International banking firm Citi and Obopay, a payment solutions company, have reached an agreement to pilot a real-time person-to-person mobile payment service for new and existing Citi credit and debit card holders.
The trial participants will be able to easily and securely send and receive money instantly via any mobile phone. In addition, participants will be able to access their mobile payments accounts to check balances, view payment histories and add funds direct from their handset. Funds received through the Citi-Obopay mobile person-to-person service can also be accessed with a debit card provided with the service.
We are working with Obopay on this pilot to continue to meet our customers’ needs to access their money the way many increasingly prefer – through their mobile phones – in a fast, convenient, and secure manner, said Amy Radin, chief innovation officer at Citi.
The scheme is expected to be launched later in 2007, with further details on which cities are to be included in the pilot to be announced.