Get the latest announcements from MEF Members across the mobile ecosystem globally in this weekly review of member news…
Deutsche Telekom Fights Smartphone Theft With Blockchain
Everyday almost 600 smartphones are stolen in Germany and annually over 1.4 million in the United States. With that comes the threat of identity theft, and for people using corporate phones, serious security breaches for their company. That’s why Deutsche Telekom decided to use blockchain technology to help respond more quickly and comprehensively to smartphone theft.
Previously, when someone reported a stolen cell phone, Deutsche Telekom could block access to mobile services through the phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. (IMEI is a distinctive 15-digit serial number used to identify mobile devices.)
This prevented thieves from connecting to the Deutsche Telekom network with the stolen device, but it didn’t prevent them from connecting to other networks. The challenge was: how to create a trusted IMEI blacklist that network operators, smartphone manufacturers, and end users anywhere could use to list and identify blacklisted phones.
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IMImobile announces npower as first Apple Business Chat client in the UK
Global cloud communications software and solutions provider IMImobile PLC, today announced that one of the largest energy providers in the UK, npower, is its first client on Apple Business Chat. npower will be utilising Apple Business Chat to improve its customer experience for customers looking to switch to a smart meter.
Apple Business Chat is a new way for consumers to connect directly with businesses using the Messages app on Apple devices. With more than1.3 billion active Apple devices worldwide, Business Chat provides a significant reach and an unprecedented opportunity to create powerful and seamless messaging interactions between consumers and businesses.
Jay Patel, Chief Executive at IMImobile, commented, “Apple Business Chat offers a new and powerful way for consumers to engage with brands and we are pleased to be part of a small group of approved Apple providers supporting this phase of the rollout. Conversational customer engagement, service and support present a huge opportunity for businesses, more so now than at any other time and we look forward to working with npower to further optimise the customer service experience.”
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mGage featured in The Parliamentary Review 2018
mGage, an industry-leading mobile engagement provider, has been recognised for industry best practice in a recent government review in the United Kingdom. Released annually, The Parliamentary Review features thriving British businesses and educators. Its aim is to share best practices and raise industry standards by working with several successful organisations up and down the country and across private and public sectors.
This year’s edition of The Parliamentary Review highlights the progress of technology. mGage, situated in London, helps to enhance relationships between brands and their customers through mobile channels such as SMS, RCS and Push.
“Brands look to mGage for ways to deepen the relationship with their customers through mobile messaging,” comments VP of Europe, Nick Millward. “We have invested millions of pounds into our technology and infrastructure globally over the past three years and we are currently working on the next generation of mobile messaging: Rich Communication Services (RCS). This new mode of text messaging enables multimedia, interactive content and unique branding that will transform customer engagement and interaction.”
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Infobip Showcases WhatsApp Business at Money 20/20 Helping Banks Engage with Customers Over the Most Widely Used Chat App on Earth
Infobip, a global communication platform for businesses will be showcasing its enablement of WhatsApp Business at Money 20/20 on October 21-24th in Las Vegas, allowing financial institutions, retailers and organizations enhancing relevant customer dialogue to the potential market of 1.6 billion users in 180 countries.
The advantages of utilizing WhatsApp Business are many. A financial institution can, for example, communicate personal account verification information, account statements, banking transaction alerts and payment reminders to name a few.
The dialogue is branded and relevant to the customer, helping to elevate card-holder loyalty and long-term confidence for the bank over WhatsApp, the chat app the customer already trusts and enjoys.
By introducing WhatsApp Business, Infobip enables enterprises to expand client and customer oriented dialogue. The opted-in customer communications include rich media content such as high-resolution images, text, file and document sharing amplifying the overall brand experience.
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Virgin Trains: RCS could impact app development
Rich Communication Services (RCS) could start to impact app development budgets in the next year or two. That’s the view of John Sullivan, CIO and project director of Virgin Trains.
Virgin Trains has been sending RCS messages to its customers since July. The messages are an evolution of the text message services the train operator has been running for some time, alerting passengers to the fact their train is due, around 20 minutes before boarding, and the platform it is on, five minutes before boarding.
Most Virgin Trains passengers still receive an SMS; only those on Vodafone on an Android device with a recent-enough version of the Android OS, receive an RCS message, which has the potential to include rich media, video, links, Underground service updates, and suggested responses to questions. In short, more of an app-like experience than SMS.
Speaking at an RCS event organised by research firm mobileSquared this afternoon, Sullivan said:
“I think RCS will have an impact on apps next year and the year after. What level of development will we put into our iOS and Android apps? When we set up the RCS messaging, the deployment was a matter of weeks, incredibly quick really. If I was talking to our app developers, it would be a lot of money and a lot of time.”
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Face Time: iProov And The Battle Against Identity Theft
Andrew Bud, founder of biometric security software business iProov, tells us why his tech is the front line against fraud and identify theft. Today it is used by governments and global banks to ensure you are who you say you are.
What’s the business in a nutshell?
iProov authenticates online users for logon and ID proofing using biometric face verification. We are world leaders in confirming the genuine presence of the user, whatever device they are using.
In a world where it is now all too easy for criminals to create false identities and fraudulently pose as other people, ‘liveness detection’ and ensuring the supposed user is genuinely who they say they are – and not, for example, just a moving photograph or a synthetic video – is becoming more and more important.
