INDIA — Are mobile phones a competitor -- or a complement -- to ATMs?
Maybe a little of both, judging from a news release from mobile phone provider Reliance Infocomm Limited. According to the release, ICICI Bank, in a partnership with Reliance, on July 21 launched an interactive mobile banking service in India.
Using their Reliance India Mobile handsets, ICICI bank customers can access several banking services, including viewing their account balances, getting mini statements and making requests for check books. Customers can also view presented bills and make payments via a direct debit to their bank accounts. There is no charge for the services.
However, the service also enables a customer to locate an ATM or bank branch. With these options, the customer is connected directly to the bank and the result is displayed instantly on the handset.
Customer can sign up for the service at any ICICI bank branch, or through the call center or the Internet..
"With this alliance, we have leveraged technology to synergize the benefits of a mobile phone with our banking services, which will provide the customer with a convenient anytime-anywhere banking environment," said Anup Baghi, general manager of ICICI Bank.
Reliance India Mobile's Internet applications, including the new ICICI services, are built upon a proprietary Java-based R World suite. According to the release, 7 million subscribers across India use R World to access information, communication, entertainment and transaction-based applications.
