SBI controls half the mobile banking share

With a whopping 11.5 million (1.15 crore) registered users, State Bank of India (SBI) generates around 50 percent of all mobile banking transactions, RBI data revealed here Thursday.

At present, the SBI user base for mobile banking is around 4.5 percent of its total retail customer base, and customers can avail it irrespective of the mobile handsets they use.

The SBI expects the user base to grow and reach around 10-12 percent of the total retail customer base within two years and up to 35 percent within three-to-five years.

"India has just witnessed the launch of message banking. We are confident that once this is understood by people, there will be an explosion of banking activities in the mobile space. This is what the future of banking holds," commented SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya.

She added that mobile banking will also play a large part in the role of the yet-to-be-launched payment banks with which the SBI plans to have tie-ups.

SBI has been aggressive about migration of customers to direct channels with mobile banking service forming an important component of the strategy.

At of now, customers can access SBI through "State Bank Anywhere", its Smartphone App which is integrated with internet banking, besides "State Bank Freedom" for the masses which can be accessed by all kinds of phones.

The promotion of the alternative channels also helps decongest bank branches with the recent launch of over 15 million new bank accounts under the Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana.

The 208-year-old SBI is the largest commercial bank in the country with the government of India holding 58.60 percent stake.

The State Bank Group includes SBI and five associate banks, with a total of 20,000-plus branches in India and 190 branches in 36 countries.