Mobile Banking - NAB has launched its new mobile payment service – NAB Pay - backed by Visa

The National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched its new mobile payment service – NAB Pay - backed by Visa, making it the first bank to use Visa’s Tokenisation Service as the mobile security platform.

With the launch, NAB customers with a compatible Android mobile device and a NAB Visa Debit Card can start using NAB Pay from today, available as part of the NAB Mobile Internet Banking.

Visa’s tokenisation service replaces a customer’s credit card number with a unique digital token that can be used for digital payments without revealing sensitive information.

Today’s launch of NAB Pay comes after NAB’s announcement last year of a ten-year strategic partnership with Visa to collaborate on payments innovation and product development for customers.

To use NAB Pay, customers will need a compatible Android device, have downloaded the latest NAB Mobile Internet Banking App and have a NAB Visa Debit card. NAB Pay is available wherever contactless payments are accepted. 

NAB Executive General Manager for Consumer Lending, Angus Gilfillan, said customers were driving the agenda and “increasingly wanted simple and easy digital payment solutions”. 

“We’re excited to launch our digital wallet and enable customers to make fast and safe purchases with their mobile phone.

“NAB will also be the first Australian bank to utilise Visa Token Service in Australia, providing an important extra layer of security for customers. 

“Tokenisation improves protection for customers because physical card details are never used in the payments process, reducing the risk of fraud.”

“NAB Pay gives consumers another reason to choose NAB as we continue to focus on delivering the number one cards experience in Australia.” 

Gilfillan said the partnership with Visa is enabling NAB to significantly invest in its credit and debit card portfolio and “act more quickly to deliver innovative solutions for our customers – as today’s announcement shows.”

“We have a number of exciting initiatives planned this year and look forward to extending the NAB Pay application to support NAB credit cards in coming months.”

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World Economic Forum announces new board of trustees

The Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum has elected Jim Yong Kim, President, The World Bank, Washington DC; and Marc R. Benioff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce, USA, as its new members.

In accordance with the World Economic Forums status as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, as recognized by the Swiss Federal Council in January 2015, the Forum updated its governing body from Foundation Board to Board of Trustees in August. The Board of Trustees is set up to support the Forums mandate to serve as a representative group of key global stakeholders.

Jim Yong Kim brings two decades of experience in international development to the Foundation Board.

Under his presidency, the World Bank adopted in 2012 two goals: ending extreme poverty by 2030; and boosting shared prosperity for the bottom 40% of the population in developing countries. He also possesses vast experience in healthcare, having led the World Health Organizations HIV/AIDS department between 2003 and 2005, during which time WHO introduced the 3 by 5 initiative, the first-ever global goal for AIDS treatment.

Marc R. Benioff is a 35-year veteran of the software industry. Having co-founded Salesforce.com in February 1999, he has served as its chief executive officer since November 2001. Alongside his business career, he is well known for his philanthropic work, as well as for taking a crusading stand in favour of LGBT rights and other important issues.

The Board of Trustees reflects the multistakeholder concept on which the World Economic Forum is built and which is fundamental to our role as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. In playing an active role in setting the strategic framework for the Forum, the board acts as a guardian of our independence and impartiality, said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

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Using Phones to Improve Financial Inclusion in Peru

With 32 million mobile phones for 30 million people, a new project in Peru is betting that mobile banking will be a core component to improving financial inclusion in the country.

In December 2015, the country’s #financial institutions launched #Bim, a #mobile #payment program, through a company they collectively own and operate. The program #unites all the #institutions’ customer interfaces into one system, allowing Peruvians to easily send #money between accounts in different #banks—the only one of its kind in the world, reports Bloomberg.

The program is aimed at rural Peruvians in particular, focusing on ease of use and accessible, low-#tech language with phrases like “putting #money in the #phone” instead of “making a deposit,” says Carolina Trivelli, the managing director of Peruvian Digital Payments, which operates Bim. While just 1.4 percent of rural Peruvian homes have access to the Internet, 95 percent of districts in Peru have mobile coverage, which is significant in a country whose territory runs from the Pacific through the Andes to the Amazon, much of it remote.

Peru has one of the lowest rates of financial inclusion in the Americas. In 2012, just 23 percent of men and 18 percent of women ages 15 and up had access to financial institutions or use of services such as a debit card. In December of that year, Peru passed a law to regulate and facilitate #electronic financial #transactions, making it easier for Peruvians to bank on their mobile phones. By 2014, financial inclusion had risen to 36 percent of men and 23 percent of women—29 percent of all adults—though that’s still well below the 51 percent rate throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The Peruvian government, with support from the World Bank, has set a goal of 75 percent inclusion by 2021.

As presidential candidates present their policy proposals before April’s general elections, local media reports that observers will be looking to see how they include mobile and technology infrastructure in their platforms.

Annual Meeting Bringing World Leaders to Atlanta to "Reimagine the Global Economy" in January 2016

"Reimagining the Global Economy" theme for Annual Meeting next month; Over 1,500 participants expected for promises engaging dialogue and special appearances from leaders in industry, finance, entertainment and government.

Cashless Update - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme
A.K.A The Mark of the Beast Numbering System

"...delivering price and financial system stability and promoting sustainable economic development."

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme (EPIS) to encourage the use of debit cards in line with its cashless policy of the apex bank.

Senior Manager Banking and Payment System of the CBN, Mr. Omileye Ifeoluwa disclosed this in Akure, Ondo State in a presentation at the CBN Fair held at the BTO Event Centre.

The fair with the theme, “Promoting Financial Stability and Economic Development”, had in attendance commercial banks, microfinance banks and various categories of bank services consumers like civil servants, market women, commercial vehicle operators, farmers among others.

The Push for Global for Financial Inclusion

The Push For Global Financial Inclusion

The UNSGSA defines financial inclusion as universal access to, and use of, to a wide range of reasonably priced financial services, provided by a variety of sound and sustainable institutions.

Today, 2.5 billion adults—more than a third of the world’s population—are excluded from the formal financial system. Financial exclusion is greatest among poor people and in emerging and developing countries, including the rural households that account for more than 70% of global poverty.  This hampers people’s ability to earn, protect themselves in times of crisis, and to build for the future. In addition, more than 200 million formal SMEs in emerging markets alone lack access to finance, limiting their ability to grow and thrive.