22 August 2007
A mobile banking specialist has insisted that current account customers will soon be able to transfer money over their mobile phones.
Customers can already check their balance and view mini statements using their mobile phone with partnerships between Vodafone and Orange in place and high street banks including HSBC, Alliance & Leicester and Royal Bank of Scotland taking part.
However banking specialist Monitise has revealed to the Guardian that the company will soon act like an "electronic bank in your pocket" with a fifth channel for banking on top of call centres, cash machines, branches and internet portals.
Monitise Chairman Duncan McIntyre is confident that an "explosion" of mobile phone banking will lead to its services being accessible to one in three UK current account cardholders by autumn.
"I am relatively confident that within the next 12 months we'll have most big name banks signed," he said.
"In five years' time we would want to be one of the key channels for the banks.
"Call centres are a big cost for banks and a huge frustration for customers. We would expect to see a falling off of the call centre [industry]," he added.
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