Indian banks push for e-billing

The Reserve Bank of India has urged banks to drive electronic payment services, reports Rupee Times.

The bank urged commercial banks to expand the roll-out of electronic payment systems and adopt methods such as real-time gross settlement, national electronic funds transfer, and electronic clearing service, for transactions.

Despite the fact that most banks have set ATMs across India and also offer Internet banking facilities, most people still use conventional banking methods.

France Telecom seeks to expand its mobile payment services across Africa, as part of a wider plan to double revenue in Africa and the Middle East over the next five years, states Total Telecom.

The French telecoms giant has teamed up with Equity Bank to roll out Orange Money in Kenya, after the service went live in Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal.

Expanding mobile payment services is part of the group's plan to boost revenue in the region. As growth in Western markets is slowing, France Telecom, along with other telecom giants, is turning towards Africa and the Middle East to attract new customers.

Seven electric utility companies in the US are set to offer electronic bill payment through banks and financial institutions, says Auto Mobi.

Using the FirstEnergy electronic billing service, customers can view their monthly electric bills securely through online banking accounts at more than 3 100 financial institutions.

"This service offers the added convenience of using an existing online banking account to view and pay electric bills, at the same time and in the same way that customers pay other monthly bills," says John Paganie, vice-president of customer service and energy efficiency for FirstEnergy.