By Telecom Lead Team: HDFC Bank has introduced mobile
payment service in association with Movida, a mobile payments venture backed by
Visa and Monitise.

 

The new service allows HDFC Bank customers to pay bills,
top up prepaid airtime and buy tickets from their mobile phone and is designed
to operate across all mobile networks using any Visa or non-Visa branded
payment account. It can be used by any mobile subscriber, anywhere and accessed
by even the most basic mobile phone.

 

This is a service designed for Indians. As we rollout
the service to other banks more Indians will be able to benefit from mobile
payments. Wave goodbye to waiting in long queues or visiting post offices or
payment machines to pay bills as you will now be able to do that right from
your mobile phone. This service is going to drastically reduce the time and
energy Indians waste every day waiting to pay bills,” said Naushad Contractor,
Movida’s President and head of the Monitise and Visa joint venture in India.

 

The new service uses menu-based USSD mobile technology.
After linking their HDFC Bank Visa or non-Visa payment card to their mobile
phone number, cardholders can access the service via USSD over Movida’s secure
connection. 

 

The system has security measures to maintain account
integrity, including a unique PIN number set up on the phone to access the
account information. Only the user’s bank-registered phone can be connected to
the service.

 

HDFC Bank has always been at the forefront of technology
to ensure that our customers have greater choice and convenience at their
disposal. The partnership with Movida is a crucial step whereby we will enable
our customers to carry out multiple mobile commerce transactions from the most
basic handsets,” said Rahul Bhagat, head-Retail Liabilities, Marketing &
Direct Banking Channels, HDFC Bank.

 

All HDFC customers throughout the country can now pay
their bills and top up talk time with a few clicks of their mobile phones. This
will save them considerable time and help them focus on more important things
in life.

 

The service is initially being offered to a select number
of valued customers before being rolled out across the country later in the
year.

 

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