Bank crisis increases cyber-squatting

Domain name speculators are buying up internet addresses relating to banks at the heart of recent acquisition speculation with a view to selling them or monetising them through online advertising, reports Vnunet.

Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch led to bankofamericamerrilllynch.com being snapped up by the speculators. Lloydstsbhbos.com was bought up soon after speculation of a merger between Lloyds and HBOS became public.

Such incidents highlight the need for businesses to manage their domain name portfolios more efficiently and act quickly to ensure that brands are protected.

A proposal to introduce mobile banking in Guyana was one of the ideas discussed when businessmen and bankers committed to pursue non-cash financial transactions in the light of increased armed attacks on residents, says Caribbeannetnews.

The pledge was made at a forum at which several of the services available at banks including the point-of-sale, e-banking and payroll systems were promoted.

The increased use of Internet banking and the possible introduction of mobile banking were also highlighted as potential solutions to the problem.

The Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco) has launched a mobile banking service called Xapit, which allows customers to make payments via cellphone, states Networkworld.

The facility will initially be made available only to the bank's customers but will later be extended to over two million people who have mobile phones but no bank accounts.

The launch of the mobile banking service is part of Zanaco's initiative to improve the business activities of the bank and its customers.