NEWS
We are constantly reminded by news stories how complex it can be to secure mobile banking and payments apps. A recent study* has found that 11% percent of Android banking apps are suspicious, which is enough to frighten many banking app service providers and their end-users. Should suspicious apps turn malicious, they can attempt to collect customer credentials, initiate communication… Continue reading >>
In a UK first, Barclays has announced it will be the first British bank to allow people to pay each other and small businesses via Twitter payments using just their Twitter handle. Launching on both Android phones and iOS devices next month (Tuesday 10th March), Twitter payments through Pingit will expand the existing service to social media and a potential 13.5 million… Continue reading >>
The sub-Saharan mobile money market is set to provide telcos and banks with as much as $1.5 billion in fees by 2019, according to research from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Banks and MNOs can capitalise on growth opportunities because with the exception of M-Pesa-dominated Kenya, there are no countries in the region that have seen one dominant player establish… Continue reading >>
UK banks RBS and NatWest are leveraging Apple’s biometric Touch ID function for fingerprint log-in to mobile banking apps on the iPhone. In what the banks claim is a UK first, the technology is being rolled out due to feedback from customers. RBS claims that the mobile phone is now its busiest customer channel, with over 167,000 of RBS and… Continue reading >>
Global smartphone sales set a new milestone in the fourth quarter of 2014, reaching $115 billion for the quarter, an increase of 20% year-on-year, according to data from research firm GfK. The number of units sold globally increased to almost 346 million, up 19% on the same period in 2013. In Q4 2014, all regions saw year-on-year growth in smartphones,… Continue reading >>
The Kaspersky Lab study ‘Financial Cyber Threats in 2014’ reports that 28.8% of phishing attacks in 2014 were intended to steal financial data from users. While carrying out their scams, cyber criminals have shifted their focus from bank brands to payment systems and online shopping sites. Cybercriminals used the names of well-known banks in 16.3% of attacks; in 2013, the… Continue reading >>
Rabobank, one of the largest financial institutions in the Netherlands, is now offering its customers a mobile payment and mobile value added service via its mobile payment app. Dutch consumers are now able to use their Samsung S4 and Note 3 smartphones to pay for their shopping, check balances, store loyalty cards and to redeem digital vouchers via Near Field Communication (NFC) in shops… Continue reading >>
It will be increasingly difficult for banks to simply invest in doing the banking business digitally.Up to half of the world’s banks will disappear due to the digital disruption of the industry, forecasts BBVA chairman and CEO Francisco Gonzalez. Speaking to the press as the bank reported a 25% uplift in profits to €2.62 billion, Gonzalez said that competition from fintech startups… Continue reading >>
In her first interview since taking charge at Santander and as part of the FT’s “Democratising finance” series, Ms Botín, the new head of the Eurozones biggest bank – Santander, says she aims to put the bank at the forefront of digital innovation, while keeping all options open in case the widely forecast internet revolution in banking takes longer than… Continue reading >>
Bharti Airtel, India’s leading telecoms operator, has applied for a banking license, in a potential breakthrough for the country’s under-developed mobile-banking industry. The first telecoms group to declare its intention to enter formally the banking sector, Airtel hopes to upgrade its existing pre-paid payments service, Airtel Money, into what is known in India as a payments bank, which offers remittances… Continue reading >>
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