News
Monitise Plc Boost to Mobile Banking and Payments in USA
Monitise plc, the global leader in the provision of mobile banking and payments services, and Metavante Corporation, the banking and payments technology subsidiary of Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (NYSE: MI), today announced the formation of a joint venture company, Monitise Americas LLC, the mobile banking and payments ecosystem for the United States. Plans for the joint venture were announced by the companies in March 2007.
Expected to launch consumer services later this year, Monitise Americas will allow financial institutions of all sizes to offer mobile banking and payments services to their customers across multiple cellular networks. Planned services include balance inquiries, mini-statements, funds transfers, cell phone top-ups and payments. Monitise Americas has also designed its platform to support the future evolution of mobile financial services and mobile commerce.
Monitise Americas is designed to meet the needs of the mass market, and to deliver a service that is universal in terms of security, access and navigation regardless of the consumer’s choice of financial institution or mobile carrier. This ‘ecosystem’ model means that participants — financial institutions, mobile carriers, payments brands and processors, merchants and consumers — share in the benefits generated through the platform. Monitise Americas is already working with leading financial institutions and mobile carriers to align the service to their customers’ needs.
"Monitise Americas' ecosystem model will provide any US financial institution, regardless of its size, the ability to offer mobile banking services to its customers. This will provide the American public with the facility to manage their accounts on the move yet maintain their banking relationship with their preferred financial institution," said Alastair Lukies, chief executive, Monitise plc. "Furthermore, as prepaid accounts and contactless payments technology bring point-of-sale payments onto the handset, Monitise Americas will help financial institutions deliver new services to their customers."
The U.S. market consists of 233 million cellular subscribers1 and the Monitise Americas service boasts compatibility with the vast majority of currently available mobile handsets, delivering one of the broadest new opportunities for electronic financial services. By connecting through existing ATM networks, the Monitise Americas platform will enable financial institutions to deliver mobile banking and payments to their customers without extensive technical integration or high levels of infrastructure expense.
"Convenience is crucial when it comes to customer satisfaction. Monitise Americas continues the innovation that customers have come to count on from the financial services industry by delivering a fifth service delivery channel to complement branch, phone, ATM and Internet," said Frank D'Angelo, group president, Metavante Payment Solutions. "Cell phones have become the one thing you don't leave the house without. Monitise Americas will put the convenience of an ATM into consumers' pockets. Consumers on-the-go can confirm their available balances and even make a transfer to ensure there are adequate funds before using a payment card. As mobile payments evolve at the point of sale, this could bring even more convenience.”
Monitise Americas has engineered its platform specifically for the North American mobile banking and payments market, leveraging some of the best practices and award-winning2 technology developed by Monitise for the MONILINK service in the United Kingdom. Providing mobile banking and payment services to UK customers of HSBC, first direct, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland, Natwest and Ulster Bank, MONILINK is currently one of the most successful mobile banking and payments services in the world.
About Monitise plc
Monitise plc (MONI.L) is a specialist in mobile banking and payments technology. It has developed the world's first mobile banking ecosystem, which allows consumers to perform banking and payment transactions using a single consistent interface regardless of their choice of mobile operator or bank.
With live services in the UK, where it has delivered the MONILINK network in partnership with VocaLink, the company is currently working with international partners to deliver similar safe, secure mobile banking services in territories worldwide. Current key partners include VocaLink Interchange Network, Metavante, BT Global Services, T-Systems, HSBC, first direct, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Hutchison 3G.
Monitise was recognised as a "Technology Pioneer" by the World Economic Forum in 2006; 'Mobile Innovation of the Year' by The Banker Magazine in 2007 and; awarded the Innovation in Messaging award 2007 by the Mobile Messaging Association. www.monitise.com
About Metavante
Metavante Corporation delivers banking and payments technologies to over 8,600 financial services firms and businesses worldwide. Metavante products and services drive account processing for deposit, loan and trust systems, image-based and conventional check processing, electronic funds transfer, consumer healthcare payments, electronic presentment and payment, and business transformation services. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Metavante (www.metavante.com) is wholly owned by Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (NYSE: MI). On April 3, 2007, Marshall & Ilsley Corporation announced its plans to split Metavante Corporation and Marshall & Ilsley Corporation into independent publicly traded companies.
About Monitise Americas
Monitise Americas is a joint venture between Monitise plc (MONI.L), a specialist in mobile banking technology, and Metavante Corporation, a leading provider of banking and payments technologies to financial institutions and businesses worldwide. Monitise Americas provides mobile banking and payments services to North American financial institutions predicated on an 'ecosystem' principle, which allows multiple mobile operators and financial institutions to deliver services over a single platform.
It has a sister ecosystem in the United Kingdom, MONILINK, developed by Monitise plc in partnership with VocaLink. Current partners of MONILINK include: HSBC, first direct, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Hutchison 3G. www.monitiseamericas.com