Banks to bank on mobile penetration in 2012

NEW DELHI, INDIA: With a focus on financial inclusion, the government has mooted delivery of services over mobile devices.

As the DIT is all set to unveil m-service framework by March 2012, the technology providers and integrators see it as a win-win situation for both-- financial institutions and service operators.

Speaking to CIOL, Abhishek Bhattacharya, Director (Technology) at Sapient Global Markets, that offers solutions for capital and commodities markets, said that m-services will offer massive opportunity for everyone in the market.

“Banks will provide mobile versions of their websites, that will allow common transactions through mobile devices,” he said. Bhattacharya believes that as smartphone usage increases and data connectivity speed improves, dedicated mobile apps from banks would come up.

Influenced by the soaring mobile penetration, the government plans to announce mobile service delivery gateway early next year. A dedicated app store for financial services is also on the cards.

“For people with basic mobile phones, simple mobile payment options will become available through very basic technologies like SMS. This is also known as mobile wallet, which will allow people to pay for services through mobile phones,” he said.

Very soon, Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies will become available in phones. It would allow people to make payments and facilitate basic bank operations with NFC technology, Bhattacharya said.