SMS banking is a type of mobile banking, a technology-enabled service offering from banks to its customers, permitting them to operate selected banking services over their mobile phones using SMS messaging.
SMS banking services are operated using both push
and pull messages. Push messages are those that the bank chooses to send
out to a customer's mobile phone, without the customer initiating a request for
the information. Typically push messages could be either Mobile
marketing messages or messages alerting an event which happens in the
customer's bank account, such as a large withdrawal of funds from the ATM or a large payment using the
customer's credit card, etc. (see section below on Typical Push
and Pull messages).
Pull messages are those that are initiated by the
customer, using a mobile phone, for obtaining information or performing a
transaction in the bank account. Examples of pull messages for information
include an account balance enquiry, or requests for current information like
currency exchange rates and deposit interest
rates, as published and updated by the bank.
Depending on the selected extent
of SMS banking transactions offered by the bank, a customer could be authorized
to carry out either non-financial transactions, or both and financial and
non-financial transactions. SMS banking solutions offer customers a range of
functionality, classified by push and pull services as outlined below.
Typical
push services would include:
- Periodic account
balance reporting (say at the end of month);
- Reporting of salary and other credits to the bank
account;
- Successful or un-successful execution of a standing order;
- Successful payment of a cheque issued
on the account;
- Insufficient funds;
- Large value withdrawals on an account;
- Large value withdrawals on the ATM or EFTPOS on a debit
card;
- Large value payment on
a credit
card or out of country activity on a credit card.
- One-time password and authentication
Typical pull
services would include:
- Account balance
enquiry;
- Mini statement request;
- Electronic bill payment;
- Transfers between customer's own accounts, like
moving money from a savings account to a current account to fund a cheque;
- Stop payment instruction on a cheque;
- Requesting for an ATM card
or credit
card to be suspended;
- De-activating a credit or debit card when it is
lost or the PIN is known to be compromised;
- Foreign currency exchange rates enquiry;
- Fixed deposit interest rates enquiry.