Annotation
Mobile banking through an SMS based service would require the lowest amount of effort, in terms of cost and time, but will not be able to support the full breath of transaction-based services. However, in markets like India where a bulk of the mobile population users' phones can only support SMS based services, this might be the only option left. On the other hand a market heavily segmented by the type and complexity of mobile phone usage might be good place to roll of WAP based mobile applications. A WAP based service can let go of the need to customise usability to the profile of each mobile phone, the trade-off being that it cannot take advantage of the full breadth of features that a mobile phone might offer. Mobile banking is poised to become the big killer mobile application arena. However, banks going mobile the first time need to tread the path cautiously. The biggest decision that banks need to make is the channel that they will support their services on. Telephone banking is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution, that enables customers to perform financial transactions over the telephone, without the need to visit a bank branch or automated teller machine. Telephone banking times can be longer than branch opening times, and some financial institutions offer the service on a 24 hour basis. From the bank’s point of view, telephone banking reduces the cost of handling transactions by reducing the need for customers to visit a bank branch for non-cash withdrawal and deposit transactions. The book also explores the principal lending activities to businesses and individuals from the point of view of both the bank and the borrower.
