India’s ICICI Bank Launches Twitter Payments System

One of leading Indian financialinstitutions has announced that it has introduced a process that lets customerssend money to friends and family via Twitter. India’s ICICI Bank new programwill allow customers to send money by registering with Twitter and then directmessaging ICICI with the #Pay hashtag, recipient’s Twitter handle and theamount to be paid.

The sender of the money will thenget a text to their phone with a four digit redemption code that they arerequired to share with the recipient, who also gets a Tweet from the bank witha link to a Web page. Next, the recipient enters the code, along with theirTwitter handle, name, account number and IFC code to get the money.

Commenting on the new system, RajivSabharwal, executive director, ICICI Bank said, “This innovation is in linewith our philosophy of ‘khayaal aapka’ wherein we offer products and serviceswhich make banking easier and more convenient for our customers.”

While the complicated processmight discourage use of the program, ICICI Bank is demonstrating to itscustomers that it can remain innovate and more convenient than its rivals andwith a large proportion of the Indian population under 30, the use of popularsocial media could prove a great marketing tool in getting this segment toshift from their primary financial institutions to ICICI Bank.

Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payments for Mercator Advisory Group

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