US telcos advance m-pay project

A consortium of major US mobile operators are preparing for the roll-out of mobile payment services, although Sprint is pulling back from the project, reports Mobile-Financial.com.

Details of the project remain confidential, but sources say the other three telcos, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile US, are laying the groundwork for introducing mobile payment and other applications using contactless technologies.

The telcos have formalised their partnership in a joint venture and continue to try and recruit a CEO to lead the group.

Standard Chartered Bank has tied up with TechProcess Solutions, a payment solution provider, to offer online payment solutions to the bank's customers, states CXO Today.

Standard Chartered Bank account holders will be able to access TechProcess' network of Web merchants to pay for products and services online directly through their Standard Chartered Bank accounts.

With the addition of Standard Chartered Bank, online merchants will able to sell services and collect payments from the bank's customers as well.

MasterCard has appointed Ed McLaughlin as chief emerging payments officer, and Eileen Simon as its chief franchise development officer, says Market Watch.

McLaughlin will be responsible for leading the development and commercialisation of payment product platforms and solutions in the areas of e-commerce, bill payment and mobile payment solutions.

Simon will be responsible for evolving MasterCard's strategies with regard to licensing and approvals, rules and standards as well as compliance, registration and dispute resolution.