mobile banking - Dhaka Mirror

Mobile banking to get a further boost

Admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 04:58:26 +0000

Mobile banking will get a further boost as the central bank proposes to channel all financial payments through mobile phones under stronger tie-ups between banks, cell phone operators and other service providers. The draft Regulatory Guidelines for Mobile Financial Services in Bangladesh, published on Monday, will turn every mobile phone into a digital wallet and spur branchless banking, a Bangladesh Bank official said.
The draft said the financial sector has undergone tremendous growth in volume and complexity over the recent years.
However, despite impressive growth gains in capital base, income, return on equity and other areas, the financial sector is yet to reach out with adequate financial services to low-income rural and urban population.
Rapid countrywide expansion of mobile phone networks and the modernisation of payment systems and financial sector IT infrastructure opened up opportunities for innovating mobile phone-based cost efficient modes of service delivery, the draft said.
The central bank started providing mobile banking licences to banks in 2009. On average, Tk 420 crore is transacted a day through mobile banking with activities mostly limited to cash-in and cash-out and person-to-person transfers. Salary disbursement and utility payments through mobile phones have remained very negligible.
Mobile operators have 100 percent coverage across the country and own up to 30 percent share into a mobile financial services (MFS) platform.
“The new guideline will help enhance transparency and accountability,” the central bank official said.
The primary role of the MFS platforms will be as payment services providers, with secondary engagements in deposit taking, loan disbursement and recovery, and insurance premium collection, according to the new proposal.
The MFS platforms will not engage in any lending from their own funds, but will be free to act as agents of BB-licensed banks and financial institutions in disbursing loans and in accepting repayments on behalf of the licensees.
Likewise, the platforms will be free to mobilise savings of mobile account holders into their deposit accounts with authorised deposit-taking institutions such as banks and financial institutions maintaining required cash reserves.
It will not be obligatory for the MFS platforms to pay interest or profit on balances in the accounts, the proposal said.
The initiative will enable disbursement of inward foreign remittances and cash-in or cash-out into mobile accounts through agents, bank branches, ATMs and mobile network operator outlets.
Person to business payments such as utility bill payments, merchant payments, deposits into savings accounts or schemes with banks, loan repayments to banks, non-bank financial institutions or micro-finance institutions, and insurance premium payments to insurance companies can also be made.
Companies can disburse salaries and dividends into mobile accounts. Loan disbursement to borrowers and vendor payments will also be possible.
Banks alone or in association with other banks will have to form a separate subsidiary if they want to provide MFS, according to the proposal.
At present, banks run MFS as a wing of the company, but the proposed guideline stipulates that they set up a separate platform with a minimum paid-up capital of Tk 100 crore.
A further cushion of capital reserve matching the amount of paid-up capital will have to be built up from retained earnings, at a rate not below 10 percent of annual net profits, to cover operational and other risks.
The proposal said the MFS platforms will be sponsored and led only by commercial banks. It also offers opportunities to mobile phone operators to be an active part in the system.
The MFS platforms may have both banks and non-bank entities, including mobile network operators, as equity holders.
In that case, banks will hold the majority beneficial ownership in total equity, while no bank or non-bank entity can hold more than 15 percent ownership.
The beneficial ownership of telecom operators in an MFS platform should not exceed 30 percent of its total equity.
Since 2009, 28 banks took licences for mobile banking. Of them, 20 started operations, four lost licences, while the rest are in the process to launch the service.

-With The Daily Star input

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Mobile banking customers over 52 lakh: BB

Admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:26:11 +0000

The number of users availing themselves of mobile banking facilities in the country has hit 52.54 lakh, said a Bangladesh Bank official on Monday.
‘In April, the number of subscribers has exceeded 50 lakh taking the total
number to 52.54 lakh (as of June 10),’ he told UNB.Responding to a question, the official said the central bank had given permission to 26 banks so far for providing mobile banking services.
‘Of them, 17 banks have started offering the facilities.’
He said over Tk 121 crore had been transacted each day through using mobile banking facilities across the country.
The BB official also said the central bank was putting in its efforts to bring readymade garment industry workers under mobile banking facilities.
According to the central bank data, a total of 1,51,56,796 transactions were there in April through mobile banking which was 1,36,78,631 in March.
The transaction accounted for Tk 3334 crore in March while Tk 3637 crore in April.
The central bank has asked the banks that are yet to introduce mobile banking, to introduce it immediately otherwise, the central bank will scrap the permission.
The banks that have already introduced the services are Trust Bank, Eastern Bank, Brac Bank, Mercantile Bank, AB Bank, Dhaka Bank, Dutch Bangla Bank, Premier Bank, Southeast Bank, Prime Bank, Bank Asia, UCB, NCC Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Islami Bank, Commerce Bank and Standard Bank.
Sonali Bank, Jamuna Bank, ONE Bank, IFIC Bank, Al Arafah Islami Bank, Exim Bank, Janata Bank, Shahjalal Bank Limited and City Bank NA are yet to introduce the mobile banking service.
The central bank officials said Bangladesh can use mobile financial services not only to accelerate financial inclusion, but also to bring more than 85 per cent unbanked population to the mainstream at a cost effective manner.
As 99 per cent people of Bangladesh are already under the mobile phone network, almost all will have the access to the formal financial channel.
The central bank introduced mobile financial services in 2010 to bring the unbanked people under banking services.

-With New Age input

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Mobile Financial Service

Admin — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:00:42 +0000

BB asks banks to follow bank-led model
Bangladesh Bank has asked scheduled banks to follow the bank-led model of mobile financial service to avoid confusion over who is the principal provider of the service, said BB officials.
A central bank official told New Age on Thursday that the BB on Monday issued letters to the managing directors and chief executive officers of all banks, asking them not to sign any agreement with other companies violating the BB rules of the mobile financial service.
The BB asked the banks to sign deals with other companies in such a way that clients could easily recognise that the ownership of the service was retained by the banks.
The BB has recently received a number of requests from the banks that they want to form subsidiary companies to expand their mobile financial service, a BB official told New Age on Thursday.
‘So, the BB has warned the banks not to breach the central bank’s regulations in the mobile banking,’ he said.
The BB asked the banks that they must follow the regulations accurately in signing any agreement with other organisation or in forming any subsidiary company to give the mobile banking service, he said.
Another BB official said that the banks usually provided the mobile banking service through telecom companies like Grameenphone or Robi. The practice gives an impression that the telecom companies are the principal organisations behind the service, he said.
He said, ‘The BB has asked the banks to promote their own branding in the mobile financial service to avert such confusion.’
He said, ‘A good number of countries have introduced the mobile banking service under non-bank-led model and bank-led model but there is no scope to provide the service under the non-bank-led model in our country.’
Out of 47 banks which got mobile banking service licence from the BB, 23 banks introduced the service.
‘But, only three to four of them possess the capacity of giving the service,’ he said.
According to the BB guideline on the mobile financial services, providers and customers mainly two types of mobile financial services (bank-led and non-bank-led) are followed worldwide.
From legal and regulatory perspective, only the bank-led model will be allowed to operate in Bangladesh, the guideline said.
The bank-led model will offer an alternative to conventional branch-based banking to unbanked population through appointed agents facilitated by the mobile network operators and solution providers, it said.
Customer account, termed ‘mobile account’ will rest with the bank and will be accessible through customers’ mobile device. Mobile account will be a non-cheque limited purpose account, the guideline said.
BB executive director Dasgupta Asim Kumar told New Age on Thursday that the central bank had asked the banks to follow the bank-led model on mandatory basis.
The BB took the step so that the banks would give attention more before signing deals with other companies in this regard, he said.
Besides, the banks will have to bear all responsibilities if its partner companies perpetrate any anomaly while providing the mobile financial services to the clients.

-With New Age input

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e-banking rides high on IT

Admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:16:03 +0000

The financial sector made remarkable progress in adopting electronic forms of payments instead of traditional paper-based ones in the just concluded year.
The use of debit card, credit card, automated teller machine (ATM), internet banking, mobile banking, automated cheque processing and credit information system increased significantly in 2011.
Banks were in the forefront of harnessing technology to improve their products, services and efficiency to rope in customers.
According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data, out of 47 scheduled banks 43 are now engaged more or less in electronic operations.
The four banks that are yet to adopt electronic banking are: Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Bangladesh Development Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank and Rupali Bank. All these are state-owned.
BB data shows 38 banks were providing online banking facilities and 18 banks internet banking. On the other hand, nearly 40 banks have now ATM or debit card services and 26 banks offer credit card facilities.
Transactions through ATMs increased by more than 50 percent to around Tk 35,000 crore in 2011. Credit card transactions also rose more than 50 percent to nearly Tk 5,000 crore.
The central bank also took steps to make automated cheque processing system and mobile banking more effective. The BB issued guidelines for mobile-based banking services in the same year in a bid to ensure financial inclusion of the non-banked population.
“It (2011) was a great year for the financial sector in terms of IT adoption,” said Tapan Kanti Sarker, head of IT of NCC Bank.
Cheque processing, credit information and fund transfer all have been automated in the just concluded year, he added.
Syed Masodul Bari, head of IT of Al-Arafah Bank, said banking has become much easier due to the use of IT in 2011. He cited an example of remittance transfer, which has now become a matter of a few minutes instead of weeks needed earlier.
He said mobile banking would rise with a huge potential in 2012.
“Banks’ activities have become more transparent due to the use of IT,” said Bari.

-With The Daily Star input

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BRAC Bank launches mobile banking service

Admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:35:27 +0000

BRAC Bank introduced a complete mobile financial service yesterday with assistance from its subsidiary company bKash Ltd. Now mobile phones will be used as bank accounts and they will also serve as wallet for transaction of money.
BRAC Bank said customers will be able to receive electronic money into their bKash accounts through salary, loan, domestic remittance, and other disbursements and eventually will cash out the electronic money at any of the hundreds of cash out agents bKash assigns.
The bank said bKash will fundamentally change the way people now do transactions, as customers will not need to come to the bank; rather the bank will come to their places.
bKash is designed to provide financial services via mobile phones to both the unbanked and the banked people of Bangladesh. The overall bKash value proposition is simple: a safe, convenient place to store money; a safe, easy way to make payments and money transfers, said the bank in a statement.
bKash mobile wallet is a VISA technology platform, which is fully encrypted to ensure most secure transactions. It will be the customer account into which money can be deposited and out of which money can be withdrawn or used for various services.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman inaugurated the service yesterday. The governor marked the service as a true partnership between banking and telecom industries.
He said broader socio-economic objectives of serving low-income people would be met by bKash. He believes that it would promote sustainable micro-savings to achieve broader financial inclusion by providing convenient, affordable and reliable services.
The governor invited all the banks to launch such services that are more secured and can ensure faster settlement. Mobile banking is another success story of Bangladesh, he said.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of BRAC, said, “bKash provides a wonderful opportunity for millions of unbanked people who own cell phones to have bank accounts where they will be able to deposit, pay out and transfer funds as they wish safely and securely.”
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s newly appointed Vice Chairman Md Giasuddin Ahmed said the regulator would help the telecom operators by providing other frequencies for such services.
Mobile operator Robi Axiata has become a partner with BRAC Bank to provide the service for its subscribers and extend the distribution of the service. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Robi Michael Kuehner said, this is the first time a dedicated mobile financial service provider has partnered with a mobile operator. So it must be remembered that the customers expect truly transformative payment solutions and services, he added.
Chief Marketing Officer of Robi Bidyut Kumar Basu also spoke at the event.
Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali, chairman of BRAC Bank and bKash, said the service will highly benefit the country as a large portion of the population earns a little amount of money and access to finance can help in improving their economic situation.
Kamal Quadir, CEO of bKash, said, “We will evolve with the needs of individuals, businesses and communities.”
Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO of BRAC Bank, said the bank targets at least 10 lakh people to be registered with the system within this year. For the time being the bank has tied up with mobile operator Robi but it will be involved with the other operators in phases, he said.
The menu-driven system will be user-friendly, he said, adding that customers can do banking even through the most basic handset.

-With The Daily Star input

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First-ever mobile banking launched in country

Admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 08:33:18 +0000

The first-ever mobile banking service in the country was launched on Thursday as a part of modernising the banking sector.
Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited launched the service in collaboration with mobile phone operators Banglalink and CityCell in the capital.
Primarily mobile banking will provide the clients with cash deposit, cash withdrawal, merchant payment, utility payment, salary disbursement, foreign remittance, and fund transfer services.
Nine other banks have also been licensed by the Bangladesh Bank to introduce mobile banking.
BB governor Atiur Rahman inaugurated the service through depositing money in and withdrawing cash from two DBBL-authorised mobile service centres at Naya Paltan and Purana Paltan areas in the city.
Though the services would be faster than other forms of banking services and would include the people even of the remote areas covered by the CityCell and Banglalink networks, it would also be a little more expensive for the users.
The users will have to pay a service charge of Tk 50 for depositing Tk 5,000 and Tk 100 to withdraw the same amount of money.
The service charge will be whichever amount is higher between Tk 5 and 1 pre cent of the deposited money at the cash-in end and whichever amount is higher between Tk 10 and 2 per cent of the money withdrawn from the cash-out end.
Any Banglalink or CityCell mobile user can register as a recipient of the service by paying a Tk 10 fee to any authorised agent point of the DBBL or any retailer of CityCell and Banglalink.
After registration, the users will be given a personal identification number and a check digit ranging from one to nine which will be added to his/her mobile number that will act as security measures. Every user will need his/her mobile set, check digit and PIN for making any transaction.
‘Customer’s money is safe as no one can withdraw money without taking possession of the mobile set, PIN and the check digit all together,’ DBBL managing director KS Tabrez told a press briefing held at a city hotel.
‘No one will be able to deposit unwanted money into a mobile banking account without knowing the check digit, although the mobile number is publicly known,’ he added.
The mobile banking is a part of digitalising the banking sector and the central bank’s plan to bring the masses under financial inclusion, the BB governor said at the briefing.
He termed the moment a milestone for the country’s banking sector in terms of financial services and expected that the service would be cost effective, creative, and secured.
Atiur said, ‘Mobile banking was part of the financial inclusion but the country’s banking sector was mostly based in the urban areas and the service would help in bringing the rural people into the banking service net.’
‘It will be a revolutionary step if at least 50 per cent of the current mobile phone subscribers can be brought under the mobile banking services,’ he added.
BB executive director Dasgupta Asim Kumar, DBBL board of directors executive chairman Syem Ahmed, Banglalink chief executive officer Ahmed Abou Doma, CityCell chief operating officer David Lee, DBBL deputy managing director Abul Kashem, and BTRC commissioner Monirul Alam also spoke on the occasion.

Courtesy of New Age

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