Introduces innovative mobile payments platform to facilitate Customer Convenience and encourage Financial Inclusion.
Nokia, a global leader in the mobile telecommunications industry, YES BANK, India’s new-age private sector Bank and Obopay India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Obopay, Inc., have launched a Mobile Payment Service which establishes a platform enabling transfer of money using the mobile device in a secure manner. YES BANK, one of the pioneer banks in the Mobile Payments space, has received the regulatory approvals from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s Central Bank to act as the Issuing bank and the custodian of funds under these services. This innovative pre-paid mobile payments service will be initiated as a pilot in Pune, one of the largest metropolitan cities in India. These services will be widely distributed leveraging off the reach of Nokia’s retail channel.
‘Mobile Money Services by YES BANK in partnership with Nokia’ will augment financial inclusion amongst the unbanked and under-banked consumer segments by bringing financial services to the consumers’ mobile device and will create a financial ecosystem which is inclusive, sustainable and scalable. This cutting-edge technology will also facilitate convenience and ease of usage in making mobile payments through mobile devices, across the country. Going forward, the program application will also be pre-embedded in Nokia mobile devices making the service highly accessable and user-friendly.
This unique service will enable consumers to transfer money to other individuals, pay utility bills as well as recharge prepaid SIM cards (top-ups), by using their mobile devices. Subsequently, consumers will later also be able to pay merchants for goods and services through their mobile devices. This is a first-of-its-kind service providing customers the ability to initiate mobile payments through multiple channels i.e. SMS, IVR, WAP, JAVA and FIRE. The pilot in Pune will also review customer behaviour & delivery benchmarks to ensure a flawless service framework, prior to the national roll-out in a phased manner.
“Mobile Money Services by YES BANK is based on Obopay’s payments platform and designed to work in partnership with mobile network operators and banks, involving distributors and merchants in a dynamic ecosystem, to seamlessly provide new services. YES BANK is our first partner in India to bring this service to market,” said D Shivakumar, VP and Managing Director, Nokia India.
Commenting on the partnership, Rana Kapoor, Founder/Managing Director & CEO, YES BANK said, “We are privileged to partner global technology leaders Nokia and Obopay, in introducing Mobile Money Services in India. This initiative will provide consumers with greater ‘Anytime Anywhere’ convenience and will be a significant milestone on the path of financial inclusion as stated by the Reserve Bank of India. The mobile banking services will be made available to a wider consumer base by leveraging off Nokia’s vast retail network. Such cutting edge, first-of-its-kind initatives are geared towards attaining YES BANK’s stated objective of providing consumers with a Superior Service Experience through use of creative technologies. The Bank is committed to executing a concerted strategy by continuously launching innovative and secure banking channels to enhance customer satisfaction and increase focus on providing convenience and choice to our clients. This partnership will help YES BANK in consolidating its leadership in the mobile banking space.”
“This revolutionary Mobile Payment service will enable Educational and Government Payments to create an ecosystem for financial inclusion. With only about 200-300 million Indians having some form of National Identity document and therefore an access to financial services, there are nearly a billion others with no National ID who are constrained from accessing the financial system and its services. This service eliminates the dependence on the physical presence of a branch or availability of internet banking services and will successfully ride on the deeper penetration of mobile services in India,” said Suresh Sethi, Group President, Transaction Banking Group, YES BANK.
“Obopay is pleased to be operating this mobile money service by YES BANK in partnership with Nokia. We are confident that we are delivering the most comprehensive mobile payments service to the Indian market that is user friendly and based on our proven technology and services. We have a deep understanding of the India marketplace and believe our offering will truly make a positive difference for consumers, businesses and the overall economy of India,” said Carol Realini, Founder and CEO of Obopay.
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About Nokia
Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world's leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways - fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.
About YES BANK
YES BANK, India’s new age private sector Bank, is the outcome of the professional & entrepreneurial commitment of its Founder, Rana Kapoor and its top management team, to establish a high quality, customer centric, service driven, private Indian Bank catering to the future businesses of India. YES BANK has adopted international best practices, the highest standards of service quality and operational excellence, and offers comprehensive banking and financial solutions to all its valued customers.
YES BANK has a knowledge driven approach to banking, and a superior customer experience for its retail, corporate and emerging corporate banking clients. YES BANK is steadily evolving as the Professionals Bank of India with the long term mission of “Building the Best Quality Bank of the World in India”.
YES BANK currently has 137 operational branches pan India across 109 locations. In addition, YES BANK also has 93 operational offsite ATMs in NCR, Mumbai and Pune, and two National Operating Centres in Mumbai and Gurgaon.
About Obopay
Founded in 2005, Obopay, Inc (www.Obopay.com) delivers an open, trusted, secure and interoperable mobile payments and banking service by transforming any mobile device into a convenient and easy way to send and receive money and get paid – anywhere, anytime with anyone. Obopay’s broad based offering addresses the needs of consumers and businesses around the world by providing a ubiquitous service that delivers value, empowers lives and improves opportunity for merchants both in the physical and virtual worlds. Obopay’s innovative mobile money services make it easy for all mobile device users to securely send and receive money, top-up their mobile account, buy online, buy via mobile, pay bills and pay for purchases with small businesses. Obopay was selected as the only financial services provider to be named Technology Pioneer 2010 by the World Economic Forum. Obopay believes the power is in the network and has global partnerships with companies like Nokia and MasterCard. Its services are live in the U.S., Kenya and India. Global headquarters are in Redwood City, CA with operations in India.