RBI urges hold on m-banking
In an unprecedented move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all leading financial institutions in the country to put mobile payment services on hold till final guidelines are drafted and issued for such transactions, says Techtree.com.
Currently, there are no norms governing this kind of transaction, which are gaining in popularity as they are convenient. The RBI does not want to allow payments in the absence of proper norms.
The RBI clarified that these guidelines will affect only payment services and not basic services like mobile alerts for credit or debit entry, balance enquiry or other services that are in the nature of providing information.
Banks going social
Financial institutions are exploring online social networking as a way to acquire and retain customers, reports InformationWeek.
Fiserv, a US company that provides information management systems and services to the financial and insurance industries, has launched a Facebook application called MyMoney that lets users pay bills, make transfers, and check balances.
Research firm Gartner two years ago predicted that social networks and Web 2.0 applications such as wikis, podcasts, and blogs would become increasingly important to banks and other financial services firms seeking to develop "non-traditional distribution channels" and forge new one-on-one relationships with younger customers wary of conventional loan applications and the like.
Maldives ripe for m-banking
The nation of the Maldives has begun setting up a pioneering system which it hopes will make it one of the first countries whose citizens bank primarily using mobile phones, according to BBC News.
All the country's banks have been brought together under a single system to allow the islands' residents to pay money in and out swiftly without the need to travel to the nearest branch - which could be many miles away.
The Maldives received a $7.7 million loan from the World Bank in April, allowing it to begin establishing m-banking. It was seen as an ideal place to start up, with a relatively high GDP and lots of people with mobile phones.
Share
