Security flaws and breached accounts are a big issue when it comes to banking, and many banks take sturdy routes to avoid this, but usually ends up with the public using complicated methods to ensure the safety of their bank account.

One commonly used product is a special key generator that manages to generate random codes that can be used to access your account and view your account information online. However, having lots of extra equipment just to use your bank can be inconvenient, and when you’re in a position where you manage many bank accounts at once, differentiating between back card key generators can become a nightmare.

Mastercard have been looking to amend this problem for quite some time now, and after a fair amount of planning, they’re set to release their new product into most Singapore by January 13^th.

The new product has been called the ‘Display card,’ which works just like an ordinary card; it contains all your card details and has a chip to use with ATMs, but the big difference is that the new card has a built in keypad and an LCD display that allows owners to access the same information that previously key generators were needed for.

V. SUBBA, Head of Retail Banking Products for the Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore and Asia, has said that, “In Singapore, many customers bank with multiple banks. We brainstormed on ways to make it convenient and yet secure for customers. The question was: instead of sending customers another bulky token, could we replace something which already exists in the customer’s wallet? That was when credit, debit and ATM cards, immediately came to mind.”

The new card will be available for any Standard Chartered Online Banking and Breeze Mobile Banking customers involved in  high-risk transactions, such as when transferring large sums between accounts or for when dealing with business requests and purchases, and will also display account details like account balance onto the LCD screen.

For now, there hasn’t been much talk about moving this product into any other countries, so Singapore will be a great test site for the reasonably new credit card technology.

[Source]

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Artists at exhibits, vendors at trade shows, limo drivers at airports; nobody likes a missed sale. Which is exactly the problem Sage Software Inc. is looking to eliminate with today’s launch of their new fee-free encrypted credit card payment device.

The new Sage Mobile device brings the ability to accept credit cards to anyone with one of more than 400 compatible cell phones, smart phones and tablets: From iPad to Nexus S, Playbook to Windows Phone 7. And, unlike the majority of their competitors, there are no processing fees. Just a monthly fee for a web-accessible merchant account. Sage pricing is without incremental percentage-of-purchase fees, making it friendly to growing businesses.

“SMBs need to look at total cost of ownership when it comes to selecting a mobile payments solution,” said Greg Hammermaster, president of Sage Payment Solutions. “Some competing mobile payments offerings add 1 percent plus upwards of 37 cents to the processing fees, which can easily turn into well over $130 in extra fees for every $10,000 in credit card volume. While this pricing is good for individuals that don’t process a lot of credit card transactions, it can be quite costly for businesses using their mobile device to process credit cards on a regular basis.”

The small, white card reader plugs into the headphone jack, instantly encrypting data from swiped cards before sending it off to the cloud to complete the transaction. Sage boasts industry-leading, PCI-compliant end-to-end security, meaning they’ve eliminated any possibility of skimming or retention of data.

But despite the real-time authorization and emailed receipts, Sage’s biggest obstacle will be a public lack of trust. Any tradesperson or salesman asking to swipe their credit card into a cell phone may be an unnerving concept for many who don’t understand the technology.

This is the future of sales as we move closer and closer to a paperless monetary system, but as with any change, aging generations might just make the transition a lot rockier than it could be.

[Sage Mobile Payments]

The post Sage Mobile Payments adds credit card processing to phones and tablets appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

A simulation of an iPhone paying for a restaurant bill.

Leaders from DocuSign, BilltoMobile, Billing Revolution, and ViVOtech met in a panel discussion at the 8th AlwaysOn & STVP Summit at Stanford to discuss the newest wave of payment since the credit card.  The discussion, titled Transactions 2.0, was hosted by Randy V. Sabbet J.D., CISSP, Partner, Internet & Data Protection, Sonnenschein.  The group covered topics regarding the safety and use of electronic signatures, using a cell phone to pay bills, online payments made by entering a cell phone number instead of a credit card, and a single-click check out process for credit cards using our mobile phones.

Tom Gonser is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of DocuSign, the largest electronic signature platform in the world.  Gonser argues that electronic signatures are just as safe and much more efficient than paper.  For example, most financial transactions require at least two forms of authentication, including email and knowledge based authentication.  For the highest level of security, a consumer is required to enter his phone number, receive a phone call, and read a code from his computer screen.  His voice is recorded and stored with the signature.  In terms of efficiency, electronic signatures allow contracts to be instantaneously routed to all players involved.  Therefore, processes like loan applications can be completed faster and with higher closing rates when administered without the use of paper.

Mohammad Khan, President of ViVOtech describes a method of payment that involves marrying our phones to our finances.  He explains how cell phone users can download banking information through a secure channel into their calling devices.  Information is stored on what he calls the “new plastic” or contactless cards.  When it is time to make a payment, users enter a password and tap one side of the card with participating merchants like Home Depot or McDonalds.  Every tap is unique so no one can capture and reuse the signal.

NFC-enabled Nokia 6212 Mobile Phone making a contactless transaction.

Khan’s device can also be used to gain more information about a product.  For example, if a customer has a question about an item in Home Depot she can tap her cell phone to a product on the shelf and receive information about it.  She can also allow the phone to create a customer profile in order to gain relevant coupons and specials.  Although the card is attached to Khan’s iPhod with a sticker, he believes by next year most smart phones will have the device built in.  Currently, there are half a million in existence and by 2014, Khan predicts there will be more than 100 million in the US alone.

Jim Greenwell, CEO of BilltoMobile, a public company in Korea, described a similar method of payment called direct mobile billing.  This allows people to make transactions with selected merchants on the Web by using their cell phone number instead of a credit card.  During checkout, a consumer types in his mobile phone number, receives a security code via text, and inputs that code to finalize the payment.  The amount will then be added to his cell phone bill. Greenwell points out that wireless carriers already have accurate and timely billing systems that reach millions of people, so why not utilize these systems.  In Korea 75% of the population already uses direct mobile billing.

Embracing the credit card, Andy Kleitsch, CEO of Billing Revolution described a single-click check out process for Visa and others using our mobile phones.  With this method, a consumer enters her credit card information into her phone, which then remembers it for all participating merchants.  According to Kleitsch, consumers want to be remembered and not bothered with a username or password.  According to Kleitsch, the single-click checkout is currently being utilized to buy ringtones, games, virtual currency, and even pizza.  This method is also becoming increasingly popular for making donations such as to the Obama campaign and Humane Society.

Gonser, Khan, Greenwell, and Kleitsch all seem to agree that although the Visa card is probably not going anywhere, its role is definitely changing.  This change may dramatically affect our relationship with our cell phones and how we view convenience and security.  Would you like to use your phone to pay your bill at a restaurant?

[Stanford, Transaction 2.0 (Video coverage)]

The post Transactions 2.0: Using a mobile phone to pay your restaurant bill appeared first on Mobile Magazine.