Jonathan Poole, Westpac's Head of Internet Services, said the new technology will revolutionise banking "WAP technology enables customers to access Westpac's Internet Online Banking from anywhere in Australia via their mobile phone. So whether you're on an island in the middle of Sydney Harbour or standing on top of Ayers Rock, you can still do your banking."
"We had a number of choices to make in deciding which mobile platform to use. In the end WAP was the only sensible choice," said Mr Poole. "WAP is the emerging global standard, it supports a range of devices other than just mobile phones such as PDAs plus it is carrier and network independent. This means our customers have unconstrained choice as to which carrier and handset to use. This was particularly important when we considered rural Australia, where the CDMA mobile network will not support other technologies such as SIM toolkit."
Australians are voracious users of mobile phones with 6.2 million, or around one third of the total population connected. Industry observers are predicting that uptake and acceptance of WAP services will mirror the overall market for mobile services. This market is expected to grow by up to 30% in 2000.
Participants in the Westpac/telstra.com WAP trial have been provided with functionality, including the ability to check account balances, view account lists and transfer funds.
"We are undertaking the trial in order to bed down the technology and gain valuable customer feedback prior to full launch to the public early in the year 2000. This will ensure we deliver a customer focussed service aimed at putting people more in control of their financial affairs. The trial will also ensure we have extensively tested the security components of the service, although initial testing is indicating that these will meet our stringent requirements," Mr Poole said.
"In the future we are planning customisable notification services such as, advising customers if a credit card payment is due, or share price alerts. This is an exciting time for banking services in Australia. During next year, the range of WAP devices and services offered will expand dramatically, increasing access and control for our customers," Mr Poole said.
