Nokia to end mobile money service (Finland, India)
Handset maker Nokia is planning to put an end to its mobile money business in an attempt to keep with the company’s strategy of focusing on the core areas of the business. Nokia launched its service a couple of years back in India.
According to a report by Hindu, Nokia has over 1.2 million subscribers availing the mobile money service, via different platforms. The company has tied up Yes Bank, Union Bank as well as provides the service via its own platform, ‘Nokia money’. However, the impact will be felt by the 2 lakh subscribers using the service under the Nokia Money brand.
The report reveals that the information to these subscribers to use up the money deposited in the mobile money account will be sent starting March 15. Further, Nokia will continue the service for the next 3 to 4 months to give enough time for subscribers to use up the money.
The company will surrender its licence to the apex bank in India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as well as refund the registration fee to the subscribers.
BSNL to launch Mobile Banking in India
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Mobile Money Transfer Services is set to be launched by India’s state owned telco, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited in participation with SBI and YES Bank on electronic platform.
Money orders could be send by the mobile subscribers electronically through text messages (SMS) with the help of this innovative plan. For this, the customers are required to go to the nearest post office and transfer the money by SMS. The receiver can collect the money by showing the unique code contained in the SMS to the post office in his locality.
The service has already been test piloted in Chandigarh and it will soon be rolled out after Reserve Bank’s approval.
Nokia launches Mobile Money service in India
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: World’s first money transfer platform through mobiles in India has been announced by the global leader in the mobile handset industry, Nokia, at the Mobile World Congress in platform. Nokia has partnered Yes Bank and Obopay, which runs mobile payments platform and the pilot project has been launched in Pune.
Known as Mobile Money, the service will enable a customer to transfer money to other individuals, pay utility bills as well as recharge pre-paid SIM cards by using their mobile devices. Payment of merchants for goods and services can also be made by the consumers through their mobile devices.
According to D Shivakumar, VP and managing director, Nokia India, the service will create a financial ecosystem which is inclusive, sustainable and scalable besides competing with cash and not with plastic money adding that it will grow the size of e-transfer of money in India.
Obapay gazing mobile banking in India
Mobile Banking, a new term for the players who are planning to bring banking to India’s rural population. Yet the final guidelines are not issued by RBI. But the players have started working on the concept of Mobile banking.
Obapay (US-based mobile payment company) is entering Indian market with the Partnership of Yes Bank is gaming on Indian Mobile Banking.
Aim of the pilot project is to connect with rural population of India which is soon going to be launched in Mumbai. As mobile banking is a quite new concept in India, security issues are up till now a big concern, major reason is that RBI has still not issued final guidelines on mobile banking.
Aditya Menon, CEO, Obopay India, said that The RBI does have certain value based limits and banks can regulate how much they want to transfer depending on the nature of transaction. We have a two factor authentification procedure and that way unsolicited calls from any bank is not even possible, hence phising won’t happen.â€
”The US is a serious banking environment, people are much more comfortable with mobile banking, and the facilities needed are much more clearly defined,†said Carol Realini , CEO, Obopay added
Considering the Scenario of Indian Market, with hazy security regulations and challenges of providing multilingual services in the rural environments. Will the 25% mobile penetration in India alone make this a succesful model, is a big question in front of the players.
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