International Bancshares Corp. of Laredo, Tex., has agreed to use software from the Sausalito, Calif., vendor mFoundry Inc. to run a mobile banking service that it plans to roll out in the first quarter.
The vendor announced Monday that International Bancshares' IBC Bank would use the Spotlight Mobile Banking software, which enables users to check balances, transfer funds, and retrieve and pay bills through a mobile device.
IBC Bank will be the first mFoundry client to offer such a service in both English and Spanish.
The vendor works with banks to create customized banking software that can be downloaded to users' phones — one of two dominant models in the emerging mobile banking space. Citigroup Inc. is offering mobile banking using technology from mFoundry.
One of the vendor's main rivals is Firethorn Holdings LLC, which has several bank clients.
Several other financial companies, including Bank of America Corp., offer mobile services that use the standard browsers built-in to mobile devices.
Dennis E. Nixon, International Bancshares' chairman, said in an mFoundry press release that the vendor "offered us the most flexible and timely way to extend our convenient service to a user's mobile phone."
