Nationwide WAP trial launched
- Posted:
- 11:16 02 Jul 2001
The society hopes to sign up some 10,000 users to the service, which will launch later this summer, in its first few months of full-scale operation.
Users will be able to access their account from their mobile phones, check balances and their last 12 transactions. They will also be able to transfer money between Nationwide accounts, view and make bill payments and order new or replacement PIN numbers. The service will also be available to Nationwide credit card holders, if they are signed up to the society's Internet banking service.
Nationwide spokesperson Peter Brown said the society was confident the WAP service would be a hit. Nationwide advertised on its Web site for trial participants and "we were a little bit taken aback when we filled our criteria in 48 hours", said Brown.
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The service is currently being tested by 250 members and 100 Nationwide staff. At the moment users require Nokia 7110, 6210 or 6250 handsets to . Brown said the society wanted to make sure the service was perfect before rolling it out on a more general basis.
Nationwide is not expecting huge numbers of people to use its mobile banking services in the short term, but Brown said the society believed it was essential to have such services up and running before the predicted boom in mobile banking arrives.
Analyst group Gartner believes that by 2003, more people will be accessing the Internet from PDAs and mobile phones than from conventional PCs.
Commenting on the significance of the WAP pilot, Jim Willens, Nationwide's e-commerce director, said, "Adding WAP banking underlines the commitment to making our products and services accessible to members through as many channels as possible."
The exact launch date of the service will be determined once the trial has been assessed.
Emma Nash
