Tag: secure mobile payments

Mobile payments added to Opera smartphone browser

| February 4, 2013

Mobile Payments Opera and NeomobileThe software team based in Norway will be partnering with Neomobile out of Italy.

Opera Software has just announced that it will be working with Neomobile, a specialist in direct carrier billing, in order to provide the users of the Opera Mini browser to make one click mobile payments from their smartphones in order to make purchases of digital content.

The purchases can be made quickly and easily and the total amount is added to the user’s cell phone bill.

The company stated that there are over 208 million people who are already using the app in order to access the web. An additional 21 million are using Opera Mobile. The hope is that the new partnership will result in operator billing on the Opera Payment Exchange (OPX).

The OPX is a form of link among mobile payments billing systems and content publishers and providers.

According to Opera, it helps to make certain that mobile payments can be quickly and safely made in a simple and secure way over the Mini browser.

On the other hand, Neomobile is a company that offers mobile payments solutions, but it is also a worldwide mcommerce group. It provides the users of smartphones and tablets with content in a partnership between digital content services and producers, and carriers.

The new agreement between Opera and Neomobile was just announced, indicating the very first steps that the two companies would be taking together. At the moment, and for the first while, it will impact only the mcommerce group arm of the company. This means that the mobile payments can be used for purchasing music, games, video, and other types of digital content that can be downloaded or viewed from the device. It takes only one click for the direct carrier billing through the Mini browser, and it is available to consumers in eleven different countries.

For now, these mobile payments will not be available for actual physical goods that must be shipped to the consumer. It is applicable only to digital content that can be obtained right away through the use of the smartphone or tablet device.

Mobile payments to become mainstream by next year in UK

| January 26, 2013

UK Mobile PaymentsThe 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.