multifeatured SMS banking

Albertans could soon be checking their bank balances with a text message as the province's largest home-grown financial institution is set to roll out a mobile banking service.
Edmonton-based ATB Financial will be allowing customers to view account balances, see recent transactions, and even transfer funds between accounts via SMS. Almost any mobile phone will be compatible with the system, which will eventually offer SMS, Web-based access, and access through a mobile application.
ATB is partnering with Calgary-based Telus Corp. to rollout a pilot project in the Spring. After 90 days, the service will be extended to all ATB customers.
The SMS interaction will be the first step for the bank, according to Ismail Pishori, vice-president of financial services at Telus.
“Rather than bounce a cheque and pay the penalty, you could get a message asking you if you want to transfer some funds to cover the cheque,” he says. “Or you may be at dinner when you get a call from your daughter asking for a loan...rather than running home to do that, you can do it from the restaurant.”
ATB, a provincial crown corporation, will be relying on existing systems that already process online and telephone banking requests. Customers will not be required to download any software to their phones to access the SMS service. Instead, the service makes use of the features already on the phone and built into Telus' CDMA network infrastructure.
The method used by the bank to authenticate users is yet to be finalized, but using SMS to access an account is a safe method, according to Rob Burbach, senior analyst of financial insights at IDC Canada.