Financial institution California Bank & Trust is making banking easier for consumers with a handful of new mobile tools, including applications and a mobile-optimized site.

Citibank is playing up the iPad’s tablet-specific features with a new user interface that simplifies the banking process for consumers and enhances the company’s goal to be on every platform.

Mobile banking is quickly becoming the future of banking statements, and a new study found that mobile is now a factor when consumers are choosing banks.

With the increase in consumer uptake of smartphones in 2011, more retail players will take to mobile, deploying product discovery tools with the hopes of driving sales.

Money transfer company MoneyGram International has announced the first large-scale commercial roll out of cash-to-phone money transfers in the United States.

Today’s news briefs – Mobile marketing will have a role to play in mobile banking, according to Celent; and USAA makes mobile financial transactions simpler, safer with VeriSign.

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Gemalto announced several partnerships and new mobile commerce services, including mobile coupons via near field communication.

LendingTree LLC, a lender exchange and personal finance resource, is aiming to help mobile consumers navigate the bleak economy with a mortgage quote application.

Citibank has expanded its iPhone application to help customers stay connected to their finances in real-time.

A new report from Celent predicts that in many developing markets, mobile payments are starting to spill over from the person-to-person realm into payments originated by businesses.