CIBC Expands Mobile Payments

Canadian financial institution CIBC announced this week its mobile payments app is now available for Anroid smartphones. Previously, it had only been available for BlackBerry devices.

CIBC Suretap is now available for the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone and will expand to additional Android devices in the coming weeks, the bank said. CIBC said the app offers a number of security safeguards, including proven bank chip technology, optional user passwords, and encryption to store credit card information in a secure component of the phone's SIM card.

Meanwhile, CIBC's wireless partner on mobile payments, Canadian telecom giant Rogers, may itself soon be entering the financial services space directly. On May 3, Rogers reported that it was issued a Letters Patent by the Canadian Minister of Finance allowing it to incorporate as a bank.

With the Letters Patent of Incorporation, Rogers has twelve months to move forward with the application process to meet the requirements of an Order to Commence and Carry on Business. Upon meeting the requirements for the Order to Commence, Rogers will have the approval to begin offering credit card services.

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio