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.
HTC Invests in Shanghai F-road
HTC Corporation is continuing its investment in mobile communications service and technologies. Lately, the company announced to invest USD 5.5 million in Shanghai F-road Commercial Services Co., Ltd., a mobile payment service provider in Mainland China. HTC will have a seat in the board of Shanghai F-road. Earlier, in November 2010, the company put USD 2.5 million in NetQin Mobile Inc., a leading provider of mobile security services.
Since Web sites of banks are easy to be attacked by hackers, Shanghai F-road develops mobile bankcards in combination with SIM cards and chips, which will be connected with the data centers of banks and avoid security risks. Currently, the company’s customers include rural commercial banks in Jiangsu and Chongqing.