Earlier this year ICICI launched its 'Your Bank Account' Facebook app, enabling users to view account details and mini statements as well as apply for debit cards and request chequebooks.

The bank's chief technology officer Mukesh Kumar Jain has now told local press that work is underway on the next stage of the project and customers should be able to make transactions through the app within the next few months.

Jain revealed the plans as he talked reporters through a range of other new IT initiatives, including 25 new '24x7 electronic branches' that house self-service devices where customers can deposit cash and cheques, carry out online banking and talk to staff using video conferencing technology.

Another new feature, called 'tab banking', lets customers open accounts from home, with ICICI staff using a tablet equipped with mobile connectivity to scan relevant KYC documents and click a picture of the user, doing away with the need for a branch visit.

A 'bank-on-the-move' tool, consisting of a POS terminal with an in-built GPRS and Wi-Fi connectivity has been developed to allow customers to carry out transactions in remote locations.

For wealth customers, the bank has also built an e-locker, providing wealth customers with a free, one GB, virtual safe for electronically scanned copies of important documents.

Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO, ICICI, says:, said, "Our continuing adoption of innovative technology reinforces our commitment towards improving and developing our relationship with our customers. The new initiatives are in line with our "Khayaal Aapka" philosophy of keeping the customer's needs as the focal point of our business."