented Ayse Sarigollu, President and Chief Executive Officer, SmartSoft. “Europe continues to lead the way in leading banking and payment technology innovation and I am thrilled to say that our company is at the forefront of NFC technology development. “As talks with our partners in Europe and the USA accelerate, we expect to soon help expand deployment of NFC payment systems into these key regions.”

Financial institutions around the world collaborated on this project by carrying their experience from banking and finance fields into mobile payment systems. The developed TSM system possesses MasterCard’s risk audit and NATO’s safety certificates and is positioned in Plastkart the Middle East’s largest card personalization Office.

Source: PR Newswire

JCB and China UnionPay Announce Further Alliance

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JCB, the only global payment brand based in Japan, and China UnionPay (UnionPay), China’s bankcard association, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on June 10, 2011 to expand their current strategic relationship and to develop potential new areas of cooperation.

The new alliance envisioned by the MOU will emphasize further strategic alliance in various fields and regions building win-win relationship in the long-term, with the aim of providing new value and products to enhance convenience for customers.

The partnership between JCB and UnionPay dates back to 2003, when JCB and UnionPay signed a merchant acquiring agreement which enabled JCB card acceptance in China. In 2006, JCB started facilitating UnionPay card acceptance on JCB’s ATM network in Japan, followed by the launch of merchant acquiring operations in Japan last year aiming to increase the level of convenience for UnionPay cardholders.

UnionPay’s international expansion is driven by the remarkable economic growth of China, where GDP in 2010 increased 10.3% over the previous year and the country became the second largest economy in the world, while JCB is now actively focusing its global strategy on and beyond Asia. This convergence in the strategy of the two brands strategy led to the new agreement, a milestone in both brands’ global expansion.

JCB and UnionPay aim to further expand and enhance card payment business including Asia that has strong potential growth with this new alliance.

Source: ACN Newswire

UK Mobile Operator Joint Venture Critical for Success in NFC Mobile Payments

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The newly announced mobile marketing and mobile payments joint venture between Everything Everywhere, Telefonica O2 and Vodafone in the UK is a positive move, and will enable these mobile operators to secure a position at the heart of the nascent NFC contactless payments ecosystem, according to a new report by Strategy Analytics , entitled “Collaboration Essential to Operator Success in Proximity Payments.” The report underlines the importance of successful mobile operator partnerships to reduce fragmentation, boost scale, and help position strongly against competitors, such as Google Wallet. [Read more…]

UK Mobile Companies Plan Mobile Payment Joint Venture

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The U.K.’s three biggest wireless operators said Thursday that they would create a mobile-payment joint venture, entering the high-stakes scramble among wireless operators, tech firms and credit-card companies to popularize a way of making purchases with the wave of a cellphone.

Vodafone Group PLC, Telefonica SA’s O2 and Everything Everywhere said their new venture would create a “mobile wallet,” which cellphone owners can wave in front of censors to pay for goods. It also aims to establish a central portal for advertisers to deliver discounts and loyalty offers to participating U.K. cellphones. [Read more…]

mFoundry Signs Up 400+ Financial Institutions for mBanking Solution

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mFoundry, a provider of SaaS-based mobile banking and payment solutions, today announced more than 400 U.S. financial institutions have selected mBanking, the company’s flagship mobile banking and payments solution.

“The pace of mobile banking adoption of mFoundry’s mobile banking solution is incredible,” said mFoundry CEO & Co-Founder Drew Sievers. “We’re currently adding about one new financial institution per day to our platform through our direct and channel relationships. While we’re seeing the strongest demand in our company’s history, there’s no question the true demand is being driven by the consumer who has made it clear they expect their financial institution to offer a sophisticated mobile access point.”

The demand for mobile solutions is increasing as smartphone penetration in the market accelerates and the ROI and revenue-generating opportunities for banks and credit unions become clear. While baseline functionality is important for any mobile solution, it’s the addition of new mobile-specific features like Mobile Deposit, which mFoundry recently launched with PNC Bank and the CO-OP Financial Services, that continue to increase the value of mobility to banks and consumers alike.

“At this point, we’re seeing user adoption increase by more than 10 percent each month,” added Sievers. “This means annual end-user growth in excess of 200 percent. Mobile banking and payments technology has moved from niche to mainstream in a heartbeat, and I see no sign of the pace slowing anytime soon.”

With more than 5 million users interacting with mFoundry mobile banking technology, mFoundry believes there is a clear opportunity to drive enhanced customer loyalty and increased revenue opportunities for their clients. With the fastest-growing SaaS solution in the market, mFoundry expects to capitalize on its strong position with new, value-added features for banks and credit unions.

“Companies with scale in both financial institution signings and end-user adoption are in an excellent position to grow healthy, long-lived businesses,” said Bob Egan, Managing Director, Chief Analyst, Sepharim Group. “With their hosted solutions, SaaS-based providers in particular are well suited to rapidly add new compelling features to their solutions.”

About mFoundry

mFoundry is most popular mobile banking solution in the U.S., currently the choice of more than 400 banks and credit unions nationwide. mFoundry’s mBanking product is the leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) based mobile banking solution in the market today.

mFoundry’s mobile banking customers include leading financial institutions, including Bank of America, Central Bancompany, PNC Bank, Zions Bank, Verity Credit Union and Nassau Financial. mFoundry also has one of the most extensive partner networks of all mobile banking vendors, including FIS, Open Solutions, PSCU, NCR, CO-OP and FirstData,.

In addition to its mobile banking experience, mFoundry has established itself as a leader in mobile payments, through its work with retailers like Starbucks Coffee Company. mFoundry developed and manages Starbucks Card Mobile program, the most successful mobile payments program to date, currently used in more than 6,800 stores nationwide.

mFoundry was founded in 2004 by Drew Sievers and Rodney Aiglstorfer. The company is headquartered in Larkspur, California, with additional offices in downtown San Francisco.

NXP’s NFC Solution Selected for Sony Ericsson’s Android Smartphones

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NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced today that its  near field communication (NFC) technology has been selected by Sony Ericsson for inclusion in its Android-based smartphones. Sony Ericsson, a leading, global mobile handset manufacturer focused on communications and entertainment, will use NFC to further enhance its consumers’ mobile experiences, creating a portfolio of smartphones that enable mobile transactions.

NXP provides complete embedded, secure NFC solutions and recently announced that its NFC software is open source on the Android platform and enables the Google Wallet application. Sony Ericsson intends to use the NXP PN65 NFC solution in their Android-based smartphones, which includes the NFC radio controller, the embedded secure element and NFC software. The embedded secure element enables NFC to be used for mobile transactions. Building on NXP’s extensive background in secure identification, the PN65 uses advanced cryptography to offer the highest level of security for transactions, with the technology already being extensively used in contactless banking cards, e-passports, e-ID cards and secure access systems.

“Building on Sony Ericsson’s leadership in Android and mobile gaming, the integration of near field communication into our Android-based Xperia™ portfolio is another step in delivering the most entertaining smartphones,” said Jan Uddenfeldt, Chief Technology Officer at Sony Ericsson. “NFC offers our consumers the ability to broaden their communication experience beyond the phone, and we are poised to drive the development of new, exciting and creative entertainment experiences.”

“This latest move from Sony Ericsson is another proof point of the strong momentum and potential of NFC,” said Rick Clemmer, president and CEO, NXP Semiconductors. “Based on continued strong customer endorsements we have the opportunity to increase the sales of our NFC products 2-4 times as a percentage of total NXP revenue in the second half of 2011 from the approximately one percent it represents today. NFC offers a game-changing opportunity for mobile phone manufacturers to provide creative and innovative smartphones to their customers.”

Source: NXP Semiconductor

Best of 4G World Awards 2011 Call for Submissions

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Yankee Group today opened the call for submissions to its 2011 Best of 4G World Awards. Open to any company, the awards recognize the best companies, products and innovations within the wireless and mobile supply ecosystem. The final selection of winners will be made by an independent committee and will be announced at the Meet the Press & VIP Party for 4G World 2011 on Oct. 24 in Chicago, IL. [Read more…]