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Barclays offers mobile banking services
| Customers can transfer funds using their GSM cell phones |
MOBILE BANKING: Suresh Gurumani, Director, Barclays Bank, Retail, India, and Barclays Global Retail and Commercial Banking, launching the mobile banking service in New Delhi on Friday.
NEW DELHI: U.K.-based Barclays Bank on Friday rolled out a mobile banking service in India to enable its customers to transfer funds, pay bills and make account enquiries, using their GSM cell phones. Called Hello Money, the service will cost customers Rs. 30 a month, and will be offered free-of-cost to salary account holders.
The customers signed up to the service could dial a given number before entering an assigned PIN number and choose the option for different transactions, including buying up of top-up time for mobiles. Initially, Hello Money will be available through all GSM handsets on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea networks in 40 Indian cities.
The bank is looking to extend the service to CDMA handsets in the future, said Barclays Bank Director (Retail Banking) Suresh Gurumani at the launch press conference.
This service would also be available to “no frills account” holders with limited features. The bank is also in talks with micro finance institutions to offer the service.
With just five branches in India and a customer base of around six lakh the Barclays, through mobile banking, is seeking to garner a share of the total 231 million mobile users across the country. In the wake of Reserve Bank of India allowing banks to expand business through bank correspondents, the bank has plans to more than double its manpower from 1,700 at present to get more business.
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