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Vodafone And ICICI Bank Join Hands To Offer Mobile Payment Services, ‘m-pesa’
The mobile phone of the 21st century is smart, handy, nifty and an all important ally. I don’t need to spell out the assistance that this device provides us all in terms of connectivity, a platform for friendly chats and a means to sort out work related emails + documents. While the above is a trend that we all have lived and are living, there is undoubtedly a revolution underway. M-Banking is the next big thing. Right from paying insurance premiums to buying gold and silver, everything can now be done via your mobile phone. Earlier in October, we reported how Paymate’s mobile kissan credit card has successfully signed-up 7000 farmers in the pilot stage, thus indicating the general acceptance of the mobile platform doubling up as a bank/credit card/etc.
Keeping this up-coming trend in mind, ICICI Bank, which is the front-runner in the m-banking sector has joined hands with Vodafone to offer mobile payment services known as ‘m-pesa’. These services will be available to the people in the East – Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal. Successively, these services will be rolled out across the country in different phases.
With m-pesa, users will have a mobile money account with ICICI Bank and a mobile wallet will be issued to them by Mobile Commerce Solutions which is a 100% subsidiary of Vodafone India. The features of this service will allow users to withdraw cash from specified outlets, pay utility bills, buy mobile recharge and transfer money to any mobile phone or bank account.
Speaking on the launch of this service, Chanda Kochhar, managing director and chief executive of ICICI Bank, said, “m-pesa will allow us to provide basic banking services to millions of customers. This will help us reach out to segments that currently do not have access to banking services.”
I think this initiative is a great step towards achieving the goal of financial inclusion. The fact that people will have the power to control their finances will result in their empowerment and the possible end of over-dependence on middle men and an intermediary system.
Image Courtesy | indiavision
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2012-11-09 05:20:40
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