Germany's IZB Soft, which supplies software and services to the Bavarian Sparkassen (savings banks), is teaming with Finland's Meridea to develop a two factor authentication system that operates via a customer's mobile phone.
The mobile transaction number (TAN) generator will be based on Meridea's recently launched two factor authentication system, which is delivered via a customer's mobile phone.
Web banking customers are presented with the transaction amount and destination account number on their phone prior to confirming transactions.
Meridea says IZB Software is looking to introduce a process which can be used independently of a TAN list, chip card reader or hardware token. The two companies are now specifying the system for generating mobile TANs, which is due to be rolled out to Bavarian Sparkassen Web banking customers in 2006.
Helsinki-based Meridea was set up by Finnish financial services group Sampo, Nokia, Accenture and venture capitalist 3i, in 2001 to sell m-banking applications to third party banks.