Now, money goes mobile

State Bank of India and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, have come together to launch an innovative mobile payment option in India—the SBI Visa prepaid card. mChq, a mobile-to-mobile payment option platform, will power these cards. They will first be introduced only for Airtel subscribers at IIT Bombay.

“We are changing the concept of money and payment,” said Ashok Kini, Managing Director & Group Executive (National Banking), SBI. The initiative enables merchants to use their mobile phone as a secure point of sale (POS) terminal, and cardholders to use their handsets as a payment mechanism eliminating the need for a physical card and a POS terminal.

Observed Uttam Nayak, Deputy Country Manager, South Asia, Visa International, “mChq leads to an increase in acceptance of cards at merchant locations which do not currently have the physical infrastructure to accept Visa payment cards. The unique feature of this initiative is that it attracts the segment of the population that’s presently not covered by conventional payment mechanisms of the service. It is expected to increase card penetration and usage, and empower the Indian customer.” The transaction process of mChq is similar to a normal payment card. Mobile subscribers have to use an mChq-enabled SIM card for it to work.

According to Anurag Gupta, CEO, A.Little.World, the back-end operator of mChq platforms and the technology and service provider, “SBI’s reach, and the marketing of Airtel and Visa, will contribute to the potential of the mChq system to succeed as the payment option of the new millennium.”