RBI finalising mobile banking guidelines

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is finalising guidelines on mobile banking that would enable banks to roll out mobile-based payment services to their customers, RBI executive director R B Barman said, adding the guidelines are likely to be issued within two weeks.

''We are currently examining the comments received in response to the draft guidelines. Based on this, the final guidelines would be issued within a period of two weeks," Barman said on the sidelines of a seminar.

RBI's draft guidelines for mobile banking, issued in June this year, had asked banks to make it convenient for customers to perform transactions even using the most basic mobile phones.

Banks can also use SMS-based facilities to perform small-ticket payments up to Rs1,500, as per the draft guidelines.

Several banks, including public-sector lenders State Bank of India and Union Bank, are in the final stages of launching their mobile banking services.

SBI, which had earlier scheduled the roll-out by end-June, is also expected to announce the launch once RBI finalises the guidelines.

Barman said nearly 53 banks in the National Capital Region have joined the check truncation system, a solution for image-based inward and outward clearing of bank checks.

RBI had, recently asked banks to put their mobile-payment services on hold till final guidelines are issued. Following the RBI directive, foreign banks such as Barclays and a private sector lenders like Yes Bank and ICICI Bank put their mobile payment services on hold.

''We have to see the various aspects of the mobile-payment service, especially the security aspects of such transactions prior to allowing the implementation. We would also examine the functioning of similar services by those banks who presently offer the service," Barman said.