Today, Mastercard and mFoundry announced that they are teaming up to provide another solution in the mobile payments space. mFoundry currently provides mobile banking services to over 500 banks and credit unions. mFoundry will provide the banking appliation on the phone, and Mastercard will provide the terminal (called PayPass) which consumers can use to swipe their phones using a technology called Near Field Communication (NFC).
When Internet banking first dawned in 1997, the dream was that consumers would eventually have a digital wallet that they could use to purchase goods and services. A consumer would whip out this digital wallet and scan it over a reader to pay for a can of soda, or groceries, or a new shirt. For the next ten years, this vision remained mostly a dream. In the last year, fueled by the sales of smartphones, the vision is becoming reality.
Last May, Google announced its Google Wallet, software that allows consumers to store and use payment information to easily purchase goods and services from a phone. Today, Mastercard and mFoundry announced that they are teaming up to provide another solution in the mobile payments space. mFoundry currently provides mobile banking services to over 500 banks and credit unions. mFoundry will provide the banking appliation on the phone, and Mastercard will provide the terminal (called PayPass) which consumers can use to swipe their phones using a technology called Near Field Communication (NFC).
"This collaboration is going to allow more banks, credit unions and mobile phone operators around the world to offer their customers the convenience and security of Mobile PayPass.” said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. “By using the power of a smartphone, consumers can simply tap and pay for goods and services."
"By working with MasterCard, mFoundry will be able to evolve and expand its financial services platforms to reach more consumers through new and existing clients,”said Drew Sievers, CEO and Co-Founder of mFoundry. “MasterCard shares our philosophy on how to enable its clients with mobile payments and we are thrilled to be working hand-in-hand with them to bring their PayPass solution to our clients."
It will be interesting to see which companies emerge as winners from the mobile payments space. mFoundry is betting that its close relationship with banks will make it the winner while Google is planning to use its direct relationship with millions of customers to spread its technology. Look for other big technology and banking companies to also get in the game. No matter who wins, the vision of paying for a can of Coke at a vending machine by holding up your phone to a reader is close to becoming a reality.
This week, we recognize Community First Bank of Butler, MO for their 2.78% APY 60-month CD.
I'm a day late getting the weekly rate deal up, thanks to a turkey coma. Hopefully everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
It's holiday season and cash will be pouring out of your wallet, so why not find a way to earn a bit more. This week, we recognize Community First Bank of Butler, MO for their 2.78% APY 60-month CD. The average 5-year CD rate according to BestCashCow is 1.57% APY. The minimum balance to receive this rate is $1,000. In addition, the bank also offers a 48-month CD that pays 2.25% APY, far above the national 5-year average.
Community First Bank is a small community bank with five branches south of Kansas City. The bank has a Texas Ratio of 28.62% versus the national average of 21.06%. Assets have grown from $108 million to $150 million in the last five years.
If you don't live near a Community First Bank branch, look for the highest CD rates from banks and credit unions in your local area. BestCashCow has the Internet's largest database of bank rate information.
Check back next Monday for a new bank deal. Email any deals you know about to ratedeal (at) bestcashcow.com. Feel free to also share them below. If you're a bank and have a great deal not listed on BestCashCow, register for access and add the deal to the site.
Cyber Monday is sure to bring some fantastic deals, but it can also bring out some cyber criminals as well. Here are some tips for safe shopping, so you can protect yourself, your bank account, and your credit while doing your holiday shopping.
There are sure to be fantastic deals all over the internet on Cyber Monday, and many people will be taking advantage of the opportunities to be had. USA Today reports that Black Friday 2011 broke sales records and gave a much-needed boost to the economy. Cyber Monday is anticipated to follow suit; last year, Cyber Monday was the biggest online shopping day of the year. This is great news for consumers and merchants, but don’t let it be great news for cyber criminals who want to take advantage of the surge in online buying. Here are some ways you can protect yourself online.
First and foremost, use a good credit card for online shopping so you can have peace of mind for fraud protection. Some debit cards have fraud protection as well—some even give a similar level of protection as credit cards—but consumer protection varies on debit cards since lawmakers categorize debit cards differently than credit cards. Additionally, when there’s fraud on your debit card, there’s essentially fraud on your checking account.
Ideally, you should only spend on a credit card what you can afford to pay off when the bill comes. Alternatively, if it may be a few months before you can pay off your holiday shopping bill, chose a card with the lowest APR possible. If you have excellent credit, the Capital One Platinum Prestige Credit Card may be a good choice for you since it has 0% APR until February 2013 and $0 Fraud Liability protection. There’s no annual fee for this card, but after February 2013, you will be charged a 10.9% - 18.9% variable APR.
After you’ve armed yourself with the protection of a good credit card, you should make sure you’re only shopping on a secured connection (like at home or at work). Open WiFi connections at your local coffee shop do not qualify, since anyone with a WiFi scanner could access all of the information you’re transmitting while shopping. You also should never email personal financial information, including credit card numbers, since email is an unsecured medium. Legitimate online retails should never ask you to email credit card or bank account information.
Additionally, you shouldn’t save credit card information on your mobile phone, tempting as it may be. Not only do you have to worry about your card information being compromised if you lose your phone or have it stolen, other mobile applications on your phone may be able to access the card information as well—even if you haven’t directly given them permission.
If you take the proper precautions, Cyber Monday (and online shopping in general) can safely provide shoppers with significant savings—which you can then use to boost your investment accounts.
