Your bank in your mobile: Barclays launches `Hello Money'

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Bangalore, March 14: : Barclays, major global finance provider, on Friday launched `Hello Money', a service where customers can access banking services, anytime, anywhere or transfer funds by using the USSD platform.

The Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology is being used for the first time in the country for banking services and delivering banking solutions right at one's finger tips, Suresh Gurumani, Director, Barclays Bank, Retail-India Barcalays Global Retail and Commercial Banking, said in Bangalore.

Barclays customers can now perform account enquiries and financial transactions by simply dialling *598*#. They can carry out secure banking transactions like fund transfers, bill payments, requests and other banking services without visiting a branch or ATM, he said.

"The service is available on all GSM handsets on the network of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea in 40 cities across the country for a nominal monthly cost of Rs 30. Customers can currently choose between Hindi and English, but efforts were on to laucnhg the service in more languages and to extend it to CDMA handsets as well", he said.

"This is the first time that a customer can transfer funds by using this service." The service available in India was also the first for Barclays customers across the globe, said Suresh.

Upon dialling *598*# customers will be guided to the mobile-based menu, where they will be allowed to choose from a number of options and after they enter the correct Hello Money Pin, they can immediately perform the transactions on their handsets, he said.

The advantage of the system over others is there was no need to download software, remember SMS codes or subscribe to GPRS services. It is accessible on all GSM handsets and even on roaming.

"The services can also be accessed by those owning a low-end handset, which means that even those in the so far unbanked segment could utilise the services", Suresh said.

The service has the vast potential of reaching across all segments, taking it to the unbanked population of over 184 million people in the country. "We are in the process of talking to various microfinance organisations to reach out to the unbanked sector", said Suresh.

Moreover the service is available with no extra charges from the telecom service provider or for SMS or GPRS. It was available on roaming at no extra cost. The service could also be used for mobile top-ups, he said.