Mobile banking to be postponed in India on the score of unfinished regulations

Financial institutions in India were requested to suspend the implementation of mobile payments services until the time when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued proper operative guidelines.

The RBI reported that the bank is collecting and revising comments on m-payments following the posting of draft guidelines on its Web site last month.

According to the bank’s statements the development of the appropriate regulations is drawing to an end but the time of the publication scheduled is not disclosed yet.

A number of banks in the country have already introduced mobile banking services, among them are ICICI Bank which has launched iMobile in January and Yes Bank that together with California-based Obopay have launched a person-to-person money transfer service. In view of this fact the administration of the RBI recommends them to withhold plans for mobile payments and to "dissociate themselves from any mobile based money transfer service which has not received explicit approval of RBI or not covered by any of the guidelines issued".

Yet Indian banks are free to offer customers information such as credit and debit alerts and balance enquiries through mobile phones.