Bibhu Ranjan Mishra / Bangalore
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) plans to launch in
the near future a mobile banking platform that will help
a mobile subscriber send money orders electronically
through SMSes.
The SMS by the sender will be
encashable at all post offices in the country.
In the first phase of BSNL’s plan, anyone who wishes
to send a money through the money (order) transfer
service will have to go to his nearest post office and
transfer the money by way of an SMS.
The SMS willcontain a unique code.
The person who receives this
SMS can go to his nearest post office and collect the
money by showing the code.
This process is expected to save a lot of money as the SMS
will reach in real time. This will also help those who do not
have a proper address for physical delivery of the money order.
Groceries on SMS
In the next stage of BSNL’s plans, a person will be able
to use his mobile phone for even buying goods at the local
kirana shop or any other store, with the help of an electronic
authorisation from his bank on his mobile phone.
BSNL Board Director (Consumer Mobility) R K Agarwal
said the platform had been test-piloted in Chandigarh and the
state-run telecom major expects to roll out the service
in association with the postal department, after getting the
Reserve Bank of India’s approval.
“The real revolution is going to come when we launch our
mobile banking services, on which BSNL is actively working.
We have test-piloted a platform in Chandigarh, on which money
could be transferred electronically through money orders by
sending an SMS,” Agarwal said.
He, however, said RBI was cautious in its guidelines for
mobile banking, as a result of which the proposed roll-out
would happen only in a phased manner. “RBI has a cautious
policy as it has to check for frauds that may occur,” he added.
BSNL intends to help users buy merchandise with electronic
authorisation from banks.
Agarwal said SBI and YES Bank
had come forward to participate in BSNL’s mobile
banking service platform.
Mobile banking is a concept where you tie up with different
banks and system aggregators. “We have already tied up
some system integrators, including Obopay,” he added.
3G rings in higher Arpu
The launch of 3G cellular services has helped BSNL
get an average revenue per user (ARPU) that is 40 per cent
higher than that from 2G subscribers, Agarwal said.
BSNL has about 850,000 3G mobile subscribers at
present, which is expected to go up to a million by
the end of the current financial year. In the next financial
year, the company aims to add two million 3G subscribers.
“All 3G services take some time to take off.
Customers have started taking our 3G services
only since December last year,” said Agarwal.So far, BSNL has rolled out 3G services in 318 cities, which
will be extended to 760 cities before the end of March
next year. BSNL expects to derive a revenue of Rs 10,500 crore
from mobile services, including 3G.
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