Citibank has teamed with mobile phone operator Telstra to launch a wireless banking service for its Australian customers, which will be delivered over NTT DoCoMo's i-mode platform.
Citibank Australia customers who subscribe to the i-mode service will be able to use their mobile phone to pay bills, transfer funds between accounts, check account balances, change personal details, view product information and receive share prices.
Research commissioned by the bank shows that 25% of mobile phone users in Australia are likely to pay bills using mobile banking services, while 24% are also likely to transfer funds using their hand sets.
Les Matheson, CEO, Citibank Australia, says: "Around 10 million bills are paid every month in Australia using BPAY. People have become very comfortable paying bills online. Paying bills via mobile is a natural and perhaps even more convenient extension and we have created a safe environment in which to do it."
The i-mode platform is available from Telstra on several mobile handsets, such as the NEC, Samsung, Panasonic and Sagem.