Fintech

Mobile-payments company Monitise PLC is testing a service targeted at unbanked consumers in Nigeria that enables users to transfer funds with their cell phones.

Despite the heightened activity around mobile payments, there are still too many unresolved questions for the payment form to have mainstream success this year, one analyst contends.

Though Google Inc. has yet to deliver on a true near-field communication payment phone, it is rumored to be working with key players on the acceptance side.

Ukash, a United Kingdom-based firm that sells prepaid vouchers for online shopping, believes a new free Apple Inc. iPhone application finally can help it break into the United States market after establishing its payment method in more than 50 other countries.

Barclays PLC continues to dominate the United Kingdom’s contactless-payment market, claiming 88% of the UK’s total base of 12.9 million contactless debit and credit cardholders as of the beginning of the year, according to data the company released March 24.

LexisNexis has launched Retail Fraud Manager, a platform designed to help online merchants detect and combat card-not-present fraud by automating and analyzing the transaction-review process, the company announced March 23.

Litle & Co.’s Web-based merchant clients may begin to protect themselves against card-not-present fraud through CyberSource Corp.’s Decision Manager online fraud-prevention service, CyberSource announced March 23.

NetSpend Holdings Inc. is continuing to expand distribution of its prepaid cards through automobile insurers with a new marketing agreement it announced March 24.

Three men who traveled to Honolulu from California last fall were charged with setting up card skimming devices at at least four local gas stations, then using the information to create counterfeit cards on six local credit unions and banks.

Telefónica O2 Germany GmbH’s customers now may purchase virtual and physical goods online using their mobile-phone number through a partnership the wireless carrier announced with Boku Inc. March 24.