Mobile Payment Magazine

Trunkbow International and China UnionPay Form Mobile Payment Partnership

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Trunkbow International Holdings Limited, a provider of Mobile Payment Solutions (“MPS”) and Mobile Value Added Solutions (“MVAS”) in China, today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with China UnionPay (“UnionPay”), China’s leading bankcard association, for the development and marketing of the Trunkbow UnionPay mobile payment applet.

Under the agreement, Trunkbow is developing a UnionPay-certified plug-in applet that will enable m-commerce transactions through UnionPay’s clearing system. The companies expect to launch this applet to merchants in January 2012.

In addition to development and aftermarket support of the applet, the companies will work together to develop and expand the Trunkbow UnionPay merchant network, and market the m-commerce solution to China’s nearly 1 billion mobile phone users.

Trunkbow will receive a percentage of the gross value of each transaction processed through the applet, as negotiated with individual merchants. The Company expects its per-transaction fees to range from 0.4% to 2.4%, depending on the merchant and type of transaction.

“This partnership will provide us with meaningful financial contributions through revenue sharing with both China UnionPay and individual merchants. It represents an important strategic milestone for our MPS business, as it marks the implementation of our MPS technology into a nationwide inter-bank transaction clearing system that processed RMB 11.2 trillion in transactions in 2010,” said Mr. Qiang Li, CEO of Trunkbow. “Smart phone adoption and mobile application use are growing rapidly in China, with tech-savvy consumers migrating to m-commerce in growing numbers. The Trunkbow UnionPay applet can be integrated into an individual mobile application or app store, and provides a new, extremely convenient payment option for consumers. With a defensible first mover advantage and strong partnerships with China’s three wireless carriers and leading clearing house, we are well positioned to capture share in this emerging market.”

Mr. Li added, “The nationwide roll-out of the Trunkbow UnionPay mobile payment applet greatly enhances our merchant acquisition capabilities. Our POS-based MPS platform is active in 24 provinces through all three wireless carriers, and the Bestpay mobile application is being rolled out to China Telecom’s 28 million 3G smart phone users. The addition of the UnionPay mobile applet and rapidly growing number of m-commerce end-users make the benefits of MPS technology, and our solution in particular, increasingly attractive to merchants as an alternative to card-based transactions. Having taken this important step to expand our MPS footprint, we plan to aggressively ramp our merchant acquisition efforts through the establishment of partnerships with online and offline retailers, service providers and other merchants. We believe that this strategy will help Trunkbow build a solid recurring revenue base, resulting in greater stability and visibility in our MPS business, while giving us access to a virtually limitless market.”

The Trunkbow UnionPay mobile payment applet can be incorporated into any existing mobile application to facilitate simple, secure online payments from a user’s mobile phone. Representative transactions include the payment of utility and other bills, purchase of lottery, movie and event tickets, online gaming credits, e-books as well as physical goods from online and brick-and-mortar merchants utilizing the applet.

Source: PR Newswire

Monitise Partners with RBS Technology for Mobile Banking and Payment Services

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Monitise plc  today announced that the company has signed a new partnership agreement with RBS Technology Services to broaden mobile banking and payments services across its banking divisions.

Monitise has strengthened its existing relationship with RBS by entering a new five-year global strategic partnership. Under the terms of the new agreement, RBS will use Monitise’s platform to provide bank-grade and secure mobile apps and services to RBS customers.

According to the company, by further integrating Monitise’s configurable technology platform within the bank, RBS is able to give its customers richer, real-time smartphone services as new devices and operating systems hit the market, while continuing to provide mobile services to any customer that wants them via text message, no matter what phone they have.

The new contract covers all RBS Group divisions including RBS and NatWest UK Retail, Citizens Bank US, Ulster Bank and RBS Global Corporate and Business.

Will Jones, General Manager for Monitise’s RBS partnership, said: “New apps have been developed on the Monitise platform as part of a partnership project with RBS called Quantum Leap. It really does deliver a leap forward in terms of client innovation and convenience, with helpful banking at the heart of these new apps. The integrated technology is fully flexible and lets the bank optimise every app to take advantage of what advanced handsets can do.”

Monitise Group Chief Executive Alastair Lukies said: “As a global provider of mobile money services we have great insights into the varied approaches being taken by banks and financial institutions around the world as they seek to defend and extend their business in this increasing digital and mobile age.”

He added: “RBS has positioned itself perfectly to embrace the mobile money evolution and we are delighted to be playing our part. Mobile, like any banking and payments ecosystem, needs to be easy-to-use, secure and interoperable and RBS are putting their customers first by recognising mobile as a channel in its own right, not just another ‘access point’ for the internet or a call centre. There are 5.5 billion mobile phones globally and organisations that understand and utilise that channel best are going to get closer to their customers.”

Source: Monitise Group

Payfone and Mobile Accord Partner for Mobile Donation Channel

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Payfone, a leading mobile payment processing service, and Mobile Accord, an innovator and leader in mobile technology for nonprofit organizations, today announced a strategic partnership to expand the mobile donation channel for nonprofits and non-governmental entities worldwide. Through the partnership, nonprofits will be able to expand the power and reach of mobile donation offerings through alternative payment options allowing donations in real-time from any device, such as PC, smartphone, tablet or Wi-Fi, via Mobile Accord’s mobile giving platform, mGive.

“As the premier provider of mobile giving, it is absolutely critical we offer the nonprofit community a secure technology platform that ensures real-time delivery of safe, secure donations with accurate reporting and visibility into all transactions,” said Nim Patel, CEO of Mobile Accord. “Our goal is to offer donors across the globe the ability to make charitable donations from any device at any time. Through our partnership with Payfone, we are able to continue delivering on that promise.”

Mobile Accord’s mGive platform empowers individuals and entire countries to facilitate change using its revolutionary scalable services including mobile giving. mGive has been the standard for mobile giving since 2008, resulting in over 7,000 nonprofit mobile campaigns worldwide and is the platform of choice for high-volume campaigns like fundraising for relief efforts in Haiti and Japan, raising over $46 million in donations. Mobile Accord continues to work with nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations to enhance mobile fundraising and engagement for social good.

“Through Mobile Accord and mGive, its state-of-the-art mobile giving technology platform that is specifically targeted to support nonprofits, we can offer nonprofits one of the most robust and secure methods of conducting donations from any device – an industry first,” said Rodger Desai, chief executive officer, Payfone. “We are pleased to be working with the leader in mobile giving, and look forward to delivering an entirely new method of mobile donation that offers greater ease, flexibility and security, while opening up the global opportunities around philanthropic giving.”

Payfone is unique in leveraging the existing assets of mobile operators for directly connected payment authorization and processing. This approach distinguishes Payfone from other competitors. Payfone’s unique IP focuses on delivering the best user experience, while closely managing fraud using new factors of authentication that are inherent in the mobile operator networks. This translates into one of the most secure and frictionless user experience, across any device. Payfone’s ability to directly integrate with the operator’s network and intelligently identify a subscriber’s profile, makes it the only company capable of securely streamlining the entire mobile payments process.

BNP Paribas and Orange Partner to Launch First Entirely Mobile Bank

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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.

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…]

TelChina and China Mobile to Build Mobile Payment Solution With .TEL Extension

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TelChina and China Mobile have entered into a strategic relationship to develop Mobile-Pay services on the .tel platform, according to Telnic Limited, the registry operator for the .tel top level domain (TLD).

“As .tel combines advantages of both the Internet and telecommunications, it will be able to provide an efficient and integrated communications platform for customers of China Mobile in the future. The engagement levels of .tel owners will also bring new vitality to Mobile-Pay, attracting more people to use their mobile phones in making payments, which in turn will increase revenues for operators,” said Lucy Wang, CEO of TelChina.

Telnic announced that project development will be divided into several phases. The first phase is expected to be live in early May, 2011, which will enable China Mobile customers to purchase and renew their .tel names via a Mobile-Pay portal using their mobile devices.

Following the implementation of the mobile payment solution, users will also be able to use their China Mobile credits to pay in part or full for their .tel names later this year.

According to Xie Gang, China Mobile’s Mobile-Pay spokesperson, “Mobile-Pay is migrating from its 1.0 era, which is mainly based on SMS, to its 2.0 era, which is based on WAP and sensor-based terminals. This collaboration with TelChina will not only help customers simplify the payment process, but also provide an optimized platform for China Mobile services. On this platform, users will not have to log on to various websites for payment, but accomplish it through the clicking of a Mobile-Pay link on a .tel page.”

China Mobile will also create a dedicated channel for .tel users to  pay for online purchases and other services such as  utility bills and cable TV subscriptions.

Using China Mobile’s PSTN and IP network, through web, SMS, WAP and IVR interfaces, customers will be also  able to fulfill e-commerce operations such as opening an account, checking their balance, submitting payments and withdrawing cash.

Source: PR Newswire

Fiserv Acquires M-Com to Boost Mobile Banking Offerings

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Fiserv, Inc., a provider of financial services technology solutions,  has acquired Mobile Commerce Ltd. (M-Com), an international mobile banking and payments provider, to enhance Fiserv’s existing mobile channel capabilities. The two companies have been partners since 2008, developing and delivering Mobile Money from Fiserv to hundreds of financial institutions. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

M-Com, founded in 2000, is based in Atlanta, Ga., with an office in New Zealand. M-Com CEO Adam Clark and all employees of M-Com will join Fiserv as part of the transaction.

“Technology advancements and consumer usage patterns are converging across online and mobile channels,” said Steve Olsen, group president, Digital Payments, Fiserv. “The acquisition of M-Com will enhance our ability to provide anywhere, anytime access to consumers who want their finances at their fingertips. Together, we will deliver best-in-class digital solutions for our clients, enabling a superior user experience for their customers.”

As strategic partners, Fiserv and M-Com have hundreds of mutual customers in the U.S. and several in international markets, and the combination of the two companies will accelerate the development of innovative solutions for these clients. In addition, Fiserv will have the ability to integrate M-Com mobile banking and payment technology into current product offerings, as well as leverage that technology for transformative new solutions. Current M-Com clients will benefit from Fiserv’s digital banking and payments expertise, deep resources and ongoing investments in mobile financial services.

“Offering robust services through the mobile channel is now critical for financial institutions,” said Mr. Clark. “With the addition of M-Com’s proven technology and deep employee expertise, Fiserv is positioned to continue delivering with excellence in the rapidly evolving mobile space, both domestically and internationally. Together, we will set the pace for mobile banking and payments.”

Source: Business Wire

Sutherland and Tyfone Partner in Mobile Banking Services

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Sutherland Global Services, a provider of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services, has announced a partnership with Tyfone, a global provider of unified mobile secure transaction infrastructure for mobile banking, mobile identity management and mobile contactless NFC payments.

Over the last twenty years mobile financial services have become the fastest growing distribution channel for financial institutions. Mobile channels have helped to reduce customer attrition and improve customer acquisition and provide new revenue streams.

The partnership combines Sutherland’s financial services domain expertise and global presence with Tyfone’s ability to deliver mobile financial services and mobile payments functionality on a single platform – extending any banking product to any mobile phone on any operating system over any network. The Sutherland-Tyfone combination also provides a means for delivering NFC contactless payment capabilities to customers via Tyfone’s u4ia pre-integrated mobile financial services platform.

“The financial services ecosystem is quickly changing and the ability to recognize and adapt to customer needs and demands plays a vital role in Sutherland’s success in the industry,” stated Dilip Vellodi, Chairman and CEO of Sutherland Global Services. “Tyfone’s technology innovation in the mobile banking industry and expertise in helping financial institutions to leverage the benefits of the mobile platform perfectly complements Sutherland’s specialized services in various Financial Services segments.”

Financial institutions are turning to specialized-services companies like Sutherland to maintain profitability and reduce time-to-market, especially in the current economic environment. By adding advanced offerings like mobile banking and NFC contactless payments, Sutherland enables financial institutions to quickly and easily provide their customers with secure mobile services and at the same time access potentially new revenue streams

“Bringing our proven, patented technologies to Sutherland’s sterling record of providing streamlined, cost-saving financial services is an excellent partnership opportunity for Tyfone” said Prabhakar Tadepalli, Tyfone’s chief operating officer and co-founder. “Through the implementation of our u4ia platform with its available companion SideTap, Sutherland will be able to provide its customers with the tools necessary to deliver a robust mobile banking solution to their clientele, making trusted, feature-rich mobile banking a reality.”

Source: MobilityWire

Fifth Third Bank to Offer Mobile Banking with ClairMail Solution

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Fifth Third Bank has selected ClairMail to power its new mobile banking technology and services.  ClairMail, Inc., a mobile banking and payments solution provider, will provide Fifth Third Bank with a solution to allow the bank’s customers better mobile access to their accounts, bill paying capabilities and real time personalized text alerts, thereby gaining greater control over their accounts and overall finances.

ClairMail’s  scalable mobile platform  also has the flexibility to allow Fifth Third Bank to connect to multiple financial systems and future-proof their mobile powered offerings.

“At Fifth Third we are committed to providing our customers with the most efficient and secure solutions to satisfy all banking needs,” said Larry McClanahan, vice president & director of digital delivery, Fifth Third Bank. “Due to increased customer demand in this rapidly growing market, we realized the need to adopt a comprehensive mobile solution. After extensive vendor evaluation, we chose ClairMail’s mobile platform to strategically grow our mobile initiative. Now our customers will have extended bank access through a service that goes everywhere and anywhere they are.”

The ClairMail mobile banking solution gives Fifth Third the ability to provide its customers with greater control over their personal finances through mobile web, SMS and a client application on most  mobile devices, including the iPhone.

The platform lets customers perform various activities including checking account balances, performing account transfers and viewing transaction history. They will also have the ability to sign up for personalized alerts over SMS, while defining preferences for alert triggers (low-balance thresholds or event occurrences that activate alerts) and frequency.

“Fifth Third is dedicated to providing the highest quality financial products and services to its customers and realized the necessity to utilize ClairMail’s mobile banking and payments platform to provide an effective, convenient vehicle that satisfies customer demand,” said Pete Daffern ClairMail CEO. “Fifth Third’s commitment to an extensible mobile banking rollout demonstrates their forward-looking commitment to improving customer acquisition and retention, reduce costs and drive new revenue opportunities through the mobile channel.”

Source: MarketWire

Mobile Financial Services Provide Banking Solutions to Rural Kenya

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Nuru International, a U.S.-based social venture that equips the poor living in remote areas to end extreme poverty in their communities, is using innovative new technologies for mobile banking to increase access to basic financial services for rural households in Kenya. The organization is working with Mifos cloud-based MIS and M-PESA mobile money transfer services to create a viable solution to some of the issues that persist in providing financial services in these difficult service areas.

“One of the biggest problems we face when it comes to finance and banking for the extreme rural poor is how to disburse loans and payments to our farmers, we don’t want to give large amounts of cash to them because they have to cover long distances on foot, have no secure place to keep the cash, and robbery and theft are real concerns.” — Vivian Lu, Community Economic Development Program Manager.

Nuru’s microfinance program has helped extend the reach of mobile money in rural Kenya. The combined technologies of Mifos and M-PESA have helped to create a branchless banking structure, allowing Nuru savings members in remote areas of Kenya access to some of the basic financial services that traditional banks offer. M-PESA is a mobile phone based money transfer service offered through Safaricom, allowing users to transfer money to other users, pay bills, and purchase air time. The service has great potential to be leveraged in mobile banking, allowing people to complete basic financial transactions without needing to visit a physical bank. Mifos is developing integration with M-PESA and allows Nuru an affordable way to scale. Because it’s a cloud-based application, Nuru can access it from mobile phones and netbooks, improving their reach in rural areas.

Nuru recognizes the importance of savings as a critical and often overlooked component to economic growth in rural areas. The Community Economic Development model is a savings-led program that offers financial training. Nuru members are trained in the fundamentals of financial planning, budgeting, saving, and responsible loan management, before they are eligible to apply for individual loans.

Source: PR Web