Technology

Monitise PLC, the British mobile banking vendor, says it plans a broader push next year into mobile retailing, initially in the United Kingdom, then across Europe and in the United States.

One more person-to-person payment application for mobile devices might seem merely like incremental progress toward mobile payments, but it demonstrates the increasing pressure to make phones into financial tools, analysts said earlier this month.

A new generation of person-to-person money transfer services is quickly gaining traction with banks, offering a way to regain a share of the electronic payments that was ceded long ago to nonbank rivals.

A substantial percentage of customers now access account information via smart phones and handsets rather than PCs, even at home.

Tio Networks, the expedited bill-payment processor, recently signed agreements expanding customers’ bill-payment options with Cox Communications Inc. and Southern Company’s Georgia Power subsidiary, both based in Atlanta. The agreements enable both companies’ customers to pay their bills in cash at Tio’s self-service payment kiosks and retail locations where Tio operates payment centers. Burnaby, British Columbia-based Tio Networks owns1,500 kiosks and manages 18,000 payment centers nationwide. Tio Networks credits payments to customers’ accounts the same day, Tio executives say. Tio’s agreement with Cox, the nation’s third-largest cable television company with 6.2 million customers, expands its existing bill-payment services through Tio to a national basis from a regional contract that included only Phoenix and Las Vegas. Tio will deploy bill-payment kiosks in select retail locations throughout Atlanta for customers of Georgia Power, an electrical utility with 2.3 million customers. Tio signed both agreements in late November.

Citigroup Inc. elaborated on its denial that its systems had been breached last summer, suggesting that, if a breach occurred, it would have happened at a third party. "As with virtually all financial institutions, there are instances of fraud or breaches of third-party systems that result in our taking actions to protect our customers and Citi … , [but] there has been no breach of Citi's systems," the New York company said in a press release last week. It did not identify any third party that might have had a breach. The Wall Street Journal reported that morning that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been looking into a Russian hacker group that targeted Citi during the summer. Citi was quoted in the story as denying it. The paper cited unnamed government sources who said the hacker group stole tens of millions of dollars from its target.

Australia-based energy firm AGL has decided not to charge its customers for paying by credit cards after it faced ire from the country‚s top regulator, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The Energy and Water Ombudsman criticized AGL on its plans to charge customers an undisclosed amount for using their credit cards to pay bills. In a public filing made by the ombudsman to Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, the regulator asked whether AGL bills would be reduced for those who did not pay by credit card if the company was to start charging those who paid on credit. „As costs associated with administering credit card payments may previously have been a component of the general retail costs, can we expect to see an equivalent reduction in these costs if this fee is to be introduced?,‰ the ombudsman asked. Immediate comment from AGL was not available.

The alternative-payment processor mPayy Inc. on Thursday announced a mobile payment app for handsets that run the Android operating system from Google Inc.

A U.S. District Court in New Jersey last week rejected Heartland Payment Systems Inc.’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent VeriFone Holdings Inc. from soliciting the payment processor's merchants who use VeriFone point-of-sale terminals, according to the terminal maker. Heartland is seeking to stop VeriFone from promoting a Web site where merchants may register for free terminal support directly through VeriFone to begin after Dec. 31, when VeriFone will stop providing Heartland with support. Heartland contends it can continue to support the terminals without VeriFone’s help. Judge Mary K. Cooper denied Heartland's request in an opinion dated Dec. 23, noting contradictory claims Heartland had made regarding its ability to provide ongoing service to clients using VeriFone systems, according to VeriFone. “The ruling means that despite Heartland’s considerable efforts, VeriFone can continue to offer direct support to Heartland merchants for VeriFone systems,” states a VeriFone spokesperson. Heartland is “disappointed” the judge denied the processor’s request for a preliminary injunction, the company said in a statement. “Heartland is considering its options with the circuit court. This opinion is a preliminary ruling, and Heartland intends to pursue damages in its state court action,” the statement said. The two companies are suing each other over a disagreement stemming from Heartland's development of an advanced encryption terminal. San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone alleges Heartland is infringing on one of its patents; Princeton, N.J.-based Heartland claims VeriFone is engaging in unfair trade practices.

The new year may bring the long-predicted "cashless society" even closer to reality, reports Credit Union Journal, a CardLine sister publication. Several large grocery chains are piloting a "no checks policy," including Whole Foods market at certain stores in Arizona and California. Another chain, Fresh & Easy, dispensed with the pilot test and declared it would simply stop accepting checks altogether. James Neckopulos, manager of the financial services industry group with Hitachi Consulting, said that if not within five years certainly within ten paper checks will no longer be in use, replaced by debit cards and other plastic. An analyst with the American Bankers Association said he expects other retailers will follow the Whole Foods test closely and will follow suit if it appears successful. Data released by the National Retail Federation for the 2008 holiday showed paper checks made up just 4.3% of payments at store registers, a decline from 5.5% in 2007 and 6.2% in 2006.