Laxmi Bank brings Mobile Money

Laxmi Bank Ltd (LBL) -- one of the leaders in electronic banking in Nepal -- has introduced payments through mobile phones under the brand Mobile Money.
"A customer can, at present, transfer funds to 10 selected customers, either post-paid or pre-paid Nepal Telecom (NT) mobile and landline bills and Laxmi Bank's credit bills through mobile SMS," said bank CEO Suman Joshi, launching bank's the latest product -- a fusion of banking technology and communication system that can change the complete banking landscape in the future.
"At present, a customer can transfer Rs 5,000 but the bank and customer can work it out and increase the limit upto Rs 1,00,000," Joshi informed adding that though it costs a customer Rs 10 per transaction, the Mobile Money saves time and is reliable.
"The system has been put through rigorous testing and carries a number of security features to ensure safety and reliability of financial transactions as our strong suite of electronic banking solutions is backed by strong technologies with a proven track record of innovation," he added.
As its next step, LBL is planning merchant payment system through its Mobile Money where a customer can pay bills at shopping malls. A true anytime-anywhere service, Mobile Money is also planning to provide the service to the non-Laxmi Bank account-holders as well, he said adding that it could be a powerful retail payment tool.
There are around five million mobile phone users in Nepal and the number is increasing daily. "As mobile phone is no longer a luxury but a necessity, Mobile Money has now added one more feature -- banking to the popular means of communication," said the CEO of Laxmi Bank that strongly advocates migration from 'cash' to 'electronic' means of payments.