A cross post from GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked Blog (www.mmublog.org)

By: Paul Leishman: April 1st, 2010

If you weren’t at Mobile World Congress, you would have missed a very interesting co-presentation from Qasif Shahid, EVP at MCB Bank and Aletha Ling, Executive Director at Fundamo. Qasif and Aletha provided an overview of MCB Mobile, which launched in June 2009 in Pakistan and have since gained some impressive traction, registering over 70,000 customers to date.

Something particularly interesting about the deployment is their decision to launch using a shared platform. To understand more about their approach, I recently had a conversation with Qasif Shahid and Mazahir Ali Sayeed from MCB, and Hannes van Rensburg from Fundamo.

GSMA: What is the Shared Platform?

Hannes: it’s a mobile banking platform hosted by Access Group, our partner in Pakistan. They’ve deployed the platform, which is provided as a managed service to customers like MCB. Currently, there are banks as well as MNOs sharing this platform, and each party has launched a service using their own model, wisdom and insight.

This isn’t the only shared platform in the world – Fundamo has deployed them in other markets as well. For instance, groups may choose to deploy a platform in one country and then allow OPCOs in other countries to run off it.

But as far as ‘in-country’ shared platforms go, one of the reasons Pakistan has been so successful is that the shared platform serves 60-75% of the mobile banking deployments – so there’s a critical mass of participants on board. If they work together to create interoperability, then you create momentum and incentives for others to join. A shared platform that serves, say, 30% of the market is less likely to be successful from this point of view.

GSMA: What are the benefits of using a shared platform?

Qasif: For MCB, its basically been a way of fast tracking the entire speed of execution because we haven’t had to worry about the platform, its scalability, or connectivity of the platform with other mobile operators and the other things that go along with this area of technology. Instead, we’ve been able to introduce a completely new service in just 6 months. And not just introduce the service – we’ve also grown quickly because we’ve been able to focus on educating customers about the service, creating excitement and so on.

So speed to market and ability to focus on a sound customer proposition have been the benefits from a commercial bank like MCB’s perspective. But as we go down the opportunity pyramid, you see microfinance banks and other financial institutions struggling with a lot of things. And what the shared platform does is allow multiple banks to use one platform to make the business case make a lot more sense for these types of organizations.

We also feel that interoperability is an important element. It all sounds very good that everyone is going to make their own platform and that they’ll connect the platforms in such a way that it will work – but imagine a world where you are all sitting on the same platform, including banks, mobile operators and microfinance banks, and thus interoperability is simply a by-product that comes out of this approach.

Hannes: For us, a bank or MNO’s decision to select a shared platform is to some degree economic, but it’s more a product of go-to-market strategy than anything. It provides for quick speed to market, flexibility around service design, and ensures resources will be available to focus on educating the customer. Of course for this to be possible there needs to be a willingness to participate with others on the platform.

GSMA: How central is interoperability to the essence of a shared platform?

Qasif: Interoperability is at the heart of all this. The consequence of you being on the shared platform is that you’re interoperable. There are 5 MNOs in Pakistan: imagine that you could only make calls to one of them – its just not good enough. So if I have multiple banks and multiple MNOs all residing on the same platform, then the potential take-up of mobile money will enter a new dimension completely. If you look at the internet and mobile telephones, they all had limited transformational impact on the world at first because they were not interoperable, but when this changed they all went big.

GSMA: What have the early experiences been for MCB?

Qasif: We launched the service in June 2009 after a 3 month pre-launch period with our 15,000 employees in which we mandated that they all use the service and provide us with feedback.

MCB has 6 million accounts out of the 30 million in Pakistan, so we’d have a lot to lose by missing out on mobile banking. Today we are registering about 250 to 300 customers per day for the service – these are our existing customers who we’re registering to use the mobile channel. This is a healthy rate of growth. So far we’ve done over 500,000 transactions and feel that a lot of our success to date is because we’ve not been concerned with management of the infrastructure, scalability and connectivity that comes with it. Instead, we’ve been able to start quickly and worry about the ‘packaging and functionality’. It’s our belief that the platform and the network are not sufficient differentiating factors – the real differentiating factor is the organization’s ability to construct processes to which you can convert customers, educate them, and transform their behaviour.

GSMA: So how have you done this at MCB? Particularly, how have you driven adoption?

Qasif: Today, if you wanted to sign up for the service, you can enter through several channels. When you use an ATM, swipe a card at a POS, call the call centre, walk into a branch, or visit the website, each of these channels will contribute to driving you to adopt the service. Organizationally, MCB has put innovation at the middle of all of our channels. Banks sometimes make the mistake of putting innovation as its own team within an organization – it really needs to span all channels.

Hannes: I’d add that MCB is so successful because they’re clear about their channel strategy – why are they doing this? What are the metrics? Mobile banking is not a single strategy – it fits into a bigger strategy and where other banks are concerned with their platform, MCB is doing well because they have a coherent strategy of which mobile banking is one part.

GSMA: Thanks, Qasif and Hannes.

MCB Mobile Promotion:

Activate & Login to your MCB Mobile before 10 March 2010 and you could win a Mini Laptop through a lucky draw.

For details on how you could be a part of this contest, please call our call center at 111-000-622

Terms & Conditions:

1. Offer valid for all customers of MCB Mobile who Activate and Login to the service before 10 March 2010.
2. Draw will be held on 15 March 2010
3. Decision of the bank will be final
4. Winners will be announced on the website www.mcb.com.pk/mcbmobile
   

MCB Mobile has been nominated for the Best Mobile Money Service globally by the GSMA Global Mobile Awards.

For details please visit the link below

http://www.globalmobileawards.com/awards/nominees.shtml

Mobile Payments in Pakistan Quarter 1 2009:

Rs.  3.3 Million (Source: State Bank)

MCB Mobile average payments:

Rs.  4.5 Million Daily

“MCB Mobile is leading the Mobile Payments space in Pakistan”

Below is an extract from the State Bank of Pakistan’s Quarterly report on retail payment systems in Pakistan….

……3.6 Mobile Banking There are few banks which offer transactions through mobile. These transactions include payment through mobile (excluding utility bills payment), utility bills payment, A/C to A/c funds transfer and 3rd party A/c to A/C funds transfer. The number of transactions reached to 15.46 thousand for the current quarter from 17.58 thousand in the previous quarter. This shows decrease by 12.1 percent in number of mobile transactions compared to 6.8 percent increase in volume recorded in previous quarter. In terms of value, it reached to Rs.3.3 million showing decrease of 15.4 percent compared to 7.2 percent increase recorded in the previous quarter (Fig. 10)

Few simple yet important reasons:

• It is quick - Use it from your GPRS mobile phone of from the internet on your PC – The interface is optimized for quick processing

• It lets you make payments SECURELY - Unlike other mobile banking products from banks, MCB Mobile actually allows you to make payments.  Your account is protected by a double layer of security via a Mobile PIN to login and ATM PIN to transact.

• It is functionally rich – You can:

1. Check your account balance and view a min statement
2. Buy airtime for your mobile and pay your postpaid mobile bills also
3. Utility bill payments to a number of companies is also possible
4. If you have an MCB credit card you can pay that as well
5. Transfer money to anyone with a bank account in MCB
6. Make donations to various charities

• It is free - For a limited time period all transactions on MCB Mobile are free of cost and there is no registration fee either

• It saves you time & money – We all know that “Time is Money”.  With MCB Mobile you don’t need to go out to the bank.  Most of your day to day banking and payments needs are covered.  Save on your transportation costs and avoid making those unnecessary time consuming trips to the bank.

• It gives you control - It lets you control your finacnces by providing real time information.  You can check your balance and view your mini statement 24 / 7 / 365.

Congratulations to the Winners of the Blackberry Curve Handset.

Draw was held on 1st September 2009.

1. Mr. Nasir Naseer from Lahore
   
2. Mr. Abdul Aziz Sumroo from Karachi

   

Technological progress made in the last 50 years surpasses what mankind may have achieved over centuries since the invention of the wheel. Major focus of human progress has been to improve & make life easy. Imagine a world without tea bags, without microwave ovens, without a computer and even without a mobile phone?  Imagine the hardship it would bring with it!

Let’s take the Mobile phone; a single device that has revolutionized our behavioral patterns in more ways than one and still continues to do so.  It took more than two decades to reach the first billion mobile subscribers, took only three and a half years to bring that number up to two billion and not surprisingly it has taken less than 24 months to reach the three billion mark.  It can safely be estimated that in the very near future more than 80% of mankind will be able to communicate at the press of a button!

Today we are not only using the mobile phone to communicate with others in the form of voice or SMS, we are using it to connect to the world.   Today’s mobile phone is no less than yesterday’s personal computer.

Indeed, computers revolutionized banking in the last decade or so, eliminating to some extent the need for branch visits.  Unlike developed economies, penetration of computers and use of internet in Pakistan had take-up and user experience limitations.  Therefore internet banking in Pakistan was not able to achieve desirable growth in the early years.  However when in comparison, we evaluate mobile phone penetration, it is far more in numbers, reach and user savvy-ness.

Remember! Even your cook & driver have learned the skills of device management that are beyond just voice communication from their mobiles sets.

It is true that numeric literacy in Pakistan is higher than our official literacy figure. This coupled with internet now available on a mobile phone has opened up a large resource pool that stands open for mass enrollment in the banking sector that ultimately will prove to be a harbinger for documenting the national economy.

With millions of mobile users and still growing, it is only natural that the banking sector will now begin to channel transactional and payments needs through the mobile device including utility & other bill payments and the freedom to transfer funds…..Instantly

Making payments using the mobile phone is easier said than done and certainly not quite as simple as it sounds. A lot of professional expertise and hard work is needed to design an integrated & reliable mobile payments system that conforms to the dynamics of all stakeholders: customers, financial institutions, telcos and banking / telecom regulators.

Pakistan is a country with a very high percentage of people without access to basic financial services like a bank account. We are still a predominantly cash led economy. One of the key objectives of the State Bank is to work towards financial inclusion of masses and consequently to improve the lifestyle of those who are still outside the realm of financial services. To this effect the State Bank has authored guidelines for both mobile and branchless banking that are proving instrumental in steering the banks and other stakeholders in the desired direction.

Currently there is fierce competition between telcos and banks; all are trying to maximize their share of the said opportunity. Resultantly a number of mobile banking solutions have emerged. All such solutions are unique. Some have been launched by the banks and some by the telcos. Some are extension of the online internet banking services and some are stand alone mobile banking platforms.

Let’s talk about the road that we decided to travel at MCB. About a month ago we launched a mobile payments service by the name of MCB Mobile.  This has been a roaring success with over 11,000 customers registered and thousands of transactions amounting close to one million dollars under our belt already.

With this not only have we started the race well but have created a leadership advantage for ourselves in this space. Our challenge now is to grow faster than anyone else in our category and continuously innovate by introducing new payment types and functionality. It is our intent to use our advantage in the mobile commerce space to create segmented financial products and services in order to reach out to new and previously untapped markets.

It has taken over 60 years for the banking industry to get approx 30 million bank accounts. It took Telcos less than 10 years to reach 90 million customers. Yes you’ve guessed it right. Bringing the next 30 million people into the formal economy by opening a bank account can now easily be achieved in the next 5 years.

In order for a market to grow at such a rate it is essential that the following five drivers are present and working together. Fortunately enough we have all of these in abundance in our market.

1. Conducive market conditions – 90 million + mobile phones
2. Enabling regulatory framework – State Bank and PTA policies
3. Banks willing to play
4. Telcos
5. Mobile payment / banking platforms

The real need today is a realization by both banks and telcos that a Utopian world where every mobile phone becomes a bank with ability to make payments is not going to be realized without banks and telcos working together. A true spirit of partnerships between these two cross industry players is essential to take mobile payments revolution to everyone. After all, both banks and telcos have their own strengths that need to be coupled together to create an uptake of this magnitude or else the growth is not going to be as dramatic as envisioned. Period.

© MCB Bank Limited
Authored by:
Amaar Naveed Ikhlas
Mobile Banking
MCB Bank Limited

A cross post from Basit Ali’s blog

MCB Mobile Banking and Payments – Review

MCB has recently launched their mobile banking and payment solution. It is an Internet based service that runs on your mobile phone’s browser. You can link your MCB account with your phone number and that’s all you need to use the service. The basic set of services provided by the solution are:

How to Sign-Up
If you are an existing MCB account holder, you can simply go to MCB ATM machine and insert your card as usual. You’ll see an option to link your mobile with your account in the menu now. Opt for that, give your mobile number and that’s it. MCB representative will get back to you with the confirmation and will provide you with the Mobile PIN. Mobile PIN is used to log-in to the mobile banking site while ATM pin is also required to make the transactions.

If you are not an existing MCB account holder, you have to grab one account. My recommendation, just go get one, its worth it!

Note: You cannot use this services if you are an MCB credit card holder.

A walk-through video

For a detailed walk-through, watch the video below. I’ve made a mobile top-up, mobile bill payment, fund-transfer and balance enquiry etc in this walk-through for you.

First Login

You can simply go to http://www.mcbmobile.com from your mobile phone and can login by giving your cell-phone number and mobile PIN. The login is straight forward and works on SSL to keep the data you are sending encrypted on the way.

Basic Banking on Mobile
The service allows you to perform your basic banking transactions (except cash transactions obviously). You can check your account balance and view mini-statement. Funds transfer option allows you to transfer funds to any other MCB Mobile user by giving his mobile number (registered with the service) or you can simply transfer funds to any MCB account by giving the full account number. For every financial transaction you will have to enter your ATM PIN.

Payments
You can make a number of possible payments using this service. You can purchase mobile top-ups and can send them directly to the phone. You can pay post-paid mobile phone bills. These payments can be made to all mobile networks. You can also pay utility bill payments to a number of electric companies and to nationwide gas and telephone connections.

In addition to mobile and utility payments you can pay your credit card bills and can also donate funds to the Prime Minister’s special relief fund.

Security

Overall mobile site is working over SSL and is as secure as any other Internet transaction. Moreover, it is more secure than paying straight via credit card, as in most transactions we are not using a credit-card or account number.

I have a reason to believe that the service is based on a solution by Fundamo.

Note the word Fundamo in the title!

Summary:

What you need to get the service:

• An MCB account and a debit card
• A basic mobile phone that has a browser and has GPRS activated

The good

• Simple and easy on basic mobile browser
• Topup to all mobile networks
• Bill payment for all mobile numbers
• Utility bill payment to a number of power companies.
• All gas and telephone bills payable
• Secure over SSL and SMS alerts to inform the user of an un-authorized login/transaction.
• No need to go to a branch to sign-up like other services.
• No need to download a software
• I really like the quick-pay option so that you can save your frequently paid bills and add people who you regularly transfer funds to.

The bad

• Well, the service is very slow at times, very slow as compared to normal mobile sites. On a second thought it is acceptable assuming it is because of the secure transactions and encryption.
• Cant transfer funds to other banks. (App says coming soon).
• Cannot use MCB credit card as a payment instrument.
• A few transactions failed or may be timed out. They can be teething problems but still are very irritating at times.

Conclusion
MCB Mobile is a winner by all means. You cannot call it a killer app as this stuff is not new in the market anymore but it reaches the top with the fact that its easy, convenient, ubiquitous, reliable and last but not least, very secure. Simply go to mcb.com.pk, search for your nearest branch, go get an account and sign up for the service. Happy mobile banking!