Hello Money: Using mobile to expand banking access in India
New internet and mobile technologies are becoming an increasingly important enabler for inclusive banking across the world. Their impact can be particularly powerful in emerging economies, where shortcomings in the existing communications infrastructure mean mobile phones are often the most effective form of access.
In March 2008, Barclays launched Hello Money, a groundbreaking service that enables customers to perform transactions in real time over their mobile phones. The technology combines security, accessibility and convenience, the aim is to transform the way people in India's rural areas access and use financial services.
Since its launch, the Hello Money service generated an enthusiastic response from customers. Almost 44,000 of Barclays 70,000 retail customers in India have applied to join the service - a take-up rate of about 63%. Experience to date shows that the proportion of customers actively using the service is already approximately 25%, and on a steady upward path.
Early customer feedback from users has been similarly encouraging. Customers find the service friendly and easy to use, helped by the fact that Hello Money is built on USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology that mirrors other interactions on a mobile phone, while also enabling rapid and highly secure transmission of information across a GSM network.
How it works
Hello Money’s accessibility is enhanced by several other attributes. Unlike some other competing services, Hello Money is independent of mobile handset models, SMS or GPRS connectivity. Also, the consumer accesses the service using a short code, and does not need to remember complex keywords or message formats, or to download or install any applications. Hello Money can be operated in the local language or in English and customers can use the service to check balances, transfer funds and pay bills.
Clearly, security is a critical concern with any mobile banking service, and this has been built in to Hello Money. Its use of the USSD protocol ensures that no information is stored on the customer’s phone handset, and that there is no loss of data at either end. Security is further strengthened by built-in USSD encryption and the use of a PIN to prevent unauthorised access.
Opening up banking access via the airwaves
The early usage figures underline Hello Money’s potential to dramatically expand access to banking services across India. Approximately 3,000 transactions were conducted via Hello Money in its first month, and this figure has now surged to 60,000 transactions per month and rising. The penetration rate of mobile services among the Indian rural population is expected to rise significantly over the coming years, meaning the impact of Hello Money on inclusion will continue to grow. With Hello Money, mobile banking in India is a concept whose time has come.
