Banking conference highlights challenges

Today it is a known fact that a mobile phone is not just a communication tool but a multitasking device that holds ample opportunities for businesses. That was the mood at the international conference on mobile banking, 'Mobile banking India 2009', held in Mumbai last week, says CIOL.

Most of the experts and speakers at the summit stressed the issues and challenges that are obstructing the onset of mobile banking services in India.

These issues and challenges include: low popularity of mobile banking, lack of lingual support, weak network coverage in rural areas, different technologies, ecosystems and security needs.

With today's tech-happy consumers, providing them with the latest gadget or innovative service could lead to a happier bank customer, writes Contactless News.

Banking today is about more than just parking your money in a brick and mortar facility or even with an online system. Customers, especially younger ones, expect innovation.

To that end, US Bank is involved in several trials that if deemed viable, could find their way into customer's wallets, desktops and even mobile phones.

Punjab National Bank (PNB), the country's second largest public sector bank, aims to reach out to the customers in rural areas of the country through banking correspondents and also on the back of technology-enabled services like biometric smart cards, reports Business Standard.

“We are not in favour of opening of the traditional bank branches, rather we want the banking facilities to reach the door steps of the people in rural areas”, said KC Chakrabarty, chairman and MD of PNB.

PNB has opened its first technology-enabled branch on a pilot basis at Daringibadi in south Orissa's Kandhamal district. Depending on the success of this branch, PNB would open similar branches in other parts of the country, Chakrabarty told Business Standard.