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Bank of America says 1.1 million credit cards have been activated via Apple Pay
Earlier today, Bank of America disclosed that they've had nearly 800,000 customers activate upwards of 1.1 million credit cards via Apple Pay. Though a small drop in the bucket relative to Bank of America's 60 million customer base, it's a promising sign that Apple's mobile payment platform is growing slowly but surely. The number of mobile banking customers increased 15 percent from the year-ago quarter to 16.5 million users, and 12 percent of deposit transactions by customers were done through mobile, compared to 9 percent in the year-ago quarter. Since the introduction of Apple Pay in October, nearly 800,000 customers have enrolled in the service, adding approximately 1.1 million cards. While a more telling metric would detail what type of transaction volume Bank of America is seeing with Apple Pay, the 1.1 million figure is certainly a good start. While Apple Pay currently works with the top banks in the country, not to mention a slew of regional banks as well, Bank of America has been actively promoting the payment platform as part of a huge advertising push which includes national TV spots. Further, the splash screens on many Bank of America ATMs feature Apple Pay ads. Currently, official Apple Pay support remains a U.S.-only service, but as we've indicated previously, job listings from Apple point to the service expanding overseas sooner rather than later. Specifically, a job listing posted last month relays that Apple is looking to get an Apple Pay team up and running in London with the company ultimately aiming to expand the service into Europe, India, Africa, and the Middle East. Since Apple Pay went live last October, the service has reportedly been doing quite well. Recall that Apple Pay transactions at Whole Foods during the month of November accounted for nearly 1% of all purchases made.
Bank of America's updated app creates a wonderful mobile banking experience
As a Bank of America client, using the company's app has been a mixed bag. In the past the interface was clunky, with a limited number of features, but it was nice to be able to deposit checks via the app when I couldn't find an ATM. Still there was plenty of room for improvement, and it appears Bank of America agreed. Its iOS app has just gotten a full makeover that takes it from a usable app to a mobile mini bank. Navigation has been simplified to make it easier to access the wide range of helpful features. Users can now use the app to open new checking, credit card, and savings accounts, or even look at auto loans. Routing and account numbers are now easier to find thanks to new activity tabs. Scheduling can be handled from within the app, be it scheduling a bill payment or an appointment at the bank itself. In addition, users can now order copies of posted checks for their personal records from the comfort of their hand. Finally, camera flash controls have been added for mobile check deposits. Here is a complete list of the new features you'll find upon updating. You can find the new version of the online banking app in the iTunes store right now. Simplified navigation menu Request replacement debit or credit cards± View your available credit for credit cards Schedule an appointment with us Easily find routing and account numbers with new activity tabs Add transfer recipients from your personal contacts Control camera flash during check deposits Modify scheduled bill payments Set up and manage account nicknames Edit checking or savings transaction descriptions Order copies of posted checks
Bank of America testing QR Code scanning mobile payment system in North Carolina
Mobile payment is still a bit of a wild west at the moment, and seemingly every technological and financial institution has a dog in this fight. Bank of America's not going to just sit idly by and watch it all unfold. The US's second largest bank has flirted with NFC in the past and is currently doing trials with QR scanning in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it's based. At present, five sellers in the area are taking part in the pilot program, with bank employees given access to the technology. The three-month trial is the result of a partnership with mobile payment company Paydiant, is compatible with Android handsets and iPhones, no NFC needed, naturally.
EA is The Consumerist's 'Worst Company in America,' wins Golden Poo
Today marks another resounding success for the gaming industry! Be proud, everyone; call your parents, have a glass of fancy wine and kiss your spouse: We've won the Golden Poo.EA was voted the "absolute worst company in America" in The Consumerist's 2012 poll, defeating Bank of America with 64 percent of the vote. EA and Bank of America fought through four bracket rounds against companies such as Sony, Apple, Walmart, PayPal, Comcast, GameStop and others from a wide range of industries to make the final round. The CEOs of both companies must be thrilled.EA provided Joystiq with a statement on its solid win: "We're sure that bank presidents, oil, tobacco and weapons companies are all relieved they weren't on the list this year. We're going to continue making award-winning games and services played by more than 300 million people worldwide."This is Bank of America's second loss in the final round, following last year's battle against BP. Perhaps if Bank of America was also discovered as the main investor in Soylent Green, rather than a major player behind America's housing crisis that left thousands of people homeless and in poverty for flimsy legal reasons, it would have won the title this year or last. As it stands, EA's win suggests online voters find poor customer service a more egregious sin than destroying lives.250,000 votes were cast in The Consumerist's poll and the people online have spoken. The people in reality, however, may disagree.[Thanks, Andy.]
Hack adds NFC payment to your iPhone
Apple is rumored to be adding NFC support to the iPhone at some point in the future, but here's a way you can add wireless payments to your iPhone right now. You don't have to solder an NFC chipset, install any applications or even apply a sticker, all you have to do is pop off the back of the iPhone and stick an NFC payment card inside. The procedure is detailed over at Unplggd and it seems easy, once you overcome the fear of cracking the glass back of your iPhone.
Motorola's Atrix Certificate Updater remedies its mobile banking blunder
If you're an Atrix 4G user who has been reeling since your banking apps failed, go ahead and cancel that next therapist appointment -- thankfully for you, a permanent fix is now available in the Android Market. Motorola's Atrix Certificate Updater swaps the troublesome security signatures from v4.1.83 with versions that should play nicely alongside your mobile banking apps. If you're a sucker for punishment and want to restore the v4.1.83 certificates, the change can be reverted by relaunching Motorola's updater. With this misstep out of the way, you can enjoy the Memorial Day holiday and keep your financial life in order -- even while your bank's doors remain tightly locked.
Motorola's Atrix 4G update 4.1.83 breaks the bank (literally)
Fans of mobile banking are discovering harsh surprises after updating their Atrix 4G to v4.1.83. Amongst the numerous improvements in this release (including the widely touted HSUPA fix), Motorola added new SSL certificates to the mix. While such a change would normally be inconsequential, many banking apps have stopped functioning with the new certificates in place -- a rude shock for anyone needing to deposit a paycheck. So far, Moto confirms that American Express, Bank of America, Chase and Discover are affected -- while Wells Fargo and Citibank's apps run just fine. Motorola plans to issue a workaround for affected users, but currently suggests that everyone access their financial institution through Android's web browser. Maybe it's just us, but this sounds like a fine opportunity to take the new Firefox 4 for a spin. [Thanks, David]
RIM, Bank of America partnering up for Mobile Wallet NFC trial
We've known for some time that RIM is going all-in on NFC (isn't everyone?), but we didn't realize they were going retroactive, too. A NFC payment trial coming up involving RIM and Bank of America will allow selected testers to get an NFC-capable back for their Curve 8520 or 8530, Tour 9630, or Bold 9000, 9650, or 9700 -- in other words, most of the company's portrait QWERTY models from the last couple years. You'll also need an active Bank of America account, at which point you'll be able to tap your 'Berry on NFC terminals to get your pay on. The trial starts this spring; no word on when it might be open to everyone. [Thanks, Dylan]
Visa gets Bank of America on board for mobile payments trial, starting in New York next month
It didn't take long for Visa to react to the three-headed beast of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon entering the mobile payments arena. The world's foremost payment processing company has just announced that it's about to start a trial of its contactless payment system in partnership with Bank of America. Kicking off in the New York area this September and lasting through the end of the year, the scheme will most likely involve the MicroSD NFC communicator and In2Pay iPhone case that DeviceFidelity has been developing for Visa. No disclosures are being made on the size of this pilot scheme, though we're told that only a "select" group of employees and customers will be getting the mobile payment chips. Don't worry if you miss out on this one, though, as a similar trial is scheduled to begin in October with US Bancorp. That should give you enough time to turn yourself into a high-rolling select customer, right?
HP CEO: "We didn't buy Palm to be in the smartphone business"
You'd think spending a billion dollars on a smartphone company would indicate a desire to, say, make and sell smartphones, but you'd apparently be thinking wrong: HP CEO Mark Hurd just told investors at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch tech conference that his company "didn't buy Palm to be in the smartphone business," and that he's not going to "spend billions of dollars trying to go into the smartphone business; that doesn't in any way make any sense." Yes, that sound you're hearing is Jon Rubinstein's heart breaking into a million tiny pieces. According to Hurd, HP was actually more interested in Palm's IP -- specifically webOS, which he wants to put on "tens of millions of HP small form-factor web-connected devices." Sure, that makes sense, and it lines up perfectly with HP's plan to "double down on webOS" and put it on everything from netbooks and slates to printers, but hey, Mark? You should really look into the smartphone business when you get a second, okay? Just trust us on this one. We didn't buy Palm to be in the smartphone business. And I tell people that, but it doesn't seem to resonate well. We bought it for the IP. The WebOS is one of the two ground-up pieces of software that is built as a web operating environment...We have tens of millions of HP small form factor web-connected devices...Now imagine that being a web-connected environment where now you can get a common look and feel and a common set of services laid against that environment. That is a very value proposition. [Thanks, Steve]
Bloom 'Box' Energy Server hands-on (literally) with video!
So here it is, the now-famous (that was fast) Bloom "Box" Energy Servers -- all five of 'em -- working their magic at eBay's north campus. Not much to look at, but we're happy to say it retains a low temperature -- the only heat we really found was due to direct exposure to the light -- and remains quiet while running. There are vents just underneath the sides where cool air was being pumped out. Of course, its raison d'etre is its ability to more efficiently deliver power, which is not something we can really test ourselves. Bloom Energy showcased a number of customers today -- FedEx, Walmart, Staples, Google, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Cox, and of course, eBay -- and if the numbers meet their mark, you can color us mighty impressed. You know the drill: gallery below, quick video after the break! %Gallery-86437% %Gallery-86409%
Dunkin' Run lets you live in the future, Dunkin' Donuts style
Ever wanted to order a bunch of coffee and doughnuts along with your friends online, and then go and pick them up in the store? There is, in fact, an app for that. Dunkin' Donuts has released Dunkin' Run (iTunes link), an app that not only connects you and your friends together (through a strange love of pastries and java), but will allow you to set up an order and then go straight to the store and pick it up.Sound unnecessary and lame? Maybe -- though it is free, even if it's adware as adware can possibly get. And apparently the app is really badly designed, not to mention that we do feel a little dirty telling you about it: you should probably eat something a little healthier, like a banana or even an (wait for it) apple.But let's not forget where we started out here -- back in the day, we dreamed of ordering coffee on our iPhone, and now that day has basically come. Unfortunately, the best parts of the dream haven't yet materialized -- Dunkin' Runs only lets you tally up orders among your friends, not actually deliver them to the store. For that, you've still got to show the cashier your iPhone screen, and/or read them off the order. But it is a step closer to the dream. If companies are going to make apps that are actually useful for us, they have to start with apps like this, no? And if nothing else, it's an app that will tell you where Dunkin' Donuts is -- that's all I use my Bank of America app for anyway.
