Idea Cellular on Thursday launched its mobile banking gateway ‘Idea MyCash' in association with Axis Bank.

Idea MyCash would provide basic banking services, including money transfer, using the mobile. Select retail outlets of Idea Cellular would act as customer service points, and also handle cash receipts and payments. The remittance facility is being tested on the Dharavi-Allahabad corridor currently.

In December, it was announced that Idea Cellular would act as a Business Correspondent of Axis Bank to target the un-banked and under-banked segments. Ms Shika Sharma, MD and CEO, Axis Bank, and Mr Sanjeev Aga, MD, Idea Cellular, launched the mobile banking gateway at an event in Mumbai. Idea MyCash is expected to roll out pan-India by September.

The target group would fall in a household income bracket of Rs 3,000 to Rs 15,000 per month; mobile penetration in this target group stands at 65 per cent, according to Mr Amrish Jain, Director - Operations, Idea Cellular. “We have attempted the pilot, with 20 branchless banks operating currently,” added Mr Jain. Among urban migrants, the median remittance of these consumers to families back in their home towns (or villages) is estimated at Rs 2,000 per month. The base of 10 crore urban migrants is seen as the target group for MyCash initially.

The accounts offered, under what is billed as the first financial inclusion initiative to go live on the mobile, will be no-frills accounts, and KYC norms would be relaxed akin to those for prepaid customers on the mobile, explained Mr S.K. Mitra, President, Agri Business and Rural Banking, Axis Bank.

Speaking to Business Line , Mr Mitra said, “We started testing it about a week ago, and should be able to go pan-India in less than six months.”

For remittances, MyCash will charge a flat rate of Rs 5 per transaction.

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