Tag: mobile security

The British authority will enable smartphone and tablet funds transfers among all bank accounts.

The Payments Council in the United Kingdom has announced that the launch of its mobile payments service in 2014 will enable funds transfers among all bank accounts in the country.

Support has already been expressed by Barclays Bank, which will be taking part in the movement.

Barclays Bank has stated that it is in favor of mobile payments, but it will not be alone in providing the service. According to the Payments Council, by the spring of 2014, it will have made it possible for 90 percent of British banks to offer this type of smartphone friendly service.

Customers at Barclays are already using mobile payments through the Pingit app.

This application allows smartphone users to be able to make payments to any bank account in the United Kingdom, provided that the smartphone number of the recipient is on the contact list of the sender.

There are currently eight financial institutions – comprising 90 percent of the current bank accounts in the United Kingdom – which have already made their commitment to offering the new mobile payments service as of the spring of next year. It is expected that they will soon be joined by additional banking institutions, as well. Among those that have already signed up are Barclays, Danske Bank, RBS, HSBC, Cumberland Building Society, Lloyds Banking Group, Metro Bank, and Santander.

There has already been a tremendous adoption of the Pingit app, as the first five days following its release saw over 120,000 downloads. Responding to the considerable demand for using mobile payments, Barclays found itself lowering the minimum age of use from 18 years old, to 16 years old. At the same time, it also increased the transaction value limit.

The Payments Council CEO, Adrian Kamellard, said that “The mobile payments project is a fantastic example of the unique role the Payments Council can play in delivering far-reaching, innovative improvements for customers.” He went on to explain that the newly offered service will provide consumers with a convenient and secure way for sending money to a friend, splitting the bill at a restaurant, or paying a contractor without having to share any bank account details other than a telephone number.

Samsung Ventures announces backing of Fixmo

Samsung Ventures, the investment branch of the massive South Korean Samsung Group, has thrown its support behind Fixmo, a developer of mobile software. Fixmo has a very acute focus on the realm of mobile security. The company typically caters to enterprises and government clients, offering a variety of risk management and security tools for mobile devices. Samsung Ventures believes that the company holds a great deal of promise, especially as the world becomes more reliant on mobile technology.

Mobile security continues to attract attention of large companies

Mobile security has become a very serious issue across a variety of industries and channels. Consumers are becoming more reliant on their smart phones and tablets to function in their daily lives. Phenomena like mobile commerce are great examples as to how mobile technology is beginning to play a more important role throughout the world. Because consumers have a tendency to share or store very valuable information on their smart phones and tablets, these devices have also become prime targets for hackers and anyone interested in exploiting this information for some form of gain.

Investments will help Fixmo with research and development

Fixmo notes that the investments coming from Samsung Ventures will help the company continue its research and development projects. Samsung has been working to get more involved in the mobile security space recently, especially where it concerns enterprise. The company is not the only one showing interest in Fixmo, however. Last year, Motorola also partnered with Fixmo in order to get more involved with mobile security and help make progress in this particular field.

Samsung may be looking to compete with RIM for enterprises

Samsung may be strategically positioning itself to compete with one of the largest companies that has made several breakthroughs in the field of mobile security: Research In Motion (RIM). RIM is gearing up for the release of the BlackBerry 10, which is expected to be one of the most popular mobile devices for enterprises around the world. The BlackBerry platform has long catered to enterprise clients and offers a variety of security features that make it more viable than mobile devices coming from other companies.