This solution has been put into practice in several parts of China recently and is growing rapidly in its adoption. Both banks and utilities are signing up to provide consumers with a faster, more convenient service - and one which saves the utilities expense as well.

Added Value to ATM Cards
In countries where cash machines are prevalent, as well as the type of bank account where the consumer is issued a card that is only for withdrawing cash (and not for merchant purchases), the advent of mobile payments presents consumers with a new way to funds transactions from their current account. At the same time this allows the banks to provide additional purchasing services without having to give these consumers checks or take too much risk on them through a credit card.

Merchants that benefit from this kind of payment are those supplying entertainment especially to students and youth, as well as utilities and local governments that want regular payments from these consumers but without handling the cash. The main channel of consumer access would be by mobile phone using an interactive voice response (IVR) system similar to that used in many touch-tone banking services today.

By delivering a convenient electronic alternative to checks, the bank will give these customers greater control and flexibility over their current accounts, reduce cash transactions, and stave off these customers from requiring checking accounts.

Over time these electronic services can be used by the entire banking population to migrate them away from paper-based services.

Magex has developed several services that deliver the functionality described above. However the services are delivered, Magex’s aim is to support the financial institution as it enters the market with a controlled deployment that would protect against large up-front spending on IT resources or hardware and software. Magex recommends moving forward on an iterative basis so that decisions are made on hard facts, usage data, and relevant customer feedback.

 Previous page