Move over cloud and converged communications as there is a new big shot trend in the tech space right now – mobile banking.
Mobile banking, which allows for consumer purchases to be made through smartphones, is on its way to becoming the "new norm.” In fact, recent research from TNS (News - Alert) found that more people than ever are turning to their beloved BlackBerrys and Androids to access financial services.
In the UK, for example, the number of people using mobile banking rose from 9.7 percent last year to 20 percent in 2011. Those numbers soar even higher when it comes to countries such as China, Brazil and Kenya where mobile baking reached close to 100 percent as banks transitioned from traditional models to mobile devices. The USA, Singapore and Sweden re right behind these countries as banks in those countries are offering more and more services from the palm of your hand.
With mobile banking, consumers can now check balances, move money, pay bills and increasingly buy goods and services using their handsets.
“Our insights from the study demonstrate that in more mature markets, mobile banking is simply a matter of convenience, and largely an extension of the PC online experience; however in developing markets mobile may provide an entry point to banking for millions of ‘people, in countries where banking infrastructure is poor, and banking restrictions create barriers,” Bob Neuhaus, global finance sector head at TNS, said.
One company that has made quite a splash in the mobile banking market is Tyfone – a leader in mobile financial services. Founded in 2004, the Portland, Ore.-based company boasts turnkey infrastructure designed to promote device and carrier independence for mobile financial services for the world’s leading organizations.
“Today mobile devices are at the heart of commerce, because for the first time a networked device in your hands has relevance for both online and offline at POS commerce, since it is ‘always’ with you and ‘always’ connected,” Dr. Siva G. Narendra, CTO and co-founder of Tyfone, told TMCnet in a recent interview.
For the past seven years, Tyfone has honed its mission statement of connecting money and mobility and then connecting identity and mobility in a neutral container.
In a market rife with mobile banking providers, Tyfone distinguishes itself by being the only company that is capable of starting with mobile banking for online transactions with software authentication and ending with mobile payments for offline at POS transactions. This all in one infrastructure, which can be used on any device, can also enable online transactions with hardware security on any device.
To read more about Tyfone’s mobile banking services, click here.
Carrie Schmelkin is a Web Editor for TMCnet. Previously, she worked as Assistant Editor at the New Canaan Advertiser, a 102-year-old weekly newspaper, covering news and enhancing the publication's social media initiatives. Carrie holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in English from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by Rich Steeves
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