Mobile Commerce

Just as banks are starting to jump back into the mobile-banking market, a research report has emerged to indicate consumers may still not be ready to use their handsets for transaction services. Only 8% of online users who own a cell phone say they are interested in using the device …

First Data Corp. this week captured big headlines with its $29 billion plan to go private (Digital Transactions News, April 2), but another development at the company could also have a significant long-term impact on the electronic-transactions business. The big processor late last month reported it has licensed patents from …

Mobile-payments processor Obopay Inc. expects to have at least 20 merchants accepting transactions through its new platform by the end of the year, a top executive with the Redwood City, Calif.-based company says. Obopay introduced its so-called mobile merchant platform, which extends the 2-year-old processor's reach beyond person-to-person payments into …

The new mobile-banking application unveiled by Citigroup Inc. this week will penetrate more than half of the banking giant's U.S. consumer accounts within five years, an executive at Citi says. The application, dubbed Citi Mobile and set to debut Friday in California, represents the first rollout of an electronic-banking and …

It has been a busy week for mobile banking and payments, with an announcement from Firethorn Holdings Inc. about new bank and carrier signings; from Metavante Corp. about a joint venture to launch a U.S. mobile-payments service; from ViVOtech about a new service to allow over-the-air provisioning of event tickets; …

Two organizations that serve major U.S. banks are studying diverse mobile-payments projects around the world and hope to issue within the next 60 days recommendations for financial institutions to follow in this country. The effort, spearheaded by representatives of The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC and the Financial Services Technology …

Digital games are ringing up solid increases in sales on mobile phones in the U.S., but face rising competition from emerging content like video and full-track music, according to a report released on Monday. Games sold on mobile operators' portals reached $151 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of …

PayPal Inc. will introduce a new service for its mobile-payments product, PayPal Mobile, that will allow users to make remote purchases from merchants that have mobile Web sites. Kevin Dulsky, senior director and general manager for PayPal Mobile, revealed the new service during a panel discussion at a prepaid card …

Discover Financial Services LLC on Tuesday reported that it would use Motorola Inc.'s M-Wallet technology for a test of contactless payments and account management using cellular phones. The pilot not only represents another step by Discover on its road to network-wide contactless payments, but it's also significant for Motorola, which …

Since its launch last April, PayPal Inc.'s m-commerce service, PayPal Mobile, has built an attractive portfolio of original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and brands that want to sell direct to consumers. The list includes Fox Home Entertainment (DVDs), Sony BMG (CDs), NBC/Bravo (television-show merchandise), and the National Basketball Association (team- and …