CBA to launch Facebook banking by Dec 2012

Social networking is about to go financial. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia plans to let customers bank through Facebook by the end of the year.

The move is a new development in a rapidly escalating mobile payments war being waged between major financial institutions and is likely to spark a fresh debate about the security of online and mobile financial services.

The Commonwealth Bank is developing an app for the social network that enables payments to Facebook friends, mobile numbers and email addresses. Customers will be able to make BPAY payments and transfer funds or check account balances and transaction histories.

A new technology called bump will enable customers with iPhones to pay each other by tapping their phones together.

Read the details at AFR: http://afr.com/p/national/cba_goes_social_with_facebook_banking_XfqFUPI1X1VPhFrDKfAnXP#