Equity Bank launches mobile banking

Equity Bank has launched a mobile banking service, allowing its 2.6 million customers to access their accounts remotely.

The Eazzy 24/7 service is cost effective and adaptable and is expected to bring more people into the formal banking system, said Njuguna Ndung'u, Central Bank of Kenya governor. The mobile service will help reduce transaction costs and improve the national payment system, he said.

The mobile phone boom has laid down a strong base for low cost banking, and the growth of mobile phone use in rural Kenya shows that it can attract customers, said Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi.

Equity account holders can now credit and transfer cash into other Equity accounts, pay their utility bills, purchase airtime, request bank statements and perform 13 other crucial banking tasks -- all in real time over their mobile phones.

Equity's mobile banking technology is similar to that of Safaricom's popular money transfer service, M-PESA, which has made banks uncomfortable given the shift of most transactions from banks to mobile phone kiosks.

Statistics compiled by the Communications Commission of Kenya indicate that mobile phone subscribers in the country stood at 12.7 million in June this year, up from just 20,000 in 1999.