Around the world -- particularly in Europe -- the majority of small businesses use online banking. In the U.S., the majority will by year's end.
It is noteworthy that by yearend more than 50% of U.S. small businesses are projected to utilize online banking applications, according to consultancy TowerGroup. That's good news, mainly for small businesses.
It is also good news for banking in general. The more usage, the more advanced
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John Januszczak of Payments Watch wants a financial services mashup.
In a great blog posted yesterday, Januszczak wrote:
I want a single online application that combines all of my financial services products, whether from the same or different providers. Consider an on-line banking website where you view transactions and seamlessly transfer money between your savings account, line of credit, your mortgage
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Wells Fargo & Company today announced that it’s adding text banking to the company’s Wells Fargo Mobile service, expanding on a line of internet and mobile phone-based accessibility options.
Customers who enroll online for the text banking service can send a text message to WELLS (93557) with one of several commands in the message space to check balances and account activity.
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Fiserv Inc., the banking technology provider, more than doubled its client roster for remote check capture in the first three quarters of 2007.
Through September, Fiserv had 872 clients for its merchant capture product, which allows merchants to scan checks for deposit, up from 347 at the end of 2006. Its branch capture product, a scanning system for branches, had 972 clients at the end of September, compared to 347 at the end of last year.
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A new study confirms what I’ve already said: that the weakest link in internet banking is not the technology, but the users.Mohammed AlZomai, of the Information Security Institute at the Queensland University of Technology, said in the report that one in five online transactions is made vulnerable by human error. To illustrate the point, AlZomai set up a simulated online bank with participants playing the role of customers.
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The small to medium business sector’s most pressing issue regarding electronic banking is security, a new report has found.
For the time being, it seems to be an issue well in hand. "The issue of security is understandable as internet fraud -- specifically phishing -- is a constant threat to these businesses,” said Selvie Naicker, banking analyst and co-author of the report.
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I’ve never met Charles Prince, the deposed chief executive of Citigroup, but I hear he is a pretty nice guy. A friend of mine -- no big hitter or anything -- told me a story about how he got such awful service in a Citibank branch that he wrote a scathing letter to Chuck himself.
Lo and behold, my friend’s phone rings a couple of days later. "Hi, this is Charles Prince of Citibank," the former CEO said. No secretary,
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Bank of America Corp. plans to launch a $35 million ad campaign this Sunday, targeting the retired and soon-to-be retired.
The push pits BofA in an uphill battle against entrenched financial firms that specialize in retirement plans. The ad blitz will concentrate on the bank’s IRA plans, but is expected to eventually cover a wider scope of services.
Scott MacDonald, head of the Southwest Graduate
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UnitedHealth Group Inc. [ticker: UNH] has agreed to shell out $775 million in cash for three of Fiserv Inc.'s health-related businesses. UnitedHealth hopes the acquisition of the medical benefits administrator, care facilitation business, and overpayment recovery group will bolster its business and boost 2008 earnings.Fiserv [ticker: FISV] will retain its workers' compensation operation.
The deal is slated to close next quarter.
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