Mobile pay services: An evolution of the popular internet banking

A third of the transactions at Bank of Valletta are done through its 24/7 services like telephone and internet banking, and this led the bank to launch its new pay service over mobile phones.

“The take-up of internet has been nothing short of phenomenal. We have over 20 million transactions every year – which represents over a third of all the bank’s transactions,” Michael Galea, BoV’s chief operations officer, told i-Tech.

“It is really no wonder that internet banking has progressively become the channel of choice for many of our customers. They appreciate the convenience of conducting their financial requirements from their home or office. As customers’ lifestyles become more mobile it is becoming increasingly important for them to remain in control of their finances, wherever they are. At the end of the day, it’s about giving our customers convenience and peace of mind.”

The latest addition to the bank’s online service is BOV Mobile, a mobile pay service available on today’s popular mobile devices. Once customers register, they can send and receive payments easily from your mobile phone without having to give their account and banking details over and over again. To make a payment, all they need is the mobile number of the person they want to pay, and the payment amount. According to the bank it’s fast, easy and secure. There is no fiddling with cash and change, and it is much easier than paying by cheque.

It also allows customers to easily and securely view their own account balances, pay their bills and even transfer money between accounts. Security is the number one priority for banking, and using banking services over a mobile phone may raise concerns to users who may not think this is secure enough. However Mr Galea wants to allay these fears.

“Bank of Valletta has a very strong track record when it comes to security. Over the past 10 years, security has been a big investment for BoV. No effort has been spared to ensure that BOV Mobile is equipped with the best security features currently on the market. The bank already has a number of state-of-the-art security mechanisms safeguarding all our systems, including, the recently-introduced BOV Protect service. This service can be downloaded free of charge to protect our customers’ computers. In the case of smart phones this comes automatically as part of BOV Mobile, giving customers additional peace of mind.”

BOV Mobile is available on a wide range of smartphones and tablets supporting the Android V2.1 operating system or higher. It is also available on iPhones and other Apple devices such as iPod and iPad supporting iOS V4.0 or higher.

However, customers who do not have a compatible device can still register to receive payments through BOV Mobile Pay, as any mobile phone brand or model may be used to receive payments through this service. Registration is free to all BOV 24x7 customers.

Indeed BOV Mobile is an extension of the bank’s 24x7 suite of services. These services include the popular internet banking service, telephone banking service and ATMs. BoV’s 24x7 allow customers to view financial information in real time. As an example, a transaction made at the branch will be immediately available for viewing on BOV Mobile.

BoV’s chief operations officer explained how the integration of the various systems allows many other convenient features. For example, you can set up regular payments as templates on internet banking and these will be immediately available on mobile banking. Business customers have the added convenience of being able to use their mobile to authorise transactions created by their colleagues through internet banking, or, equally conveniently, transactions raised through another mobile phone.

This convenience allows businesses to increase their efficiency, and gives business customers the power and freedom to seize a business opportunity, wherever and whenever it arises. In a competitive environment, such convenience is important, insists Mr Galea.

Additional information, including answers to frequently asked questions is available on the bank’s website www.bov.com, through the bank’s customer service centre on 2131 2020, or by visiting any BoV Branch.

Customers who are not BoV 24x7 subscribers or don’t have a BoV account can call at one of the bank’s branches to open an account and start benefiting from BOV Mobile.