Citigroup Inc., which is splitting its consumer banking and card businesses into separate business groups, said Monday that it plans to offer a mobile account management service to cardholders using software from Firethorn Holdings LLC.
The service will be available to Citi credit card customers in the United States by the third quarter, Citi said.
The deal with Firethorn, a unit of the mobile phone hardware and software provider Qualcomm Inc. of San Diego, shows that the New York banking company is spreading its bets on the nascent mobile technology.
Citi announced in March that it had formed a joint venture called Mobile Money Ventures LLC with SK Telecom Co. Ltd., the largest wireless carrier in South Korea, to develop mobile consumer banking applications using software from mFoundry Inc. of Sausalito, Calif., a Firethorn rival.
Citi already uses mFoundry software with the mobile banking service it currently offers to customers.
But Citi Cards also has longstanding ties to AT&T Corp. through the AT&T Universal cobranded card.
AT&T, which preloads Firethorn software on to some of its handsets, has said it does not plan to support mobile banking technology from other software vendors.
Raja Rajamannar, an executive vice president of Citi Cards, said in a press release, "Through our long-term, strategic relationship with telecom industry leader AT&T, we remain committed to offering the latest, cutting-edge solutions to our Citi credit card customers."
Initially Citi cardholders will be able to view account information, including their current balance, available credit limit, recent transaction history, and information on rewards programs.
Tripp Rackley, Firethorn's chairman and chief executive, said that enabling people to initiate payments through mobile devices remains his company's ultimate goal.
"Citi has been an innovator all along on both contactless and mobile," Mr. Rackley said in an interview. "This ties all the components together."
