* Company says receives "number of expressions of interest"
* Does not identify potential suitors or partners
* Shares rise 22 pct after news, but reverse course (Adds background, comment from financial investor, updatesshare price)
By Noor Zainab Hussain
Jan 23 (Reuters) - British mobile banking software makerMonitise Plc said on Friday it has received "a numberof expressions of interest" after putting itself up for sale.
A former high-tech darling, Monitise has in recent timescome up against tough competition from the free mobile paymentsystems offered by the likes of Google Inc and AppleInc.
The company said that, among the expressions of interestreceived, potential transactions included a merger with a thirdparty or a sale of the company. It did not identify potentialsuitors or partners.
The announcement prompted a 22 percent jump in the company'sshares, although they later reversed course to fall nearly 7percent to 13.8125 pence, their lowest in five years. More than120 million shares had changed hands by 1528 GMT.
Monitise, founded in 2003, blazed a trail by linking banksand mobile operators to build a business capable of handlingmore than $70 billion a year in mobile payments, purchases andmoney transfers.
The company provides software for mobile devices that allowsclients of banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland andBanco Santander, to pay for goods and services.
But on Thursday, the company posted its third revenuewarning in a year, citing its switch last year to a subscriptionmodel from one based on licences.
Shares of Monitise have shed 65 percent of their value sincemid-September, when Visa Inc, then the company's biggestcustomer, revealed plans to divest its stake.
Monitise has hired Moelis & Co to conduct an "allencompassing" strategic review that will include a range ofcorporate transactions and stock market listing options.
The company has tie-ups with MasterCard Inc and IBM, both of which have been cited by analysts as possiblesuitors. Neither MasterCard nor IBM could immediately be reachedfor comment.
Thomas Noyes, a financial technology investor and formerhead of channels at Citigroup's Global Consumer Group, said hebelieved IBM would only be interested at a "pretty low price"and that Monitise would not be a natural fit for MasterCard.
"Ninety percent of Monitise's focus is online banking, andthat's not what MasterCard does," he said. (Editing by Robin Paxton)
