Barclays launches banking services on GSM mobile in India

UK-based Barclays Bank today launched a mobile banking service in India that will enable its customers to transfer funds, pay bills and make account enquiries using their GSM cellphones.

"The new banking service, Hello Money, will cost customers Rs 30 a month, and will be offered free-of-cost to salary account holders," Barclays Bank Director (Retail Banking) Suresh Gurumani told reporters here.

This service would also be available to "no frills account" holders with limited features, he said, adding that the bank was also in talks with micro finance institutions to offer the service.

Talking about features, he said the customers signed up to the service could dial a given number before entering an assigned PIN number and choose the option for different transactions, including buying up of top-up time for mobiles.

Initially, Hello Money will be available through all GSM handsets on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea networks in 40 Indian cities. The bank is looking to extend the service to CDMA handsets in the future, he said.

At present, Barclays has five branches in India with a customer base of around six lakh. Through mobile banking, he said, the bank would attempt to a garner a share of the total 231 million mobile users across the country.

Since RBI has allowed banks to expand business through bank correspondents, Barclays is likely to more than double its manpower from 1,700 at present to get more business.