Mobile phones have increasingly become tools that consumers use for banking, payments, budgeting, and shopping. Given the rapid pace of developments in the area of mobile finance, the Federal Reserve Board began conducting annual surveys of consumers’ use of mobile financial services in 2011. This 78-page report, “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services” (March, 2015) examines trends in the adoption and use of mobile banking, payments, and shopping behavior and how the emergence of mobile financial services affects consumers’ interaction with financial institutions.
PayPal Introduces Mobile to Mobile NFC Money Transfers
PayPal introduced its money transfer widget at the MobileBeat technology conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. PayPal’s new widget uses Near-Field Communications technology, which lets you pay for purchases with a wave of your smartphone.
PayPal’s widget allows for money transfers between two NFC-enabled phone holders. Say you want to transfer money to another PayPal user. They’ll request a specific amount of money from you on their phone, and after you tap your NFC-enabled phones together, the cash transfers from your PayPal account to the other.
Read more, via Wired.com.
Mitek Systems Shares Approved for NASDAQ Listing
Mitek Systems, Inc. a provider of mobile-imaging applications using smartphone cameras for check deposits, bill payments and ACH enrollments, today announced that that it has been approved for the listing of its shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market.
The company expects to commence trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market on Thursday, July 14, 2011, under the ticker symbol “MITK.” Prior to the listing change to NASDAQ, the company’s common stock will continue to trade on the OTC Bulletin Board under the current ticker symbol “MITK.OB.”
The company’s patented flagship mobile-banking product, Mobile Deposit, enables users to deposit checks securely and accurately simply by snapping photos of the paper documents with their camera-equipped smartphones, eliminating visits to bank branches or ATMs. Mobile Deposit has been or is in the process of being deployed by six of the top 10 retail banks in the United States, and by dozens of other banks, credit unions, brokerage firms and payment facilitators.
“We are pleased to announce Mitek’s listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market,” said James B. DeBello, President and CEO of Mitek Systems. “We believe the move to NASDAQ greatly increases the visibility of our shares in the market and reflects the company’s strong growth in mobile payments.”
Source: PR NewswireMitek Systems Shares Approved for NASDAQ Capital Market Listing — SAN DIEGO, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ —.
Chinese Mobile Game Developers Discuss Expansion to Overseas Markets
Recently the SPforum Blog, the largest microblog dedicated to the Mobile Internet industry in China, held a forum with topics on how Chinese game developers can expand to overseas markets. The discussion was lively, and more than 100 top Chinese game developers participated.
Some highlights from the forum include:
- Participants agreed that it is high time for the Chinese game developers to go global. As more opportunities have become available. Many agreed that Chinese developers should be more open and look beyond China to overseas markets. “We will be changed if we cannot change ourselves first,” said Zhishang Wang, CEO of SPforum Microblog.
- Chinese developers should develop multi-language games for smart phones while developing single-language games for feature phones (non-smart phones). “It is better to develop games in several language versions at the same time since the smart phone AppStore is more often on a global scale,” said Gang Wu, CEO of WiSTONE Entertainment, a famous mobile game developer in China.
- Games for smart phones can be distributed to Europe, Asia, and Latin America, while games for feature phones should be distributed to countries where Chinese feature phones are exported mostly, such as Vietnam, Thailand, Russia, Brazil, Nigeria, etc.
- Games for Android can be distributed through third party Android Market. With China, for example, EOE and 1Mobile would be the most popular. These markets already have a large number of users in overseas markets. Games for feature phones can be distributed through the Sky-Mobi Platform, which is the largest Chinese AppStore in feature phones covering users in over 80 countries.
- Game developers should adopt several payment solutions for its games and users will choose the best solution by themselves. The suggested payment solutions are Boku, Zong, Paypal, B.Shark, etc. B.Shark is the leading mobile payment solution provider in China that have premium short codes in 116 countries, covering 300+ operators, and B.Shark can offer faster after-sales service for Chinese game developers comparing with foreign payment solution providers.
“Chinese game developers should take advantage of Chinese resources when expanding to overseas market, such as quantity of Phone producers in China and those Chinese AppStore solution providers who focus on overseas markets,” said Zhongyuan Zhang, COO of B.Shark.
Source: B.Shark
Columbia Credit Union Deploys mFoundry Platform for Mobile Banking
mFoundry today announced Columbia Credit Union (CU), based in Vancouver, Washington, is the latest credit union to deploy mBanking, mFoundry’s SaaS-based mobile banking platform.
The new Columbia CU Mobile offering leverages mFoundry’s multi-mode mobile banking solution, providing Columbia Credit Union members with mobile Web, mobile apps and text banking options. Columbia CU’s mobile banking applications include versions for Apple iPhone, Google Android and RIM BlackBerry devices.
“With Columbia CU Mobile, we wanted to provide another touch point for our members, making it easier for them to do business with us,” said Steve Kenny, CEO, Columbia Credit Union. “Our members now have the convenience of being able to access their accounts 24/7 through the mobile mode they find most compelling.”
Columbia CU Mobile lets members check their account balances and transaction history, transfer funds, pay bills and locate branches and ATMs, all from their mobile device.
“When we looked for a mobile banking partner that could help us serve our members better, we wanted a provider that could credibly deliver all three modes – Web, apps and SMS – but also had experience working with our other technology partners,” said Jen Shefner, Assistant Vice President, E-Commerce, and the mobile banking project lead for Columbia Credit Union. “We selected mFoundry for its long history of success working with credit unions and its innovative platform, which will allow Columbia CU to add new technologies in the future.”
“Columbia CU is one of the most innovative credit unions in the U.S.,” said Drew Sievers, CEO of mFoundry. “They have a strong commitment to staying ahead of the technology curve to provide services to enhance the lives of their members, both in terms of convenience and improved management of their finances on the go. We look forward to helping them continue to enhance the mobile banking experience for their members with features like mobile deposit or mobile alerts.”
mFoundry has extensive experience serving credit unions with mobile banking solutions, counting 425 financial institutions as clients including more than 150 credit unions. Through its direct relationships with credit unions, and its strategic partnerships with organizations like CO-OP Financial Services, Open Solutions, and COCC, mFoundry has made a firm commitment to supporting the unique needs that credit union members have for mobile banking solutions.
“After one week, 6.6% of our online banking users had already registered, and adoption continues to grow as word gets out,” added Shefner “That’s a phenomenal response considering our six month goal of 8%. Since we anticipated a strong demand, it was imperative to quickly provide a top-notch solution. mFoundry helped us implement in approximately four months.”
Source: PRNewswire
Mobile Payment Service Fee Structures
The top mobile payment systems all work very similarly, but carry different fee structures. Each one charges a percentage per transaction and sometimes a flat fee per use. For example, mobile payment company Square charges 2.75% for a transaction that uses the swipe accessory. For transactions that are keyed in manually, Square charges 3.5% and a flat fee of $.15. PayAnywhere always charges a flat fee of $.19 per transaction but lowers its cut to 2.69% for swiped purchases and 3.4% for those keyed in manually.
Read more, via Detroit Free Press.
Merchant Perfect Offers Mobile Payment Processing for iPhone, Blackberry And Android Devices
Merchant Perfect offers a suite of personalized customer service, technology options, and competitive rates for small businesses, and recently introduced services that allow clients the ability to process credit card payments via mobile devices like the Blackberry, iPhone, and Android phones.
Merchant Perfect is a private processing company dedicated to serving the credit card processing services of businesses ranging from the small corner store to major web based storefronts. According to the company, each client receives an individual representative to assist with every aspect of their credit card payment processing account from set up to expansion, and the company’s technical support specialists are available at all times to make sure the client is processing sales without problems. Merchant Perfect also provides hi-tech processing terminals free of charge.
Source: PR Web
Mobile Banking Gets Riskier
“Digital wallets” that let consumers pay with the swipe of a smartphone could make the plastic credit card obsolete. But the technology also could chip away at consumers’ privacy—and tempt them to spend more than they otherwise would.Using a technology known as “near-field communications,” or NFC, consumers will be able to buy items simply by passing their phones in front of a sensor at the checkout counter. The problem, some critics say, is that the ability of merchants, coupon services and others to extract more information about where people shop and what they purchase amounts to an invasion of privacy.
Read more, via WSJ.com.
Gartner Casts a Shadow on Mobile Banking in Australia
Gartner’s senior analyst for the financial sector has cast doubts on whether Australian banks should invest heavily in mobile banking applications and near field communication (NFC) payment systems, as Australian banks have struggled to profit from mobile banking applications, with the majority of customers using the app’s to check account balances rather than making genuine transactions.
Banking executives have raised similar concerns, questioning whether mobile banking applications offered enough real estate to serve as a portal for directing customers to more profitable banking services.
Read more, via iTnews.com.au.
eBay to Acquire Mobile Carrier Billing Provider, Zong
-eBay Inc. announced today that it has agreed to acquire Zong, a leading provider of payments through mobile carrier billing, for total consideration of approximately $240 million in cash.
Zong leverages connections with more than 250 mobile network operators around the world, offering localized, secure and easy-to-use payments capabilities for digital goods and services in 21 languages and 45 countries. Combined with PayPal’s leading global payment platform serving 100 million active accounts worldwide, the company expects that Zong will add complementary technology and talent that help strengthen PayPal’s leadership position in mobile payments and digital goods. [Read more…]
MOBIbucks Secures $5 Million in Series A Financing
MOBIbucks, a provider of cardless mobile payment and marketing solutions, announced today it has raised $5 million in Series A funding.
Acadia Woods Partners, a New York-based technology, media and life science venture capital firm, led the round which also included the participation of several new and original angel investors. The investment fuels MOBIbucks’ rapid growth in key markets around the world and funds customer service in support of new installations. [Read more…]
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