Mobile phone banking is extremely popular in Europe. Until now, the most common client-side technology for dealing with bank systems has been SIM Toolkit, software which runs in the mobile phone"s SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) smart card -- but now SIM Toolkit faces a new competitor, a system based on Java.
Mobile phone displays now allow easy-to-use forms, corresponding to the Internet banking standard, to be created in Java. The user can thus communicate interactively with the bank -- just like he is used to doing on the Internet -- with the advantage of being able to communicate from literally anywhere.
In using Java, the user no longer has to have a special SIM card and the service is not bound to a specific operator. The only condition is that the mobile phone support Java and allows for GPRS. The client only pays for transmitted data.
One of the first implementations of the new system was actually completed in the Czech Republic -- at Komercní Banka (part of the Société Générale group). The Czech software company Cleverlance was entrusted with the project.
The Komercní Banka (KB) service, "Mobile Bank," yields numerous advantages for both the user as well as the bank itself. The user does not have to visit a branch to activate the service, but uses a different communication channel, such as a call center. Updates are conducted automatically -- the client doesn"t have to do a thing. All operations are conducted on-line.
The bank also makes considerable savings with this new solution. From the very beginning, the necessity to develop different versions for different types of mobile phones is done away with since the application sits on a FrontEnd Server (FES), which is also where all modifications are made, including the addition of new functions. What"s more, a Java specialist is not required to make these modifications -- a trained bank employee suffices. There are numerous other advantages in the form of savings of the bank"s resources.
"In comparison with the older service enabling bank account management by mobile phone using the SIM Toolkit, mobile banking offers easy and comfortable control and clear and well-arranged graphics similar to Internet banking. All communication is conducted on-line providing for a fast response and an updated display of information," said KB"s Direct Banking Head Peter Hollovic.
"Mobile Bank was designed so that the application"s parameterization, testing, distribution and ensuing administration is conducted centrally. The users then benefit from the application"s speed, cost-effective data communication, high level of security and well-arranged graphic interface," said Ondrej Janovský, Cleverlance"s product development manager, at the launch of Mobile Bank.
The FES system can be used for other applications in addition to mobile banking, for instance data gathering in the energy sector, creating information systems for restaurants or cinemas, or a terminal for access to corporate CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or for securities trading.