IBM signs tie-up deal with Monitise

IBM has signed a partnership agreement with British mobile money company Monitise, in the latest sign that leading technology groups are pushing into the lucrative financial services sector.

News of the agreement sent Monitise shares up about 14 per cent to a closing price of 48.4p. Monitise shares had fallen precipitously in the preceding months, to half the 80p highs they attained earlier in the year.

The tie-up will give lossmaking Monitise access to IBM's client base of big corporate customers using cloud- based technologies, including global banks, said Monitise chief executive Alastair Lukies.

A fifth of the company’s staff – about 200 workers in the professional services division – will move to IBM.

“We will build the products and solutions, and IBM will go out and implement them,” said Mr Lukies, a rugby star turned entrepreneur.

Monitise has been trying to turn the smartphone into a one-stop banking and shopping device, after it downgraded revenue estimates and began shifting its business model away from upfront licence fees and towards subscriptions.

The London-listed company builds banking and payment apps, as well as software that lets financial institutions talk to one another to facilitate mobile transactions. Customers include Lloyds, RBS and Visa.

The transfer of 200 staff is “not about outsourcing the division because we don’t want it any more”, Mr Lukies added. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014)