Youth open to mobile banking

In Britain, 54% of 16 to 21 year-olds were eager to use mobile banking, which was more than any other age group surveyed, says MyFinances.co.uk.

Statistics show that twice as many younger Britons use mobile banking, according to the numbers from Alliance & Leicester current accounts.

Forty percent of 16 to 21 year-olds are willing to use their mobile phones to check their balance, almost as many will check their statements and 27% are willing to check their account activity while overseas.

A new technology is making transactions easier by creating an escrow transaction between the hotel and end-user's banks, says Hotel Interactive.

To verify a business as a hotel, the bank deposits a temporary denominational deposit which the hotel must retrieve and replace in order to activate its account.

This applies to anyone doing business with the bank as well. Verification is once-off and the user receives a permanent PIN.

PayPal, eBay's online payment service, has plans of a debit card in the future and has been granted banking licence in the UK, says Business Week.

These plans were announced at the eBay Live! conference yesterday, along with other pending innovations, such as a service alerting users about risky buyers.

The company's CTO, Scott Thompson, predicts that PayPal's off-eBay services will someday surpass the eBay transactions.