Chase adds cheque deposit and P2P payments to iPhone app

US bank Chase has updated its iPhone app, adding remote cheque deposit and person-to-person payment features.

To make a deposit using the app, customers enter the account details and payment amount before adding photos of the front and back of the cheque taken with their iPhone or iPod camera. USAA bank introduced a similar feature last year.

Chase has also added P2P QuickPay to the latest version of its free app, enabling payments to be made to anyone as long as the customer has their e-mail address.

European Payments Council publishes White Paper on Mobile Payments

The European Payments Council (EPC), the coordination and decision-making body of the European payments industry, has published their White Paper on Mobile Payments. The White Paper highlights the EPC's initiatives for mobile payments in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) designed to facilitate implementation and interoperability of user-friendly mobile payment solutions across the 32 SEPA countries. The white paper explores how mobile payment services can be delivered through cooperation between service providers active in the banking industry and the new players emerging in the mobile ecosystem.

The EPC White Paper on Mobile Payments offers an informative read to anyone interested in mobile payments, and aims to foster a common understanding between payment service providers and bank customers by using non-technical language. The document predominantly focuses on mobile contactless card payments, where the mobile device needs to be in close proximity to a point-of-sale terminal, while also addressing some aspects of mobile remote payments, where two parties are able to send and receive funds irrespective of where they are located.

Given the proliferation of mobile phones and related service levels throughout the European Union (EU), the EPC recognizes that the mobile channel is an ideal launch pad for SEPA payment instruments. Many consumers are already using mobile phones for services beyond the traditional voice calls and short messaging services due to the introduction of packaged offers, including internet access provided by the mobile network operators. As a result, consumer expectations with regard to mobile phone functionality have increased dramatically, with many users eager to embrace new service solutions based on this delivery platform, such as payments. The availability of practical SEPA mobile payments, either account or card-based, would provide a realistic alternative to cash and cheques.

At the same time, merchants demand that new technology translates into cost savings, increased business volume and reduced exposure to security threats such as cash thefts or illicit payments, as well as enhanced marketing opportunities and brand recognition. Mobile phone initiated payments, in particular those using the contactless approach, are very well positioned to generate these benefits for merchants and other stakeholders who are directly providing services to consumers.

Gerard Hartsink, Chairman of the EPC, comments: “The EPC, working together with other stakeholders such as, for example, GSMA, the organization representing the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry, is in the process of establishing the necessary standards and business rules with regard to the initiation and receipt of SEPA payments by mobile. The aim is to develop proposals that support collaboration and standardization and which form the basis for interoperability. Our intention is to establish a service framework sufficient to reach potentially all payers and payees in the European Economic Area and to create a trusted and secure environment for the multiple stakeholders active in the field.”

Dag-Inge Flatraaker, Chairman of the EPC M-Channel Working Group, adds: “The EPC White Paper on Mobile Payments responds to changing customer requirements in the payments market and demonstrates how mobile payments can increase efficiency, effectiveness and convenience. This paper creates awareness on how to best combine the benefits of state-of-the art SEPA payment instruments for credit transfers, direct debits and card payments handled through one of the most popular and versatile devices introduced in the past two decades – the mobile phone.”

The EPC plans to publish a second edition of the white paper in 2011 that will focus further on mobile remote payments.

To download the EPC White Paper on Mobile Payments CLICK HERE

Mobile payments – Cellcom Israel and Citi to offer cash transfer services

Cellcom Israel is entering the financial services market with Citigroup and the Bank Hapoalim’s credit card subsidiary Isracard.

Cellcom and Citibank are to launch a service which will allow remittance transfers from Israel by clients of all local domestic mobile carriers, through Citi's platform and worldwide distribution channels.

Cellcom CEO Amos Shapira said that global remittances, including to and from Israel, are expected to grow by billions of dollars over the coming years. He said that Cellcom saw a potential growth market and decided to enter it. Cellcom only plans to launch the service by the end of 2010. Under the deal Isracard will issue mobile wallets to Cellcom subscribers.

Jérôme Kerviel verdict on 5th October

French "rogue" trader Jérôme Kerviel will have to wait until the autumn to discover if he will be sent to jail for four years and ordered to pay back Société Générale the nearly €5bn it claims he lost the bank.

In his final defence, Kerviel's lawyers, described the accused as humble "young Breton", passionate about banking and economics who was corrupted by Société Générale, a pawn in a global frenzy for profit and called for him to be cleared of all charges.

"Jérôme Kerviel is not a fraudster. He was trained, formed by Société Générale, deformed if you will," said the defence lawyer Olivier Metzner, adding: "Jérôme Kerviel is the creation of Société Générale."

Metzner, a heavyweight at the French bar, asked: "Who are you Société Générale?", echoing the question "Who is Jérôme Kerviel? asked by the judge Dominique Pauthe at the start of the trial.

Metzner concluded that Kerviel was being made a scapegoat for the global financial meltdown.

"When everyone is winning, nobody minds. When everyone loses, there has to be someone – just one – found guilty," he said before sitting down.

Metzner called for him to be acquitted on charges of abuse of confidence, computer hacking and falsification of records.

Kerviel had admitted making unauthorized bets on the stock market; at one point he was trading €50bn, more than the bank was worth. But he insisted his bosses knew what he was doing and encouraged him to take risks in pursuit of profits. The bank denied this and accused him of being a "manipulator, a trickster and a liar" who caused a "planetary trauma" that almost brought down one of France's oldest banks. Asked by the judge at the end of the trial if he had anything further to add, Kerviel said he did not.

Kerviel joined Société Générale in 2000 in its back office, but was promoted to the trading floor in 2005. In his first trading year, he made the bank €5m, rising to €12m the following year. In 2007 he made €1.5bn, but declared only €55m of this hoping to carry the rest over to the following year.

Most of his extraordinary gains were made through speculative deals which he claims traders knew were not officially allowed but were tolerated as long as they turned a profit. But in January 2008 Kerviel's complex web of hidden deals began to unravel when Société Générale discovered he was involved in trades worth about €50bn more than the bank's market value. In selling off Kerviel's trades over a three day period when the global markets were dropping, the French bank lost €4.9bn.

The court will announce its judgment on 5 October, said Pauthe. If found guilty Kerviel faces a five-year sentence – one year suspended – and a €375,000 fine. The bank has claimed €4.9bn it lost in damages.

Securities and Exchange Commission to pay $755,000 damages to ex-lawyer

A former lawyer for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who claimed he was unjustly fired after trying to investigate an insider trading ring is to receive $755,000 in damages.

Gary Aguirre, who was fired by the SEC in September 2005, alleged that he was let go by the organization after attempting to probe trades made by hedge fund Pequot Capital Management.

The ex-lawyer claimed that senior officials at the regulator prevented him from interviewing John Mack, an executive who at the time was a candidate for the role of chief executive officer at Morgan Stanley.

It was alleged by the legal expert that his determination to pursue the investigation led to his eventual dismissal by the SEC. The SEC’s payout will include the cost of his legal fees and salary equivalent to that of four years and ten months.

John Nester, SEC spokesman, said: “The settlement resolves all outstanding litigation between the parties and reflects the agency’s determination to focus on its core mission of protecting investors.”

In May Pequot Capital and Arthur Samberg, the hedge fund’s founder and chairman, agreed to pay $28 million in fines to the SEC to settle charges of insider trading in relation to shares in Microsoft Corp.

Ex-Société Générale banker fined for insider trading

Jean-Pierre Mustier, former head of investment banking at Société Générale, has been fined €100,000 for insider trading by France’s financial regulator.

According to AMF, the trader was found to have used insider data to inform the sale of shares from Société Générale in August 2007. The sale was made before the start of the subprime mortgage crisis, which pre-empted the global financial crash. Mr Mustier, who resigned from his position with the bank in August 2009, is expected to file an appeal against the ruling by the AMF.

The AMF said in a statement that “the level of Mr Jean-Pierre Mustier’s responsibilities imposed on him” a duty to not to sell the shares when he did.

Mr Mustier was in charge of Société Générale’s investment banking unit during the period when Jerome Kerviel worked with the firm.

Doha Bank launches mobile money service

Vodafone and Doha Bank have partnered for the launch of a mobile money transfer service for Qatar customers. According to the official statement the service is scheduled to go live early next year. Using it customers will be able to send money to friends and family overseas, or locally, via a mobile phone.

Customers will be able to apply for a Vodafone Money Transfer (VMT) account from Vodafone Qatar in order to avail themselves of the service. After the registration customers can load money onto their mobile phone from Doha Bank e-branches or directly via a bank transfer.

With digital money on their VMT accounts customers can initiate local or abroad transfer or use these funds to pay for goods and services at local shops. Until e-money is transferred or spent it is stored for customers with Doha Bank, meaning they can also have the option to get it back as cash.

The service will be tested over the next few months to gain Qatar Central Bank approval prior to a commercial launch.