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Mobile Payments – The Road Ahead
Over the years mobile phones have become an indispensable accessory for almost every individual. This ever expanding reach of mobile phones have made them a gadget which can be conveniently used for staying connected with the world, using internet for banking & other purposes, receiving SMS alerts etc. besides of course its basic function, making calls. With the rapid growth in the number of mobile phone subscribers banks have been exploring the feasibility of using mobile phones as an alternative channel of payments.
Mobile phone provides a way to reach out to people in isolated areas and can help in big way in the financial inclusion. For example in India, more Indians have mobile phones than bank accounts.
Mobile Payments can be defined as information exchange between a bank and its customers for financial transactions through the use of mobile phones. Mobile payment involves debit/credit to a customer’s account’s on the basis of funds transfer instruction received over the mobile phones.
Mobile payments services generally involve the collaboration of banks, mobile payments service providers and mobile network operators (MNOs). The service can also be provided as a proximity payment system, where the transactions are independent of the MNOs.
Payment for goods and services via mobile, offered by many companies, use contactless payment over mobile phones to pay for on- and off-street parking in specially demarcated areas. First conceptualized in the 1990s, the technology has seen commercial use in this century in both Scandinavia and Estonia. End users benefit from the convenience of being able to pay for parking from the comfort of their car with their mobile phone, and parking operators are not obliged to invest in either existing or new street-based parking infrastructures.
Considering that the technology is relatively new and due care needs to be taken on security of financial transactions, there is also an urgent need for a set of standard operating guidelines.
In view of such major developments in the mobile banking & payments arena, there is an urgent need to provide a neutral platform where the regulators, Practitioners from financial services & corporate, Vendors, Technology providers, consultants, academicians come together to discuss the challenges, opportunities & experiences.
Banknet Group has launched three initiatives-
1. Banknet Conferences will organize a series of interactive seminars on Mobile Banking & Payments
2. Banknet Publications will release collection of papers related to Mobile Banking & Payments
3. Banknetindia.com has launched a "Banking Wiki" which will provide a free platform for discussions & knowledge sharing among the related professionals. Please visit: http://banking.wikia.com/
For more information contact us at associate@banknetindia.com
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