ICICI to launch mobile payment system

Visa will be its partner.

ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector lender, will launch a mobile payments service developed by Movida, a joint venture between Visa and mobile money specialist firm Monetise.

The new mobile payments service has the potential to reach unbanked customers throughout India. It will enable ICICI Bank payment card holders to pay bills, recharge pre-paid airtime and buy cinema tickets from the mobile phone.

Users can access the system either through a menu or through interactive voice response in multiple languages. Security comes in the form of a PIN number. ICICI Bank designed the service to work with any payment card, including Visa and non-Visa cards.

Movida said the mobile payment services will succeed in India and are simple, interoperable solutions that solve a real consumer need and can apply to any handset, without the need for a technology upgrade or a new purchase.

Founded in 1994, ICICI Bank operates 3,377 branches and 10,943 ATMs across India. Based in Hyderabad, the bank has subsidiaries in the UK, Russia and Canada and also operates branches in the US, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Dubai.