Corporation Bank has enabled transactions through tablet PCs and iPads, according to Ajai Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank.

Delivering the T.A. Pai Endowment Lecture on the theme ‘Digital Banking’ at Mangalore University here on Thursday, he said that Corporation Bank is the first public sector bank to introduce transaction-based banking in tablet PCs and iPads.

He said that the prospect of mobile banking is all set to get better in the foreseeable future with the advent of smart phones and tablet PCs. Modern smart phones are replacing physical wallets and capable of becoming access portals to customers’ stored value of money and credit, he said.

Future mobile banking enjoys an edge over other digital banking counterparts because of its easy accessibility. Another factor that establishes the supremacy of mobile banking over other digital channels is the increase in ‘Gen Y’ customer base, he said.

The growth of Internet and mobile technology has added a different dimension to banking. The accelerated evolution of mobile phones is now at a stage that its basic function of making phone calls is becoming less important, and the device is increasingly becoming a payment of choice, he said.

Stating that technology-based banking forms nearly 25-30 per cent of the total transactions in the banking industry, Ajai Kumar said the way in which it is leapfrogging will take the technology-based banking transactions to nearly 70-80 per cent in a few years.

On the financial inclusion front, he said the mobile phone penetration in rural areas is one opportunity which shall be leveraged by banks to facilitate banking transactions.

Ajai Kumar said the prepaid based mobile wallets can drive financial inclusion in the country.

vinayak.aj@thehindu.co.in

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