Archive for the ‘Mobile banking’ Category

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NFC is high on the agenda at MWC.

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Near-field communication (NFC) could be the breakthrough technology of 2011, some analysts predict.

NFC allows for a wide variety of data transfers over a short distance, and is currently most frequently used to take mobile payments.

At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, manufacturers are looking to capitalise on the technology already in use by Google and Nokia.

Speaking in Barcelona, Google’s chief executive officer Eric Schmidt said that mobile payments and NFC technology are set to take the mobile world by storm in 2011.

Google are due to launch a range of new Android smartphones that are equipped with the technology in order to make waves in the industry. 

NFC is also rumoured to be a feature on Apple’s next generation of the iPhone.

It remains to be seen which other manufacturers will adopt this technology for the next wave of smartphones to hit the high street.

Jamie Stokes is Marketing Assistant at Total Ltd – a business to business service provider, delivering genuine solutions across all core telecommunication services, based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Total Ltd is a business that brings together and unifies all the component parts. For up to the minute business telecommunications news, please view the Total Ltd blog

Posted in Business Mobiles, Email, Internet, Mobile banking | 1 Comment »

Get Online week (18 – 24 October 2010) gets underway.

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

Surprisingly, more than 9 million Britons have never used the internet but this figure is set to change with the introduction of the week-long Get Online campaign.

The scheme, which will see some celebrity figures using the internet for the first time, aims to introduce more people to the internet whilst showing them that it can be used to help them save both time and money.

Web user events are currently being promoted across the UK, with companies such as Google, McDonalds and the BBC all getting involved to offer free web training and other similar initiatives.

Recent research carried out by UK Online Centres discovered that a third of new internet users understood that they had already saved over £100 by being online.

To see how you can get involved visit: http://www.getonlineweek.com/

Posted in Business Broadband, Email, Internet, Mobile banking, WiFi | 1 Comment »

mWomen initiative aims to halve the mobile phone ‘gender gap’.

Friday, October 8th, 2010

The programme, championed by Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aims to provide 150 million women worldwide with access to mobile phone technology and services.

Research has shown that a woman living in sub-Saharan Africa is 23% less likely than a man to own a mobile phone.

In the Middle East, this figure grows to 24% and in South Asia it rises again to 37%, according to the study by the GSM Association.

Overall, the results showed that 300 million fewer women than men in developing countries owned a mobile phone.

Both Blair and Clinton hope that the initiative will halve the mobile phone ‘gender gap’ that is currently seen.

As part of the programme, specially created tariffs for women will be introduced alongside a female-specific handset.

A survey undertaken by the GSMA has revealed that more than half of all female business owners in poor countries report earning more money due to their mobile phone.

It is hoped that by introducing more women to the benefits of mobile phone technology, the positive results will have a ripple effect on families and the wider community.

As more women develop small businesses and gain financial independence, these women will then reinvest in their families and within the local communities, creating the potential for transformation in developing countries.

Seventeen global mobile phone operators have already signed up to the mWomen programme, each contributing to a combined pledge of £6.2 million.

Posted in Business Mobiles, Mobile banking | 1 Comment »

Mobile banking is set to generate almost 90 billion text messages per year by 2015.

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

According to a new study by Juniper Research, new SMS mobile banking alerts will treble the volume of mobile banking messages to almost 90 billion per annum by 2015.

This equates to one message being sent every two days to each mobile banking user.

Juniper’s report revealed that there are opportunities for banks to offer new messaging services alongside basic balance requests and transaction alerts.

Banks are said to be seeing these new process alerts as an outlet through which to speed up customer communications during applications for products such as loans and mortgages.

Many people find receiving a text message to be more convenient than waiting on hold whilst trying to connect to a call centre.

However, the report highlighted the fact that some banks have yet to seize the opportunities that mobile banking provides.

Whilst 80% of banks currently offer a mobile banking service, Western Europe is predicted to be the region with the highest concentration of users in 2015.

Posted in Mobile banking | 1 Comment »

Mobile banking is set to close the gap in poverty.

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Almost 3 billion people living in the developing world do not have access to any type of financial service. Yet interestingly, 1 billion people throughout Africa, Latin America and Asia own a mobile handset.

Mobile banking is a powerful way to deliver savings services to people across the world who own a mobile phone but do not have access to a bank account.

Many companies have seized this opportunity to bridge the gap, changing the way in which people in developing countries transfer money. As a direct result, mobile money services are now appearing at a very high rate.

The mobile industry group GSMA has revealed that the figure for mobile money systems in operation across the globe now stands at 65, with a further 82 due to be launched.

M-Pesa in Kenya provides a basic service allowing users to perform money transfers. The service attracted 9.4 million Kenyans in just under three years. Building on its success, M-Pesa is now partnering with Kenya’s Equity Bank which will offer subscribers a savings account, called M-Kesho.

These virtual bank accounts will allow customers to earn interest on their money and access credit and insurance products. The strength in savings and investments can make a huge difference. It is hoped that this service will remain popular and may, in time, help to secure a route out of poverty.

Posted in Mobile banking | 7 Comments »

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