Customers of Scotia Bank can now access services from their cellular phones as the bank has become the first financial institution to introduce mobile banking in the country.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the bank Jennifer Cipriani-Nelson said that the free service was launched yesterday after a trial period of a week. During this seven-day period the new system was tested by staff members, the PRO explained. Cipriani-Nelson did not reveal the amount invested by the bank to implement the new system but said that the bank made the investment so that it could better service its customers. She said that many persons stood to benefit from the company’s new initiative since it means that they no longer have to telephone or go into the bank when they wanted some kinds of information.
The service is available to all customers enrolled in the free Scotia OnLine Banking, who have access to an internet-enabled mobile device. According to the bank’s website, mobile banking allows the customer to check account balances, transfer funds, pay bills etc. Scotia’s Mobile Banking, the website said, is compatible with iPhones, Blackberries and most internet enabled phones and is accessible through all the mobile phone carriers.
According to the website, the process is very secure and the Bank has taken strong measures, including the use of a variety of technologies and techniques to ensure financial transactions and the confidentially of information. How-ever, customers have been asked to secure their mobile devices with a password and not to store banking passwords on their phones.
The proposal to introduce (m-banking) has been on the cards for at least the last two years. It was seen as a means of reducing the over-dependence on the use of cash in the country as banks and businesses sought to promote more non-cash transactions. The move for more non-cash financial transactions has been plugged in light of increased armed attacks on persons and businesses.
In September 2008, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) had called for proposals to develop and implement mobile-banking systems for unbanked people in the Caribbean and Latin America. The IDB, in a release, said that qualified teams of mobile network operators and partner banks will receive financial and technical support for the development and implementation of m-banking solutions on a pilot or a trial basis to verify their operational and financial viability, or to support a full-scale launch.
The release said that finances for up to 50 per cent of the contracted costs of selected projects would be provided with the maximum amount awarded to a programme being US$150,000.
