In its annual statement, India's central bank - the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that it will promote measures to develop mobile banking services in the country. Whilst the country has over 270 million mobile phone users - and growing rapidly, there are a mere 10 million credit card users.
The RBI said, "The rapid expansion of this mode of communication has thrown up a new delivery channel for banks." adding that "many countries in the world have adopted this mode of delivery to successfully spread the reach of the banking facility to the remote parts of their respective countries."
The RBI says that it plans to publish the draft guidelines for mobile payment systems in India by June 15, 2008.
Mobile banking and money transfers are proving increasingly popular in developing countries where conventional banking services are quite restricted. Not only do they get people started in the formal banking sector, they also make it cheaper for remittances to be sent home by migrant workers.
Posted to the site on 30th April 2008
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