AIB Offers Mobile Phone Banking Service

European companies continue to forge ahead with mobile e-commerce services. Allied Irish Banks plc (Dublin) plans to roll out a new mobile phone banking service to customers next month. Using Eircell's text messaging, the service will enable AIB personal customers to view updated bank and credit card balances, as well as recent transaction details. Developed by AIB and Eircell, it will operate on any compatible GSM mobile phone and the latest WAP handsets. Eircell, the mobile communications subsidiary of Eircom, the incumbent telecom company in Ireland, has about two thirds of the Irish mobile subscriber base.

The 24-hour mobile service is the latest development in the implementation of AIB's strategy for mobile commerce. Subsequent phases include a range of transaction-based financial services using the latest WAP technology. This will include a share-dealing service by the end of this year. AIB business customers can already use text messaging to monitor the latest share and currency prices with the recently unveiled FX3 treasury service. Customers will be able to use this new banking information service for the price of an Eircell text message.

AIB will continue to provide this text messaging service in addition to the introduction of WAP based services later this year, said Billy Andrews, AIB general manager electronic banking. The company also will extend this service to compatible prepaid phones by mid-2000, which will serve the customers who may prefer not to migrate to WAP phones immediately.

With 24 hour mobile, customers use a registration number and personal access code to generate a text "request" message to AIB. After authentication by the bank, a "response" message containing the requested information is sent for viewing on the screen of the customer's phone.

The service will complement AIB's Internet banking service, which currently has 40,000 customers and is expected to grow to 100,000 by the end of this year.

Edited by Ellen Jensen