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Cingular to launch mobile banking
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Cingular Wireless is planning on launching a mobile banking service early next year that would allow subscribers to check account balances, transfer funds and pay bills through their mobile phones. Cingular is teaming up with Firethorn Holdings to launch the service. Currently no banks have greenlit the service, but I assume that's why the carrier is waiting a few more months to launch. Firethorn argues that banks have an incentive to offer the service because it creates flexibility for their customers. Much like content providers, my guess is the banks are wary of security on the mobile platform.
Mobile payments are already in the market and include Amp'd's Obopay services and eBay's mobile PayPal service which makes use of SMS. Nokia and MasterCard are pushing the "mobile wallet" and just today Visa announced its mobile payment vision: "secure, over-the-air delivery of payment account information to the mobile device, access to point-of-sale mobile payments using Visa Contactless and Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, as well as remote payments delivered through secure mobile messaging and the mobile Internet."
For more on Cingular's mobile banking service:
- take a look at this article from the WSJ (sub. req.)
Comments
Posted by jchesky | November 15, 2006 - 5:44pm
The discovery that the easier it is for you make payment, the more likely it is that you will receive payment, is no surprise to many a municipality. Parking authorities in many a city reported increased income when they began taking credit cards at parking meters. (Same number of cars, just more money)
So, will we see parking as something that can end up being paid out through the phone? Why not?
In fact, I could see some cities asking cellular carriers if it would be possible to have the meter alert people when the meter is about to run out. The message would be; hello, send money. Hey, that sounds like a call from your kid at college. Maybe it would just say; hello, you are running out of time. Wow! Ain’t that true?
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