Pay 2% commission for mobile banking transactions

Customers wanting to operate their accounts through cellphones must shell out a 2% commission to the bank, a government panel set up to frame rules for mobile banking has said. Any cellphone customer can create a ‘mobile linked no frill’ account to deposit, withdraw and transfer money, and execute the transactions through a mobile-based m-PIN system or through micro ATMs run by telecom service providers, said the inter-ministerial group’s report, which was circulated to all stakeholders, including the Reserve Bank, last week. Franchises or own outlets of telecom companies could serve as retail points for the customer. The group’s financial inclusion recommendations, which aim to link the accounts to the unique identification number, or UID, can become policy only after they have been approved by the RBI. “To promote adoption, government payments under various schemes will be directly credited to these mobile linked no-frills accounts once the citizen registers with the government agency providing such benefits,” the report adds. The report said banks, in turn, must pay the telco a minimum of Rs 2.25 per transaction or 1.4% of the total amount which should be gradually reduced to 1% over five years. And if the telco were to set up mini ATMs then banks must pay a minimum of Rs 3 per transaction or 2.25% of the amount. The tech vendor setting up the IT network linking the bank, the telecom company and the UID can be paid a maximum of Rs 1 per transaction by the bank.