'Yes' to money deals on the go

Imagine this scenario. Company secretary Ramesh Tiwari has to get a very important financial transaction cleared by the evening, failing which his company would have to pay a penalty for the delay. However, he learns that one of the two company’s authorised signatories is in London.

Under normal circumstances, Tiwari would have had to twiddle his thumbs. However, he simply calls up Dilip — the signatory who is in London — and tells him to do the needful online. Dilip, who does not have access to a computer, simply pulls out his Blackberry, logs on to the mobile internet site of the bank, enters his mobile authorisation code, and clears the transaction. In an instant, he gets a confirmed status of payment authorisation.

Tiwari is just an example. Any Deutsche Bank corporate client with an internet-enabled mobile phone can use mobile authorisation. From your smartphone, simply access your mobile internet browser. You will be taken directly to the Deutsche Bank Mobile Banking site where you can login to manage your account. You will have an extra piece of security device (generating a security code dynamically) that will enable you to login and authorise payment transctions. All you need is an internet connection and Internet

Explorer 5.0 and above. The feature leverages mobile push technology (which allows you to automatically receive email, news, and other updates without you having to seek them out and download them manually).

Chintan Shah, director, head of cash management (sales) India, says: “Mobile authorisation allows our clients access to electronic transactional information at their convenience. This is key in today’s business environment where reducing transaction delays, streamlining and improving efficiencies across the corporate’s workflow and value chain is critical.”

Deutsche Bank expect more clients to upgrade to this enhanced value-added feature. Shah says around 20-25 per cent of the Bank’s large-cap clients have adopted mobile authorisation. The clients include Infosys Technologies Limited, GSK Consumer Healthcare Limited, Cairn Energy Limited, IATA and Castrol India.

In the Asian region, Standard Chartered Bank, too, offers a similar feature. Its Straight2Bank facility includes the Info Manager, Mobile Authorisation and Straight2Bank. The potential is promising.

Research and consultancy firm KPMG estimates that the global mobile money transfer market will be worth $21 billion by 2011.