CitiBank, MasterCard pursue mobile banking, finance

CitiBank and MasterCard have jumped on the mobile bandwagon announcing this week services that turn the phone into a banking and personal finance tool. CitiBank plans to launch its own mobile financial transaction service powered by downloadable carrier-independent application it has built for a 100 different data-enabled phones. Meanwhile MasterCard is taking a different route, using the mobile phone as mobile locator for ATMs and merchant locations as well as delivery point for special offers and financial notices.

The CitiBank application, called CitiMobile, allows customers to check their account balance, initiate online bill payments and transfer funds from the phone, much the same way CitiBank allows those actions from its website. The finance giant is also using the phone as an ATM locator, in which a customer can enter a zip code and receive a map detailing CitiBank ATM locations and branches. The application will run natively on 100 phones, though it did not list the specific models, and presumably will be available as a Java or BREW download. The client will establish a secure 128-bit encrypted connection back the CitiBank’s servers, similar to the technology used on its Website, and the company will be authorizing transactions only from phones registered to the service in attempt to prevent fraud. As a final security measure CitiBank will require a six-digit access code for each transaction just as it requires a PIN code for ATM transactions.

CitiBank is launching a trial run of the application in California, making it available to all customers of California branches, but by mid-year it plans to have the service running nationwide.

MasterCard is adding location-based services to its portfolio of mobile services. Using Go2’s location engine it will allow customers to search ATM locations and businesses accepting MasterCard from its mobile WAP site www.mcanywhere.com. Specific searches can be performed on the Wapsite itself or customized information can be delivered to the phone via SMS, making the service available to almost every phone on the market.