Nokia joins mobile money transfer business in India

NEW DELHI: Handset maker Nokia is the latest to join the mobile money transfer bandwagon in India. The cellphone maker along with Union Bank of India launched a mobile-to-mobile cash transfer service called Union Bank Money on Monday, which would allow any mobile users on any network to shop, pay utility bills, top-up prepaid cards using only a mobile phone.

Both Nokia and Union Bank of India said their offers would help the Indian government address its social obligation of financial inclusion, especially in rural areas.

More than 800 million people have access to mobile phones but less than half of the country's population does not hold a bank account, a UBI executive said, leaving a lot of room for growth of such initiatives. Targeting financial inclusion, more than 2 lakh Nokia retail outlets would become business correspondents, or BC, enabling consumers to open no-frill accounts, deposit and withdraw cash up to 50,000 and conduct transactions of the same value every day.

The bank plans to add disbursement of micro-loans, ticketing facilities and other government services in the near future.

Nokia India vice-president and managing director D Shivakumar said the companies have made significant investment in technology and securing the service platform apart from giving a six-week training to each business correspondent at Nokia's retail outlets.

Nokia is pre-installing the application on all its mobile phones while existing mobile phone users can register for the service at a Nokia retail outlet. The bank is also providing ATM cards for cash withdrawal. Registration for the service is free for six months and the companies will decide on the timeline and cap of charges to be paid by consumers.

Customers in Delhi, Faridabad and Noida can immediately start using the service, while a countrywide rollout will be complete by this year-end, Shivakumar said.

Source: EconomicTimes