The m -commerce joint venture between UK operators Everything Everywhere, O2 and Vodafone; Weve (formerly Project Oscar)is going down the outsourcing route to grow quickly. The JV will outsource HR, payroll and recruitment functions to HR outsourcing specialist plusHR.

SIM card maker Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) has announced a mobile wallet solution. The solution, called SmartTrust Portigo allows users to make debit and credit card payments using their smartphones and also enables them to store ID cards, loyalty cards, public transport tickets, and access keys for buildings and vehicles in the electronic wallet.

Drive-through ATMs that provide video chat with a bank advisor, the debate over the relationship between ATMs and NFC contactless payment, and the possibilities for improving the efficiency of cash systems – all are on display at Wincor World in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany, this week.

Mobile banking solutions must provide immediate benefits if they are to become successful – including the ability to complete a purchase in one click, support for contactless payment, and the ability to make small payments, according to senior market participants at the SIA Expo in Milan last week.

Milliseconds can mean millions of dollars in the hyper-competitive world of high-frequency financial trading. Trading institutions are driving demand for ever faster throughput speeds in communication networks that span the globe.

As a wave of new contactless and mobile banking services begin to make inroads into retail business, the gradual death of cash will improve the efficiency of business enormously, says Tony Virdi, head of banking and financial services UK at consultancy Cognizant.

One-third of UK consumers expect to be using smartphones to do all their banking by 2020, while two-thirds of banks expect everyone to be using mobile banking in some capacity by 2017, according to a report released by business technology provider Avanade this week.

The mobile commerce joint venture between UK operators O2, Vodafone and Everything Everywhere (parent of the Orange and T-Mobile brands in the UK) has been granted unconditional approval by the European Commission (EC).

In a move to ignite mobile payments in the UK, operator group Everything Everywhere, formed by the merger of the Orange and T-Mobile brands in the country, has signed an exclusive, five-year partnership with payment processor MasterCard. The two firms said that they plan to develop mobile and digital payment solutions for the operator’s 27 million-strong subscriber base, by combining their financial and technological assets to create new payment products and services.