Telenor betting big on mobile banking solutions; awaits licence

As India pushes for financial inclusion and mobile banking, global telecom services provider Telenor is eyeing a share in the Indian market in a big way.

The company, which has already applied for mobile banking licence in February, is now in the planning stage of how to go about it, said a senior official from the company.

“Telenor believes that mobile financial services can act as a catalyst in helping to connect the large un-banked population across much of the developing world, but it also recognises that there is a long-term strategic business opportunity in this market,” Tine Wollebekk, Senior Vice-President and Head of Financial Services at Telenor, told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress here.

When asked about the reason for its late entry into the Indian market when companies such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, have already established that business, she said Telenor has already set its foot in financial inclusion in Bangladesh and Pakistan, but because of delay in authentication in India, it could not start the business yet.

“There is some delay in the authentication, but since we have applied for licence, we hope to get it soon,” she added.

The company already has a strong – and growing – footprint in the financial services area in other Asian markets. Launched in 2009, it’s Easypaisa scheme in Pakistan Telenor has given more than six million unique users a month access to its basic financial services such as utility bill payments, money transfer and mobile accounts, she said.

Last year, Easypaisa did around $4.2 billon transactions, which accounts for two per cent of GDP. A similar service was recently launched in Thailand. Telenor also delivers financial services in Bangladesh. Introducing basic financial services in their youngest market – Myanmar – is seen as the natural next step, she said.

“A well-functioning financial system is the lifeblood of any community, and financial inclusion represents a stepping-stone towards other progress – bringing with it access to new technologies and services,” said Wollebekk.

She said since India also is one of the Telenor’s fastest growing market, it should be able to provide the services if the Indian government provides the licence at the earliest.

The company has over 8,400 employees, 2,356 distributors and 3.65 lakh exclusive points of sales, which can be put to use once it gets the licence for mobile banking solutions.

With the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana kicking off in India with an ambitious target of opening 20 crore bank accounts in the first year itself, this sector has opportunities – and challenges – for the stakeholders involved, said analysts.

As of now, 12 crore have already been opened under the scheme.

“Financial inclusion via mobile financial services is a natural fit for an organisation with a vision of empowering societies. It allows us to provide new and better services for customers, improve the social well-being of millions of people while providing new and interesting business opportunities for the shareholders”, Wollebekk added.

The writer is in Barcelona at the invitation of Telenor

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