Blackberry service
Monitise has announced that its BlackBerry Messenger peer-to-peer (P2P) payments service, BBM Money, has been enhanced with new capabilities including a wide range of bill payments, cardless cash withdrawals via ATMs and access via wifi.
The added features are designed to further increase the convenience of the BBM Money service launched earlier this year through Monitise’s joint venture with Astra Graphia Information Technology (PT AGIT Monitise Indonesia) in partnership with Indonesian financial institution PT Bank Permata Tbk (PermataBank) and BlackBerry.
The bill payment feature will enable BBM Money users to pay a wide range of bills including utilities, credit cards, post-paid mobile, internet and cable TV. The ability to top-up electricity prepaid accounts will be key for users as state distributor PLN rolls out this model across its customer base – already over 5m Indonesian households are on prepaid terms. New BBM Money users can access the service by downloading the application from BB App World and undertaking a simple registration process, all instantly via their device.
The innovative extension of PermataBank’s cardless cash withdrawal service through the bank’s 800 plus ATMs provides another option for withdrawing funds from BBM Money. This is in addition to the existing facility to transfer money to any bank account.
The introduction of access via wifi will make the downloading and use of BBM Money less dependent on mobile network data speeds and means it is now available to BB subscribers who do not have a data plan.
Bianto Surodjo, Head, Liabilities, Wealth Management & e-Channel at PermataBank, commented: “The roll-out of the new features will enable even greater convenience for Indonesian consumers and reflects our desire to meet their needs in an increasingly mobile world. Bill payments, in particular, will prove useful in light of the ongoing rise in the number of pre-paid utility accounts among Indonesian residents.”
Darren Sugden, CEO of Monitise Asia Pacific, said: “The enhancements are designed to meet the day-to-day needs of the consumer – many of whom are already benefitting from the P2P payments service to pay money to friends or family or buy goods from user groups which exist within BBM Money in Indonesia. Functionality such as bill payments and cardless cash withdrawals will increase the level of convenience for users. We are excited to be developing these innovative mobile services alongside our partners in Indonesia, and proving that mobile has a key role to play in banking, payments and commerce around the world.”
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