Standard Bank and MTN sued for mobile money venture

A lawsuit over patent infringement was launched against South Africa's Standard Bank and telco MTN. The companies are accused of infringing a technology patent in creating their mobile money joint venture.

In 2005 the two companies launched the MTN Banking JV that targets South Africa's large unbanked population, enabling them to make payments and money transfers through their handsets.

Wolfram Reiners, the head of South African tech firm 3MFuture, has started a legal action against the companies accusing them of patent infringement over technology for making credit card purchases over mobile phones. He seeks $136 million in damages.