Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) – er, BlackBerry, Ltd., which is a stock pick for about 30 of the equity hedge funds we track – is continuing its steady move forward with its new BlackBerry 10 operating system and Z10 handset, despite some less-than-impressive opening numbers in the U.K. and Canada. One thing that BBRY has going for it – which is nice – is that it has had a decent foothold in the mobile marketplace in Indonesia. And it is in that friendly, loyal marketplace, the company is looking to launch a new mobile-banking service.
Introducing BBM Money for the BlackBerry in Indonesia, announced by Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) in partnership with Montilise plc and PermataBank. “With BBM Money, customers have the ability to create and access a mobile money account from their BlackBerry smartphone and make real-time payments to their BBM contacts who are also signed up to the service. They can also buy mobile airtime credit and transfer money to bank accounts,” says a statement from Research in Motion.
The new platform will have a pilot program in Indonesia, and the program will allow BBM Money account holders with PermataBank to load cash into the account from a BlackBerry device and make other bank transactions. “BlackBerry leads the mobile and smartphone market in Indonesia, where BBM is extremely popular with our customers,” said T.A. McCann, BlackBerry vice president of BBM and social communities. “BBM Money, which uses BlackBerry’s BBM service, further evolves the BBM experience to move from real-time chat to meaningful and convenient real-time engagement. We are excited to be part of this pilot in Indonesia, where BBM has become an essential part of daily life.”
In related news, there seems to be some differing opinions of Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) and its stock performance in the wake of the BB10 launch. UBS AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS) reported this week that it was lifting its price target from $9.50 to $13 per share and placed a “neutral” rating on the stock. By contrast, a couple other analysts have lowered their targets. MKM Partners lowered its target to $10 from $12, while Canaccord Genuity posted a $9 target while affirming its “sell” rating.
What do you think? Let us know your thoughts about Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) or your thoughts about this BBM Money concept that utilizes BlackBerry’s Messenger service to conduct mobile banking. Chime in below in the comments section.
DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.
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