CIMB sees good response to mobile banking service

Customers can use their handphones to conduct banking transactions anytime, anywhere and when on the move, CIMB Bank head of retail banking

CIMB Bank Bhd expects more than 1.3 million existing CIMB Clicks users and new customers to use the bank's newly-launched mobile banking service.

Dubbed "CIMB Clicks Mobile Banking", it is the first in the market to have Internet banking features and capabilities, compared to other mobile banking services which use the short messaging system (SMS) to make transactions.

"It's not just any mobile banking. It's having CIMB Clicks on their handphones, leaving out the hassle to register separately and be able to conduct banking transactions anytime, anywhere and when on the move," CIMB Bank head of retail banking, Peter England, told reporters after the launch of CIMB Clicks Mobile Banking in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

He said using handphones, customers of both CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic who have autoteller machine cards or are registered with CIMB Clicks can check their account balance for deposits, credit cards, unit trust investment and loans; transfer funds including by telegraphic transfers; and pay bills.

"We are confident this new service will be popular among the CIMB Clicks users and at the same time attract even more users to our banking portal," he said, noting that the bank has over 4.5 million retail customers.

England said customers with Java-enabled handphones with 3G (third generation), EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) connections can gain access to the mobile banking service.

England, however, stressed that the bank is not only interested in adding new users.

"It's not just about numbers. It's also about making sure that the service is actively used. Internet banking will never be a huge revenue contributor (to the bank). It's about convenience to customers," he said.

He said the bank will continue to offer initiatives to increase the number of its online banking users.

"We do not see Internet banking as ever going to be a huge revenue contributor but more of complementary. We want to offer convenience to our customers," said England.

CIMB Clicks is believed to be the second most popular Internet banking website in Malaysia after Malayan Banking Bhd's Maybank2u.