TRENDING: India’s ‘Bank In A Box’ Meets Customers Where They Are

Mobile apps aren’t a panacea for banks in India, where in 2017, only 26 percent of consumers said they prefer using a mobile app rather than talking to a bank agent. When customers distrust the security of apps, find them confusing or lack the smartphones to use them, competitive banks need to get creative to extend digital conveniences to their customers — and cut out an inconvenient trek to a branch.

In the May mPOS TrackerTM, PYMNTS looks at how one bank is using mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) devices to let a fleet of staff carry the bank’s services with them as they meet consumers at their homes. Plus, how all types of businesses – from Hong Kong newsstands to KFC – are updating their mobile point-of-sale solutions.

Around the mPOS World

In Hong Kong, newspaper stall owners are getting a point-of-sale feature that’s hot off the press. Octopus Cards Limited recently introduced a new feature to its Octopus App for Business that enables the merchants operating these stalls to accept contactless payments made with customers’ Octopus cards or products.

Small merchants in the Middle East and Africa may soon get new contactless capabilities, too. A collaboration between Mastercard, IDEMIA and Network International aims to help small merchants in the region use their near-field communication (NFC)-enabled Android smartphones to take contactless payments.

Meanwhile, big businesses are also upping their mPOS game. Quick-service restaurant (QSR) giant KFC recently switched payment systems for its U.S. operations. The company transitioned to a solution from Ingenico Group that should simplify its path to EMV chip card acceptance and reduce PCI compliance scope.

To catch up on all the latest headlines, download the Tracker.

“Bank in a Box” Helps Services Travel

India’s Fino Payments Bank is rolling out a new mPOS solution to 10,000 banking touchpoints as well as in-the-field representatives. This latter group includes designated staff who bring services to customers’ doorsteps and merchants authorized to provide banking services to customers in their stores.

In this month’s feature story, Ashish Ahuja, Fino’s executive vice president and head of products and alliances, explains how the “bank in a box” devices enable staff to bring a full slate of services to customers at locations that are more convenient to them. For many customers, Ahuja said, receiving digital services in person from a representative helps acquaint them with the technology and encourages them to eventually adopt mobile banking on their own. And that kind of out-of-branch banking is becoming increasingly important, he added.

“We believe that the customer service, the engagement of the customer, is going to happen outside the branch and not inside the branch,” Ahuja said.

Read the full story in the Tracker.

About the Tracker

The PYMNTS mPOS Tracker is your go-to resource for staying up-to-date on a month-by-month basis. The Tracker highlights the contributions of different stakeholders, including institutions and technology, coming together to make this happen.