Canada Next Logical Step For Monitise Americas, CEO Says

The launch of mobile-banking services and payments in Canada was the next logical step for Monitise Americas LLC, according to CEO Lisa Stanton. "The credit-union market is very engaged in consideration of mobile banking here in the States, so we're excited to launch initially with a focus on credit unions in Canada," Stanton tells CardLine. Monitise Tuesday announced an agreement with Everlink Payment Service Inc., a Canadian provider of electronic-transaction and payment services, to distribute a suite of mobile-banking services to financial institutions, including 375 credit unions (CardLine, 6/3). Monitise has similar deals with five U.S. financial institutions to distribute the services through the NYCE electronic funds transfer network. Stanton says the suite gives mid-sized banks and credit unions the "opportunity to remain competitive and, maybe in some cases, leapfrog the big guys in terms of their product offerings, convenience and so on." With the mobile-banking and payments space changing daily, Stanton says there is urgency to expand the capabilities of mobile banking. "We focus on the traditional things, like viewing account balances and recent transactions, with the promise to introduce things to consumers that they can't do today anywhere else," Stanton says. Bill payment and person-to-person mobile payments are a start, and those services will be offered in the future, Stanton says. Monitise views mobile banking as an entrance to mobile payments, and Stanton says the company is committed to contactless Near Field Communication technology. "If done right with a financial-services focused provider, it will add revenue opportunities for banks and credit unions," she says.