Stage is set to Popularise Mobile Banking

We are all used to Internet banking system now. But Mobile banking offered by many banks now is claimed to be the fastest system as of now for personal banking transactions.

This service is known as IMPS (Inter bank Mobile Payment Service).

IMPS offers an instant, 24X7, interbank electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones. IMPS facilitate customers to use mobile instruments as a channel for accessing their bank accounts and put high interbank fund transfers in a secured manner with immediate confirmation features.

Anybody who has a bank account in the banks that provide this service and a mobile phone preferably a smart phone which can download apps provided by the bank can operate this IMPS.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is promoted by 10 banks ( State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union bank of India, Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Citibank and HSBC). The Board constitutes of Shri N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman, Infosys Technologies Ltd as the Chairman, Nominee from Reserve Bank of India, and Nominees from ten core promoter banks

The following bank offers IMPS presently.

1	Axis Bank
2	Bank of India
3	HDFC Bank
4	ICICI Bank
5	State Bank of India
6	Union Bank of India
7	Lakshmi Vilas Bank
8	Kotak Mahindra Bank
9	Federal Bank
10	Indian Overseas Bank
11	IDBI Bank
12	Development Credit Bank
13	Canara Bank
14	YES Bank
15	Indian Bank
16	Dombivli Nagari Sahakari Bank
17	Corporation Bank
18	Oriental Bank of Commerce
19	Syndicate Bank
20	Karur Vysya Bank
21	Punjab National Bank
22	Citibank
23	South Indian Bank
24	UCO Bank
25	Vijaya Bank
26	Andhra Bank
27	IndusInd Bank

How to Use IMPS? Registration for Remitter: ·                               Register yourself for mobile banking service with bank ·                               Get Mobile Money Identifier (MMID) and MPIN from the bank ·                               Download Software (Application) for mobile banking (ensure the compatibility of mobile with the application) or use the SMS facility in your mobile if your bank provides IMPS on SMS Registration for Beneficiary: ·                               Link your mobile number to the account in the respective bank. No need to register formobile banking service. ·                               Get Mobile Money Identifier (MMID) from the bank For Remitter (To send money): ·                               Login to the application and select the IMPS menu from the IMPS or use the SMS facility in your mobile if your bank provides IMPS on SMS ·                               Get Beneficiary Mobile number and MMID ·                               Enter Beneficiary Mobile number, beneficiary MMID, Amount and your MPIN to send ·                               Await confirmation SMS for the debit in your account and credit in beneficiary account ·                               Note the transaction reference number for any future query For Beneficiary (To receive money): ·                               Share your Mobile number and MMID with the remitter ·                               Ask the remitter to send money using your Mobile number and MMID ·                               Check the confirmation SMS for credit to your account from the remitter ·                               Note the transaction reference number for any future query

So far one could transfer the money to other's account in other bank through internet banking or mobile banking but the transaction was not real time. Such transactions were being reconciled through NEFT transactions and such transactions are updated in batches from 9 AM to 7 AM. Thus these transactions are not real time.

But the latest IMPS platform provides for real time money transfer using mobile phone and this is the ultimate beauty of the system. That apart, the system is as secure as the internet banking is. It being a real time service, we would be able to make our payments in any transaction in cash less mode using mobile phone.

How the system works?

Both the remitter and beneficiary need to register their mobile phones with their bank account and should take mobile payment ID known as MMID ( Mobile Money Identifier ) from the bank . MMID is a seven digit number, unique to bank account and linked mobile number and will be used in mobile payment transaction .

For making a payment the process flows like this:-

Step 1: Remitter sends instruction from his/her mobile through his/her bank provided application or SMS.

Step 2: Remitting bank validates the details of the remitter and debits his/ her account. This transaction is sent by the remitting bank to NPCI.

Step 3: Transaction is passed by NPCI to the beneficiary bank. Beneficiary Bank validates the details of the beneficiary customer, credits the account, sends confirmation NPCI about transaction status and sends a sms to the beneficiary customer informing him of the credit.

Step 4: NPCI sends the transaction status to remitting bank which in turn informs the status of the transaction to the Remitter.

Step 5: Remitting bank send a sms confirmation of the transaction to the remitting customer.

To conclude, there are more than 600 Million Mobile users in India and statistics reflects there are 15 to 20 Million new mobile users added every month. In this mammoth background, IMPS has the potential to make a revolution in the banking system.

We were going to bank previously to transact. Now we transact using internet banking, ATM etc. Mobile phones may overtake these channels for the obvious reasons that it is fast, handy and easy to use.

But this may be a reality provided transaction through mobile phones are secured. Since we are in the initial phase as far as IMPS is concerned some people are still apprehensive on the safety angle. But these apprehensions are not backed by facts. People who use IMPS say it is safe.