Mobile banking gains popularity

AT&T seeks to tap into growing interest in banking wirelessly, unveiling a downloadable mobile banking service in connection with Wachovia and SunTrust Banks, says Internetnews.com.

The technology may soon come from another major wireless player, Qualcomm. The mobile phone chipset-maker yesterday announced plans to purchase wireless banking vendor Firethorn, which provides the technology behind AT&T`s service.

Qualcomm`s $210 million all-cash purchase could help it expand the applications supported by its hardware. The company said the deal should conclude within 30 days, and would see Firethorn maintaining its existing partnerships with wireless providers and financial institutions.

Fiserv CEO Jeff Yabuki has been awarded the top honour in Bank Technology News` sixth annual Innovator Award programme, says Wisconsin Technology Network.

Fiserv is a provider of IT services to the financial and insurance industries, and the innovators ranking honours the banking and financial services industry`s 25 most innovative people, companies, and technologies.

In selecting Yabuki for the top honour, Bank Technology News cited his corporate strategy to offer a platform-wide suite of products called Fiserv 2.0, and the company`s 9.3% revenue growth rate.

Shinhan Bank New York has selected the GiftsWeb EDD Anti-Money Laundering solution, according to PRNewswire.

The implementation of the automated GiftsWeb EDD product will assist the bank in meeting BSA/AML compliance regulations, as dictated by the USA Patriot Act.

GiftsWeb EDD offers the following five modules: Subpoena/Inquiry Module, Profiler Module, Patterning Module, OFAC/Sanction List Module and the CIP Module.