Nationwide Building Society has disclosed plans to conduct a pilot of its planned WAP phone banking service ahead of a scheduled full-scale launch later this summer.
The mobile phone service will be trialled by 250 members, following a successful in-house testing programme involving almost 100 Nationwide employees says Jim Willens, Nationwide's e-commerce director. He says the full launch will take place this summer with the exact date to be determined by the feedback Nationwide gets from pilot users.
Nationwide's WAP banking service will enable customers with a current account and Nokia 7110, 6210 and 6250 phone to view account balances and their last 12 transactions, transfer money between Nationwide accounts, view and make bill payments, and order a new or replacement PIN number. About 80 per cent of online banking members visiting the Nationwide Web site do so to carry out such transactions.
The WAP service will also be accessible to members with a Nationwide credit card or savings accounts registered for Internet banking.
According to Gartner, it is estimated that, by the year 2003, more people will access the Internet via portable devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones than standalone PCs.