A new research report from Berg Insight expects the number of mobile money users in emerging markets to grow from 61 million active users in 2011 to 381 million by 2017; a compound annual growth rate of 36%.

Meanwhile the total value of mobile money transactions is forecast to grow from $44 billion last year to $395 billion (£246 billion) in 2017, the equivalent of a 44% increase each year.

RBS and NatWest have launched an NFC mobile contactless payment service for bank customers with an Apple iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S.

The service, which is called TouchPay, has been developed with Visa Europe and uses a protective iCarte cover that incorporates NFC technology.

Money transfer company MoneyGram has announced an agreement that’ll see its services provided over Gemalto’s LinqUs Mobile Money solution.

It means customers will be able to send international money transfers from a mobile phone to one of MoneyGram’s 284,000 locations worldwide or, alternatively, to receive transfers directly to their mobile wallet.

67% of UK smartphone owners don’t do any banking on their mobile phone, with a further 13% saying they “don’t do very much” mobile banking. That’s one of the findings of a new survey commissioned by outsourcing company Firstsource Solutions and carried out by YouGov.

Over half of all respondents (55%) say they’re afraid their personal bank details will not be kept secure, while 35% are put off by the size of smartphone screens.

Customers of the Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest can now withdraw money from a cash machine by using their mobile phone instead of a bank card.

The ‘GetCash’ service is available via the banks’ free app on Apple, Android and BlackBerry devices.