Category: Mobile Payments

According to a new report, the large financial institutions are falling behind with the latest tech.

Despite the fact that mobile banking and payments are right at our doorstep and are being used at an increasing rate, in Canada, almost half of all banking execs don’t believe that they have the IT systems, infrastructure, and processes in place to be able to meet present – let alone future – customer needs and expectations over their smartphones.

The report was entitled “Banks: Customers Expect That You’re Always On and Available, Are You Ready?”

The report was made by CenturyLink and it pointed out that even some of the central services still require better IT. It pointed out that when it come to mobile banking and technology, about 40 percent of C-level financial execs who were surveyed didn’t feel that the IT infrastructure was in place for meeting the basic banking service needs to the level of customer expectations. CenturyLink’s managing director of financial services, Roji Oommen, said that “To stay competitive in a technology-driven marketplace, Canadian banks must be both financial institutions and mobile technology innovators.”

While mobile banking may not yet be keeping up with technology, it’s not that the resources aren’t out there.

The hope that CenturyLink certainly has from the insight in this report is that the banks will see that it and companies like it area already offering the types of services that will help those financial institutions to get themselves on the right path. These strategic technology partners do actually have the potential to spot the mobile tech solutions that are needed and to help in their integration – if not implement them on behalf of those Canadian banks.

The report also determined that 78 percent of banking execs in the country felt that customer demand for improved mobile banking and technology based services would cause them to be required to do more outsourcing. It stated that when those execs were asked about what parts of their IT are currently being outsourced, 86 percent said that they did so for IT infrastructure requirements, while another 72 percent said that they were outsourcing for their IT security.

Paytm intends to launch its own bank in India in the near future

Paytm, an Indian electronic and mobile commerce organization, has announced plans to establish India’s first payments bank. The company intends to leverage its extensive mobile commerce experience, especially when it comes to mobile wallets, to establish a lead in the financial sector. The company has already found success in the mobile space by offering consumers access to its mobile wallet platform, which is expected to reach 150 million users by March 2016.

Several companies have been approved to launch their own banks in the country

Paytm is among 42 companies that have received approval from the Indian government to launch payment banks. The banks will take deposits and provide remittance and payment services. These banks are expected to be quite useful for migrant workers that need to send money to their home country. The banks will be unable to issue loans, however, but they will be able to provide a wealth of services to consumers that still do not have bank accounts.

Paytm will see relatively little competition with its new bank

Operating in the mobile commerce space has given Paytm the experience it needs to find success with its payment bank. The company is expected to launch its payment bank before its competitors, which will give it a significant edge. Alibaba, a Chinese company that has established a major presence in the mobile commerce space, has plans to launch a payment bank of its own through its One97 Communications organization. The company will be significantly slower in launching this bank, however, and Paytm will have streamlined its financial services before any major competition enters the market.

Mobile commerce companies are expanding into new territory

Mobile commerce continues to grow in popularity in India, which has become one of the world’s most attractive mobile markets. As companies specializing in mobile payments find more success, they are beginning to expand into new territory. These companies are bringing more competition into new sectors, which is forcing other companies to provide better services to consumers.