The shame is that it is limited to just using mobile phone numbers. If I could link, say, my Facebook profile, or LinkedIn profile, or Twitter, or G+, or Skype (and so on), then digital payments could be made even more accessible. Now, how do I perform my international remittance...?

Since when "EMV", "chip" and "secure" are all spelled as "app"?..

:o)

This is something that RBS, Natwest and Ulster Bank customer have enjoyed for around a year now. With active users in  the millions, this is a hugely popular service. It works with iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry.

You can download the RBS iPhone App here: http://bit.ly/t9jyrQ

Now, I know I'm biased, but I have done a lot of research in this area and this is, by far, the best mobile banking application out there in the UK.

@Dave

iovation is not in the same league or playing field as Infineon, NXP or Gemalto. Having dual standards (http://bit.ly/XDkZGr) is a bad practice and does not help to move the industry forward.

I don't disagree with your point about standards from an academic standpoint, but typically across all industries, standards emerge only when something becomes popular and a number of streams are already underway.

I'm sure that all of the current banks that have mobile payments implemented when this initiative lands will support the new standards from day one. However, waiting until the standards are in place before begining will not provide customers with the services they are crying out for.

Moving to a third party, like your company, does not seem like a good  answer for the consumer as it only adds complexity to the situation. Better to make the payment directly from your account to the account of the recipient without going through a middle step that will need to be paid for somewhere in the value stream.

@Dave

I agree on the need of allowing innovations in. I do, however, object to having one set of rules for the banks and another for the "third parties". If a bank allows its customers to make A2A transfers in a certain way, why shouldn't those customers be allowed to use the same mechanism to transfer funds to "third parties"?..