All articles by Louise Naughton
Louise Naughton
Lack of online banking at Metro ‘crazy’
An internet banking expert has described Metro Banks decision to open its doors to customers without online banking as crazy. Paul Love, a business solutions consultant at banking technology vendor ACI Worldwide, expressed caution over UK start-up Metro Bank and its focus on consumer convenience, citing some of its promises as headline grabbing gimmicks. Metro Bank launched last month as a revolutionary new UK high street bank, but with its online banking service still not up and running, it has already received criticism.
PayPal starts standalone unit in Japan
Online payment provider PayPal is to launch independently in Japan, the first time it has entered a market without the presence of parent company eBay, the auction website. eBay has largely been absent in the Japanese market since 2002, conceding to the leading auction market Yahoo Japan It means PayPal will need to sign up merchants and consumers rather than rely on transactions through transactions made on the eBay website, a departure from its usual strategy
US m-payments team tight-lipped on report
None of the US wireless firms entering into an alleged partnership to run a contactless mobile payments venture were willing to comment on rumour or speculation in the press. According to a Bloomberg report, AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile have teamed up to test mobile contactless technology at shops in Atlanta and three other cities in the US It is also expected they will use Discover Financial Services to process payments and Barclays to manage accounts.
Credit unions select Fiserv’s Mobile Money
150 credit unions have implemented US financial services technology solutions provider Fiservs Mobile Money, of which 84 are currently live.
Mobile NFC services to launch in Thailand
Digital security provider Gemalto has joined forces with Thailands Kasikornbank and telecommunications operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) to launch mobile near field communication (NFC) applications in Thailand.
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CreditCall develops smartphone payment app
Specialist payment services provider CreditCall has developed CardEase, a smartphone payment application allowing chip and PIN or magnetic-stripe transactions, available from Autumn this year.
Clear2Pay seals S.Korea m-payments deal
The development of the mobile payments industry will revolutionise the way consumers pay, according to Jean de Crane, COO of technology provider Clear2Pay. De Crane was speaking after Clear2Pay signed a deal in South Korea to provide the Korean Electric Testing Institute (KETI) with three of its mobile payment test suite solutions Korea is one of the most established mobile payments markets in the world, but there are signs there will be a widespread deployment of m-payments services by banks in the US and Europe in the second half of this year.
Vodafone and Doha Bank team on remittances
Vodafone has teamed up with Doha Bank to launch a mobile money transfer service allowing consumers in Qatar to send money locally and internationally via their handsets. According to a statement, the Vodafone Money Transfer (VMT) service will be tested over the next few months to gain Qatar Central Bank approval before it is rolled out across the country at the beginning of next year. Doha Bank makes a great partner for Vodafone Money Transfer, they have the progressive attitude towards new technology and new business models which are needed to make this work. said Grahame Maher, Vodafone Qatar’s CEO.Once Vodafone Money Transfer launches, it will establish Qatar as a leader in mobile financial services and contribute to His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani’s, Emir of Qatar’s 2030 vision.
CPNI enhances its P2P platform
Customers whose bank does not participate in person to person (P2P) payment services can still use the new technology under PATsend, the latest release of the PAT (Phone Authorised Transfer) solution set by Canadian mobile commerce solution provider CPNI.
Barclaycard launches cross border online service
Barclaycard SmartPay, an online payment processing system designed to help its e-commerce customers manage their cross-border payments will be launched this summer.