Partnership aims to develop a mobile commerce solution for financial institutions

MasterCard has announced that it has partnered with Monitise, makers of a popular mobile banking and payments platform. Together, the two companies will work to deliver a new mobile payments service that is designed to be used by financial institutions throughout the world. Financial institutions are beginning to feel pressure to engage mobile consumers more as these consumers become more reliant on their mobile devices. Without providing these consumers with mobile-centric services, they may seek out other institutions that accommodate their interests more effectively.

Financial institutions are feeling the need to accommodate the interests of mobile-centric consumers

Both MasterCard and Monitise have extensive experience in the mobile commerce field. Both companies currently have mobile commerce platforms that are available to the public and these platforms are used throughout the world. The new platform the companies are developing through their partnership is expected to have higher levels of security in order to help financial institutions address some of the concerns that consumers have regarding mobile commerce.

Security remains a major issue in the mobile commerce field, but consumers are still willing to shop from their mobile devices

Security has been a problem in the mobile commerce field for some time. Because mobile commerce deals in the trafficking of financial information, it has become a very popular target for hackers and other malicious groups. Consumers have often criticized the mobile commerce platforms they have used in the past as not being secure enough. Several high profile cyber attacks on large retailers have also called into question whether the mobile commerce sector is taking security as seriously as it should.

Financial institutions that do not accommodate mobile consumers could become irrelevant in the future

While consumers are concerned for the security of their financial information, security concerns have done little to stop them from actually participating in mobile payments. The demand for convenient mobile commerce platforms has been growing at a rapid pace as consumers become more comfortable with the concept of mobile payments. Financial institutions that are unable or unwilling to accommodate this demand may find themselves becoming increasingly irrelevant to mobile-centric consumers.

The Justice Department has now filed charges, to which the two accused men have pled guilty.

In a historical case in technology news, two men who have been accused of owning a mobile app piracy site for Android devices have now pled guilty to the charges that had been filed against them by the Department of Justice.

This is the first time that the Department of Justice has landed counterfeit application distribution convictions.

This week, Nicholas Anthony Narbone gave his plea of “guilty” to a single count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. The second man, Thomas Allen Dye, the “co-conspirator” to Narbone, according to the Department of Justice, also entered his guilty plea, though his was made for the same charge earlier on in March.

Both Narbone and Dye were both overseeing a pirate mobile app distribution site.

Through Appbucket.net, which was labeled an “alternative online market”, authorities have alleged that the two men managed to illegally distribute over 1 million copies of the apps that were each copyrighted. Those illegal downloads would have totaled over $700,000 in value, according to federal prosecutors. Moreover, they were distributed without having received any consent from the developers of those applications.

In 2012, American law enforcement agencies seized two different android piracy websites, one of which was Appbucket. Similar charges have been laid with regards to the SnappzMarket.com website. In that caise Kody Peterson, a 22 year old, is suspected of being the individual behind that market and has had government charges filed against him. That site, which was targeted by federal authorities, is believed to have robbed mobile app development companies of an even larger sum of money.

According to prosecutors, the pirated app distribution that ran from May 2011 to August 2012 led to approximately 1 million downloads which would have been worth an estimated $1.7 million. As Peterson did not receive any mention in the press release that was issued on the subject by the Department of Justice, it can be assumed that the case is likely ongoing.

In the mobile app piracy case involving Narbone (who is 26 years old) and Dye (who is 21 years old), the sentencing will occur on July 8th and June 12th, respectively. Both of those individuals could spend up to 5 years in jail.