eTranzact simplifies mobile banking on phones

Following its recent licensing by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to offer mobile banking, eTranzact International Plc, has simplified its module for delivery on mobile banking in the country.

Confirming this to ITRealms Online, last weekend, the chief executive officer, eTranzact International Plc, Mr. Valentine Obi, said that they have advanced technology modules to deliver on its latest license.

He also said that the as an award-winning multi-application and channel electronic switching, eTranzact would leverage on the new global Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform.

He explained that USSD allows for high speed interactive communication between the subscribers and application across a GSM network, adding that the major difference between what is obtainable hitherto is that USSD is a new mobile banking service facilitating bank account access to the mobile phone owner through GSM enabled handset.

He elucidated that its simplest and fastest form of mobile banking, which is menu driven and interactive service.

This, he said, is session-oriented service distinct from the Short Messaging Service (SMS), which is a store-and forward based service

In addition, he said this makes it possible for eTranzact mobile banking module to be accessible to all Nigerians mobile subscriber without discrimination and availing them the great opportunities embedded in the platform for electronic transactions.

Mr. Obi said that with this module every subscriber on Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) networks in the country would be able to benefit from easy mobile banking services under the eTranzact platform.

He noted that before now, some mobile phone users in the country were excluded from enjoying this kind of e-payment services due to their kind of phones usually refer to as ‘legacy phones’, mostly those without Global Package Radio Services (GPRS) feature.

Pointing out that with the incursion of the USSD, which is a Java package, mobile phone users now have the potential of using whatever model of mobile phones to access eTranzact e-payment application.

“So today, what we have done is to make it possible for low-end mobile phones to do mobile banking and be part of the revolution,” he declared.

Obi stressed that over 80 million Nigerians now have access to mobile phones and it would be a misnomer to leave them out, hence eTranzact decided to take the challenge by changing the modules of e-payment and transactions to accommodate every Nigerian.

The Group Head, Mobile Payment at eTranzact, Mr. Patrick Eregie, said that this latest offering eTranzact would boost the economy, especially at the rural areas, where people at the urban have been known to send money to their relatives.

“You can transact 24 hours from anywhere,” he said, even as it would save time for money transfer.

Eregie noted that eTranzact is currently the only e-payment provider in the country that enables payment solution via your mobile phones across all GSM networks.

He illustrated that this is because the services are very simple, user-friendly, common and acceptable on all kind of phones. The associated ATM card, he said, could be used at any ATM system own by eTranzact partnering banks and deployers nationwide, just as bills could be settled with same, such as for any Cable TV bills, PHCN bills, Postpaid bills, Airtime TopUp of any GSM/CDMA network, Check account or card balance to name a few.

To electronic generate this application, he said mobile phone users can make request via text by sending ‘U’ to 4045 for MTN and Etisalat; 32060 for Airtel as well as 31030 for Glo.

eTranzact prides itself as the first online real-time payment system that allows account holders to pay for goods and services purchased from merchants, transfer funds to any bank account, cell phone, any card, pay bills, order products among others without stress.

The e-payment firm also said that this is possible because eTranzact permits cardholders to use any of various channels to transact including the web, using any internet browser in a secured transaction; mobile phones either on GSM or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) or analog as well as Point of Sale (POS), Automated Teller Machines (ATM), other mobile devices and across 11 banks.

Remmy Nweke:
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