October 15th, 2013 by Elma Jane
Banking and payments technology provider FIS and City National Bank, a private and business bank, have partnered to pilot FIS’s Cardless Cash Access at City National ATMs in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. The solution lets consumers stage an ATM transaction from their mobile devices.
City National plans to introduce the emerging technology to clients in its three largest markets early next year, according to an FIS announcement, continuing FIS’ rollout of the solution at banks and ATMs in key U.S. locations.
FIS said Cardless Cash Access securely authenticates a user on his or her smartphone. The consumer then uses the phone to select the account and amount of the withdrawal. At the ATM, the consumer scans a QR code on the ATM screen and, within seconds, the cash is dispensed and an e-receipt is sent to the phone.
Consumers continue to look for innovative new ways to engage with their financial institutions via mobile devices, FIS Mobile, said in the release. At the same time, they demand additional security to keep their information safe. Information from Cardless Cash Access is maintained in the cloud, so card data cannot be accessed if the consumer’s phone is lost or stolen – making this a faster, safer, more secure way to make a withdrawal.”
To decrease fraud, FIS said, security within Cardless Cash Access is provided through the app’s authentication and registration of a user’s smartphone, which the company said eliminates card skimming risk and fraud incidents for banks and their clients.
With the proliferation of debit and access to cash at the point of sale, financial institutions are looking for ways to expand the utility of the ATM,” Senior vice president and head of product strategies, Vince Hruska, City National Bank, said in the release. “Cardless Cash Access not only provides a secure and easy way to obtain cash from an ATM, but introduces to the client a new way of looking at ATM use.
Posted in Financial Services Tagged with: account, amount, atm, authenticates, banking, banks, card, cardless, cash, data, e-receipt, emerging, financial, Mobile Devices, national, payments, QR code, securely, Security, Skimming, smartphone, transaction
October 11th, 2013 by Elma Jane
U.S. Bank and Monitise will develop a mobile shopping experience that includes product selection and instant checkout payment capabilities. Leveraging digital and audio watermarking and scanning technology for product discovery, an initial pilot will integrate mobile action codes, mobile shopping and mobile payments.
Mobile money solutions provider Monitise and U.S. Bank announced an agreement to accelerate the delivery of a product discovery and shopping service that the companies say will make it easier for top-tier retailers to help consumers interact with and buy from leading brands via mobile.
“Technology is creating new ways to bank and buy, and U.S. Bank is committed to playing a leading role in the digital commerce revolution as money becomes more mobile,” developing mobile money services has been a key focus for the company.
“As mobile technology accelerates the convergence between the offline and digital worlds of banking, payments and commerce, banks are identifying new revenue streams and driving value for both retailers and consumers,”
Posted in e-commerce & m-commerce, Electronic Payments, Financial Services, Mobile Payments Tagged with: banking, banks, checkout, convergence, electronic, etailers, mobile, mobile action codes, mobile shopping, money, payment, Scanning
September 27th, 2013 by Elma Jane
Mobile Payment Bandwagon
Just this month, September 2013, a number of British retailers announced their partnership with smartphone payment application Zapp, expected to launch summer 2014. Long before that, in November 2012, global coffee chain Starbucks launched a mobile payment system using Square Wallet, allowing customers to pay for their coffees with a simple scan of their smartphone. In China, the mobile payment market tripled in size over the last year, with a growing number of retailers jumping aboard the e-payments trend. Clearly, mobile payments are the new face of commerce…both for consumers and, increasingly, within a B2B setting as well. It may not be long until every type of payment…from mortgages and business loans to utilities bills and income tax…is made through mobiles.
Though it’s a trend that’s now spreading across the globe, the rise of mobile payments can be directly traced back to Africa. It’s an example of how unique conditions give rise to innovative solutions, and how those innovations catch on. Here’s a brief look at the rise of mobile payment technology and at the role Africa has played in its success.
Africa Gets There First – this notion of exchanging funds through a mobile phone really took off in Africa. When M-Pesa was launched by Safaricom in Kenya in 2007, it was a simple solution to issues specific to the region. Kenyans who lived far from banks or couldn’t afford banking fees were given the opportunity to send and receive payments through SMS messages. M-Pesa answered these specific problems, but the concept behind the service has proven to have a far broader reach. After achieving success in Kenya, M-Pesa launched in Tanzania in 2008. Despite getting off to a slow start, the mobile payment services now has 5 million Tanzanian subscribers. It has also launched in South Africa, Afghanistan, India and there’s plans to roll it out in Egypt at some point in 2013.
At the heart of M-Pesa’s success has been efficiency and security. Removing the need to travel to a bank…or even the need to log into online banking…has made the process of transferring funds far easier and faster. Eliminating the need to write a cheque, use cash or enter credit card details has made the process far more secure. Increased efficiency and improved security are qualities that everyone…not just those in the developing world…stands to benefit from.
Thus, though today’s technology has adapted and built upon the M-Pesa model, the world still has Africa…Kenya in particular…to thank for starting the mobile payment revolution.
Posted in Financial Services, Mobile Payments, Smartphone Tagged with: banking, broader, credit card, e-payments, efficiency, fees, global, innovations, innovative, messages, mobile, payment, retailers, Security, services, smartphone, sms, solution, travel
September 20th, 2013 by Elma Jane
U.S. Bank integrates to simplify mobile money transfers with Western Union
U.S. Bank has offered Western Union Money Transfer services since 2009, but now customers can do so via mobile. According to U.S. Bank, it is the first bank in the United States to integrate the Western Union Money Transfer services into its mobile app.
U.S. Bank is collaborating with Western Union to let U.S. Bank customers use the Western Union Money Transfer services via the U.S. Bank mobile application. “Adding Western Union enhances overall digital money movement strategy.”
“Primary goal is to make it easier for customers to send money on any device to anyone across the country or around the world.” Giving customers the most convenient banking experience by delivering and allowing customers to bank anywhere and anytime they want.
Money transfer
In order to qualify for the new service, customers must have been a customer of U.S. Bank for at least a year and have a registered mobile phone and eligible deposit account. Western Union Money Transfer services let consumers conveniently pay other consumers via mobile or desktop.
Eligible U.S. Bank mobile banking customers will now see the Western Union logo in the person-to-person money transfer options. Online banking customers will see Western Union as a funds transfer option.
U.S. Bank decided to offer the new service to make moving money as convenient as possible for its customers. Customers will be able to send money around the world from the comfort of their own home.
When consumers receive a payment through the Western Union services, they can be paid in cash and use it immediately.
Mobile banking
U.S. Bank has rolled out a number of mobile initiatives in the past few years.
In July, U.S. Bank integrated with the Square digital wallet, enabling users to fund payments made via the mobile application from their bank account.
Earlier this year, U.S. Bank even offered customers the ability to pay via NFC by providing a customized U.S. Bank Go Mobile iPhone case equipped with NFC technology.
The bank also rolled out mobile photo bill pay services last year to let customers pay their bills by simply snapping a picture of the document using the camera on a smartphone or tablet.
“As device ubiquity grows, as people become more comfortable using their phones for all their banking activities, a lot of new ways to leverage a phone’s capabilities to make banking easier for customers, customers expect their bank to offer a full rich set of money management and movement capabilities on their phones, tablets and laptops.”
Posted in Digital Wallet Privacy, Electronic Payments, Mobile Payments Tagged with: banking, mobile, money, nfc, payment, transfers, U.S. Bank, US Bank, western union
September 20th, 2013 by Elma Jane
Citi expands real-time mobile services for banks
Citi is ramping up its mobile strategy for banks, which are increasingly looking for real-time access to financial information such as payment status. CitiDirect BE, the company’s online banking platform for financial institutions, has launched two new mobile applications. The Mobile Payment Advisor app enables users to track the status of a payment at any time from any mobile device while the Payments Directory Mobile app provides a database of institutions worldwide that participate in U.S. dollar clearing.
“In existing scenarios, banks rely on servicing tools set up between different correspondent banks to determine the status of their payments.” Citi’s mission is to provide payment status to a larger group of users by offering readily available access points. The result is an enhanced service experience for banks, delivered by a provider aligned to their own objectives.
Payment Status
The feedback Citi has received from its financial institution clients indicates that real-time access to payment status is an important feature they are looking for. With this in mind, the CitiDirect BE Mobile Payment Advisor enables banks, their customers, or third parties to track the status of a payment at any time and from any mobile device, similar to tracking the status of a package. Users will be able to check the up-to-the-minute status of a payment online within seconds. The app requires no installation or user credentials. Users enter the sender reference, amount, currency and value date to search for payment status. The app will also help Citi streamline internal operations by cutting down on the number of calls service centers receive regarding the status of a payment. Citi reports that currently the majority of phone calls to a given service center are payment status inquiries. Such calls can take several minutes to complete and involve multiple parties.
Next Mobile Frontier
The Payments Directory Mobile app addresses the need to simplify the process of choosing from one of thousands of correspondent banks to route a payment. “Citi has at its disposal a vast repository of information to determine the best route of making a payment successfully, across multiple geographies.” This information is available to clients in physical form, CD-rom, through an electronic banking platform, and making it available on a mobile platform was a logical extension for sophisticated and innovation-focused client base.” Users can quickly search for clearing intermediaries with filtering preferences. With businesses executives having a mobile device nearby almost all the time, Citi recognizes that corporate apps are the next frontier for mobile. As such, the company is mobilizing its online banking applications little by little as part of its overall digital strategy. “In the payments space within correspondent banking, mobile tools have been launched to very receptive and excited clients.” These new channels allow them to harness Citi’s global presence and expect an upward trend in adoption of these tools by significant financial institutions client base.”
Posted in Mobile Payments, Smartphone Tagged with: banking, electronic, mobile, onine, payments
