Earlier this month, Anjum Ansari received an email from ICICI Bank that read 'a new way to view your bank account details'. The 27-year-old graphic designer clicked open the mail, followed directions for the first two steps, but chose not to proceed any further.
Reason: Ansari was asked for her debit card details and she assumed it to be a phishing scam. Like Ansari, Lucknow resident Kumar Gautam, too, ignored the email, thinking the largest private sector banker was only promoting its page on the social networking site Facebook.
What Ansari and Gautam did not realise was their bank had launched an app on the social media site, in order to facilitate remote banking services, such as checking account details. Earlier this month, ICICI Bank sent out a mailer to its account holders, informing them about its app on Facebook. “It is useful for me, as I don't have internet banking activated for my ICICI Bank account,” says Gautam, who recently switched to the social app.
The app helps users view their account balance and last ten transactions, put in a request for a cheque book, send stop-a-cheque request, ask for an account e-statement, upgrade debit card and inquire about cheque status. The app can also provide a mini-statement of an account.
Users may question the logic of having an app with limited benefits, when mobile and net banking can help do much more. But, ICICI Bank spokesperson reasons, “The idea is to provide various touch points for customers to interact and engage with the brand.
Nowadays, people are increasingly spending more time on Facebook and we wanted to reach out to them on a platform that has become integral to them. Our app provides customers the convenience of checking account details securely, without leaving Facebook.” Also, activities on the app won't be posted on Facebook Wall for others to see.
Until now, Indian banks had only official Facebook pages, used mostly as marketing platforms to inform customers about new products. But, an app for banking usage is a first. Many more are expected to follow suit. However, many banks abroad offer such an app.
| Facebook Finance: Going about it |
| Registration and use: Log on to Facebook account and go to ICICI Bank App. There you can change your privacy settings, as to who can view your activity on this app. On top of the app page, you will find a message saying 'protect your information — you're already using https to browse Facebook more securely, but some content may still not be 100 per cent secure. Turn on 'secure browsing' to increase your account protection and avoid getting security warnings. Next, click on 'Your bank on Facebook'. Thereafter, if you click to register, the app asks for your debit card number and pin. The app offers a virtual keyboard to enter the pin number and other information. It then asks you to set your own password, that you will use each time to check account details on this app. Once registered, the app gets added to your list and shows on your home page. Thereafter, you can use any of the facilities available on the page. You can choose a theme for your page on the app, and also unsubscribe any time. |
| Security: “Customer information is hosted on Secured Socket Layer (SSL) ICICI Bank servers and is shown on Facebook through SSL-encrypted secure connection. After registering for the app, users are required to set their own password. No one can access the account details through the app, unless the user shares the password. Customer information is not shared with Facebook. |
| Charge: There are no registration or usage charges for this app. However, foreign banks do charge a small fee, which may happen here once this model is a success. |