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The advent of Internet has revolutionized the financial services industry, empowering organizations with new business models and alternatves to offer 24X7 accessibility to their customers. The ability to online financial transactions has also created new players in the
financial services industry, such as online banks, online brokers and wealth managers who offer personalized services. People are mobile-savvy, and are always ready to try out advanced hand-sets and services. Mobile banking also saves the time and effort of going to the bank, standing in queues, etc. According to a Business Standard survey, one out of every three persons was ready to change his/her banks to avail free mobile banking services. Around 50 percent of the people who were surveyed used cell phones to check their bank balance. Awareness of mobile banking is also high in India. Although such players still account for a tiny percentage of the industry, it is the latest in customer convenience in banking, to access and operate your bank account from anywhere from your cell phone. This is available on advance technology phones. One can access bank account through SMS or scripting languages like XML, HTML, SOAP and WAP. Mobile banking and ATMs use the same infrastructure.

In the recent past, banks across the globe have invested billions of dollars to build sophisticated internet banking capabilities. As the trend is shifting to mobile banking, there is a challenge for CIOs and CTOs of these banks to decide on how to leverage their investment in internet banking and offer mobile banking, in the shortest possible time. According to Financial Consultancy Celent study, 35 per cent of online banking households will be using mobile banking by 2010, up from less than 1 per cent today. Upwards of 70 per cent of bank center call volume is projected to come from mobile phones. Mobile banking will eventually allow users to make payments at the physical point of sale. "Mobile contactless payments" will make up 10 per cent of the contactless market by 2010.

Mobile Banking or M-Banking, m-banking, SMS banking, etc., is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions, payments, etc., via a mobile device such as a mobile phone. Mobile banking today is most often performed via SMS or the Mobile Internet but can also use special programs clients download to the mobile device. The mobile acts as a branch of the bank by storing a database of customers. It also has a smartcard, which biometrically stores the identity of the customer such as name, address, photograph, fingerprint templates and relevant details of the savings or loan accounts held by the issuing bank. Acadamically, mobile banking is defined as: -

"A provision and availment of banking and financial services with the help of mobile telecommunication devices. The scope of offered services may include facilities to conduct bank and stock market transactions, to administer accounts, and to access customised information."

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Dr. Gursharan Singh Kainth started his career as Lecturer at Post Graduate Dept. of Economics, Government College, Gurdaspur, and later at Khalsa College; Amritsar, specializes in Quantitative & Development Economics. Has the distinction of serving Punjab Agricultural Univ, Ludhiana, for more than 2 decades and remained Director-Principal of Saint Soldier Management & Technical Institute, Jalandhar. Currently, heading GAD Institute of Development Studies, Amritsar, a self-financed research institute. Has been honoured with various awards, including Guru Draunacharya Samman, Vijay Rattan Award, etc.
Article posted on December 1, 2008.