All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Libya trials m-payments platform
Telco company Nokia Siemens Networks and mobile money technology provider MoreMagic Solutions have partnered to develop Mobile Payment Solutions (MPS) targeted at unbanked consumers.The MPS platform interconnects consumers, retailers, financial institutions and other members of the mobile commerce and financial services chain, where it aims to enable the delivery of money transfers, mobile banking and payments and NFC proximity payments.”We are very excited about the growth in the mobile payments space in general and about mobile money and NFC payments in particular, said Rick Centeno, head of charging, billing and care at Nokia Siemens Networks.
IT companies collaborate on m-payments
IT services provider Atos Origin and security company CASSIS International are working together to make mobile NFC services available across Europe.
Visa launches PFM service
Visa Inc has jumped on the Personal Financial Management (PFM) bandwagon as it looks to give its account holders the ability to control spending and monitor budgets. The service is powered by Visas global processing network, VisaNet and provides debit, credit and prepaid cardholders with a mobile SMS text, email and online spend management tool, allowing them to set a purchase threshold for various accounts. The technology also claims to alert consumers when their aggregate spending exceeds pre-set levels.
Voice Commerce moves into e-money issuing
Biometrics and payments services provider Voice Commerce Group has launched an e-money issuing division, and recruited Lindsay Harben to lead it.
UK SMEs use unreliable funding methods
Nearly half of UK businesses rely on unreliable funding methods such as credit cards, according to finance broker Hilton-Baird Financial Solutions SME Trends Index. The six-monthly survey of 717 business and financial directors showed 44% are using their plastic as working capital and 49% of SMEs turn to bank overdrafts to fund their business.
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DOCOMO and KT develop cross-border NFC
Japanese mobile operator NTT DOCOMO and South korean telco KT Corporation have announced that they are working together to develop cross-border near field communication services
US revolving credit on the rise
After two years of gloomy and depressing financial results, there is finally cause for celebration as the Federal Reserve reveals US revolving credit has risen for the first time since 2008.The Feds report on December consumer borrowing showed revolving credit increased by $2.3bn, or 3.5%, to $800.5bn. The last time credit-card debt showed an increase was in August 2008, a month before investment bank Lehman Brothers filed from bankruptcy.
Banks must adapt to payment changes – BCG
Banks must adapt to the sweeping changes in the payments industry and weather the interchange storm if they are to reverse payments-based revenue fortunes, said a new report by management consulting firm The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).The report, Global Payments 2011: Winning After the Storm, believes strong payments businesses have shown severe weaknesses in previous years. Banks must determine whether their current business and operating models are suited for todays shifting industry dynamics. It claims that banks seeking to expand their payments businesses must strive to minimise organisational complexity.
Discover extends its reach in LatAm
Discover has signed a deal with Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (BPPR) in a bid to expand its card acceptance on the Latin American island.Under the agreement it is claimed the banks merchant base will be allowed access to cardholders spending on the Discover and Diners Club International networks.
NFC within reach of Google’s Android
Inside Secure has announced the availability of their Open NFC protocol for the Google Android 2.3 ‘Gingerbread’ smartphones.Produced by semiconductor solution firm Inside Secure, Open NFC claims to offer chip vendors, smartphone manufacturers, wireless carriers and software developers a way to implement NFC functionality independently of the underlying NFC hardware.