Jim Bruene reports on his NetBanker 2.0 blog about Citi Mobile - scheduled to begin in February according to a statement insert that Jim received.

The Washington Post is running a Reuters story reporting that HSBC Bank USA's HSBC Direct unit plans to begin paying 6 percent APR yield on online savings accounts for "new money" beginning tomorrow. The promotion is offering the higher rate between January 29 and April 30.

Express Computer reports on PayMate India's plan to target "offline merchant sign-ups which include large chains to stand-alone retail establishments. SMS has been the platform of choice for online and remote payments so far but the company has now introduced a voice-based module keeping in mind the unique requirements of the retail industry."

CNN is carrying a Dow Jones Newswire story this morning reporting from Davos on a discussion with Bill Gates about Microsoft developing on an online payment system that will be cheaper than credit card transactions.