Movida, a mobile payments joint venture partnered by Visa and Monitise, has signed an agreement with HDFC Bank, India’s second-largest private bank, to introduce a first of its kind mobile payment service. The new mobile payment service allows HDFC Bank customers in India to pay bills, top up prepaid mobile connections and buy movie, railway, air tickets from their mobile phone. Its designed to operate across all mobile networks across pan India using any Visa and non-Visa branded payment account. It can be used by any mobile subscriber, anywhere and accessed by even the most basic mobile phone.
The new mobile payment service uses menu-based USSD mobile technology making it one of the easiest services to use and the most widely available. After linking their HDFC Bank Visa or non-Visa payment card to their mobile phone number, cardholders can access the service via USSD over Movida’s secure connection. From then on it is just a matter of selecting the payment service require and making the payment. The simple menu can complete a transaction in only a few steps. And not only is the service simple, it’s secure and backed by two of the world’s most trusted brands in electronic and mobile payments. The system encompasses various security measures to maintain account integrity, including a unique PIN number set up on the phone to access the account information. Only the user’s bank-registered phone can be connected to the service.
Naushad Contractor, Movida’s President and head of the Monitise and Visa joint venture in India, commented: “This is a service designed for Indians. As we rollout the service to other banks more Indians will be able to benefit from mobile payments. Wave goodbye to waiting in long queues or visiting post offices or payment machines to pay bills as you will now be able to do that right from your mobile phone. This service is going to drastically reduce the time & energy Indians waste every day waiting to pay bills
This technology will be a game changer the way the iPhone was for mobile phones. This is a smart service for smart people and epitomizes everything Visa and Monitise stand for: it is fast, reliable, secure, and simple – and it will change the way consumers in India pay, forever.“
Rahul Bhagat, Head-Retail Liabilities, Marketing & Direct Banking Channels, HDFC Bank, said: “HDFC Bank has always been at the forefront of technology to ensure that our customers have greater choice and convenience at their disposal. The partnership with Movida is a crucial step whereby we will enable our customers to carry out multiple mobile commerce transactions from the most basic handsets. This service reaffirms HDFC Bank’s commitment to bring the latest service and convenience to our customers. All our customers throughout the country can now pay their bills and top up talk time with a few clicks of their mobile phones. This will save them considerable time and help them focus on more important things in life.“
As India continues the upgrade of its Internet and telecoms infrastructure to rural areas, the new mobile service finally allows millions of Indians currently excluded from enjoying the benefits of mobile and online payment services to become part of the digital age via their basic prepaid mobile phone. The service is initially being offered to a select number of valued customers before being rolled out across the country later in the year.