MOBILE PAYMENTS

The Reserve Bank of India panel has recently recommended that banks when they offer mobile payment service must ensure that customers having mobile phones of any net work operator should be in a position to request for service.Restriction if any of particular mobile operator may be only during the pilot phase according to the draft norms and opeartional guidelines issued by RBI for mobile payments in India.
The RBI panel recommended that banks should get their mobile payment scheme approved by their respective boards or local boards before offering the service to customers.The board note and rsolution of the board must document the extent of operational risk and fraud risk assumed by the bank and the policies and strategies adopted for mitigating such risk.
Banks which have already commenced mobile payment service may review the position and ensure compliance with the RBI guidelines now issued.Such compliance must be ensured within three months from the date of issue of RBI guidelenes.The major goal of the mobile payment scheme is to facilitate funds transfer from one account in one bank to any other account in the same bank or any other bank on a real time basis.
The funds transfer as indicated above must take place on real time basis reagrdless of the mobile network of which the concerned custmer is a subscriber..Such funds transfer may be from one account to another in the same bank or in another bank anywhere in India.
What is important for the success of this scheme is inter-operability between mobile payments service providers and and banks and development of a host of message formats.Banks have to keep this in mind while developing solutions or entering into arrangements with mobile payment solution providers.
To meet the long term objective of a nation-wide mobile payment frame work a robust clearing and settlements infrastructure opearating on all days of the week and during all 24 hours of the day will have to be created at the earliest.Till the creation of such an infrastructure on a nation wide basis banks may enter into multilateral arrngements and create mobile switches or interbank payment gate ways with expressed permission from RBI.
The RBI has clarified that the guidelines relating to KYC and anti-money laundering standards are applicable to customers opting for mobile -based baking service as well.The RBI has made it clear that the services must be restricted to only to bank accounts and credit card accounts in India which are KYC and AML compliant and only Indian Rupee-based services must be provided.
As per guidelines banks must offer mobile-based banking service only to their own customers and banks must have a system of registration before commencing mobile-based payment service to a customer.Therefore prior registration of each custmer is necessary before commencing the service.This is irrespective of the category or type of service sought by a custmer.For the standard level service one-time registration must be done through a signed document.
The mobile based payment service if implemented by all banks the same will quicken payments and setllements in India.Fund transfer on a real time basis to any account in any bank will surely help ensure speedy payments and faster settlements.