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Jan. 6, 2008

In a partnership with Qualcomm-owned mobile banking company Firethorn, Verizon Wireless has announced that customers of major banks, including Wachovia, SunTrust, FirstBank and BancorpSouth can now access their bank accounts from their cell phones.

Verizon's new mobile banking application uses both PIN and device lock-out capabilities.

This is in addition to the data security that is already offered by the financial institution.

As another layer of security, Verizon customers will need to register with their financial institution's online banking service in order to use mobile banking.

Through Verizon Wireless' mobile banking service, users can now access and manage their financial accounts including: checking account balances, transferring funds between accounts within the same bank and reviewing and paying bills online.

Jim Straight, senior v.p. of consumer products at Verizon Wireless said "after announcing our relationship with Firethorn two months ago, we're making mobile banking a reality for our customers."

Straight added "and whether our customers prefer to bank at Wachovia, SunTrust, FirstBank or BancorpSouth, they can now do so wherever they go because Firethorn and their financial institution partners provide a secure, easy-to-use and flexible mobile banking application that delivers a superior customer experience."

Mobile banking services are currently available on several phones from Verizon Wireless, including the Chocolate and enV by LG, LG VX-8700, LG VX-8600, LG VX-9400 and the Samsung SCH-a950.

The two companies expect to make the application available on additional devices in the coming months.

Overall, mobile banking services are free of use, however, Verizon did say that data usage fees do apply.

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Source: Wireless Week