We have taken a look at the permissible branchless banking models in our earlier post and have seen them all to bank led. At the third international mobile commerce conference recently held State Banks’s Deputy Governor, Yaseen Anwar, has indicated of a Teleco led model of branchless banking is being considered. The staff report from Dawn News gives the details.

The State Bank of Pakistan is considering introducing a new non-bank led and Telco led model of branchless banking, said deputy governor of State Bank, Yaseen Anwar, while speaking at the third international mobile commerce conference in Pakistan on Thursday.

He said this adds a totally new dimension to regulation that extends beyond the direct supervisory role of the SBP.

“We may need to establish, as in some countries, a National Payments Council that will include other stakeholders to regulate this rapidly expanding business sector.”Mr Anwar said that the SBP has issued guidelines for branchless banking as part of a broader strategy to create an enabling regulatory environment with the objectives of promoting financial inclusion.

He said branchless banking is a significantly cheaper alternative to conventional branch-based banking as it allows banks to offer financial services outside traditional bank premises.

“One inherent power of branchless banking is that it can be used to substantially increase the financial services outreach to the un-banked communities and in a broader perspective provides ways and means in the promotion of financial inclusion in the country,” he added.

At the same conference the PTA Chairman, Dr. Muhammad Yaseen, said that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has joined hands with the State Bank of Pakistan to produce an all – inclusive mobile banking regulatory frame work which is to be finalised very soon. Daily Times gives the details about this.

Dr Yaseen said billions of mobile and online internet users worldwide are creating huge opportunities for the development of new means of commerce like e-commerce and m-commerce. However, the industry’s growth and its development impact can only be maximized, if stakeholders work together towards identifying the appropriate policy and business models that can achieve scalability. He said, “we have joined hands with the State Bank of Pakistan to produce an all inclusive mobile banking regulatory frame work which is to be finalised very soon”. He said the global mobile money industry has grown significantly in size and scope and there are various modes of transactions via your bank branch, call centers, IVR, ATM online and mobile phones. Amazingly, the lowest of all is mobile money transaction costing around $0.08 per transaction. He said the mobile money not only provides convenience but the lowest transaction cost as well, according to the World Bank, Pakistan is amongst the top 20 remittance – receiving economies with a size of $6.1 billion by 2007. This proves realistic market availability for kick starting various modes of mobile money, he added.

With this regulation coming forward we can expect more telecom players entering in to the mobile banking domain.

• SBP Considering Teleco Led Branchless Banking: We have taken a look at the permissible… http://goo.gl/fb/gFi9 #
• http://bit.ly/bbTAnd #
• How to take Boss’s Video Call ;) http://bit.ly/aKYImJ #
• Telenor Karu Mumkin – Bloggers Meet-up: Telenor Pakistan arranged another bloggers meet-up… http://goo.gl/fb/lIVo #
• Telenor Pakistan arranged another bloggers meet-up last Wednesday, this time on their CSR… http://goo.gl/fb/UWp8 #
• Nokia Announces Awards for Millions of Rupees for Application Developers in Pakistan… http://goo.gl/fb/4mxj #
• Warid: Sim Jagao: I thought the term ‘Sim Jagao’ was an interesting marketing phrase to ask… http://goo.gl/fb/gcpi #
• Mobilink Infinity: Changes in Rates and Plans: Mobilink Infinity has announced that they will… http://goo.gl/fb/EVbD #
• Jazz – New Tag Line: Mobilink’s prepaid brand Jazz has come up with a new tag line. Earlier… http://goo.gl/fb/hW20 #
• PTA’s website in Urdu. http://bit.ly/cqV3AH #
• Telenor Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Realizing Possibilities: Telenor Pakistan has launched… http://goo.gl/fb/DqqG #
• Great TVC with a positive message backed by voice of Mr.Zia Mohiuddin. What do you say about it? http://bit.ly/bHrdDm #
• Telenor urges Pakistan telecoms shake-up; http://bit.ly/dv1NqW #
• Billing Errors: Poll Results: Here are the results from our most recent poll on billing errors… http://goo.gl/fb/CCRy #
• http://twitpic.com/18lnm4 – A different kind of phone booth (for business) #TwitPict (via @thebabar) #
• Calling for Ideas>RT @telenorpakistan: share your ideas for Future Pakistan,realize the possibilities and grow with us! http://bit.ly/c6w6ek #
• Jazz Reactivation Offer: Mobilink Jazz has come up with another limited time reactivation… http://goo.gl/fb/dZ4Q #
• Managing Mobile Threats in Memory: Mobile devices are increasingly subject to many of the… http://goo.gl/fb/U7yL #
• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-03-13: – How much is your average expense on mobile phone… http://goo.gl/fb/vTpV #

Telenor Pakistan arranged another bloggers meet-up last Wednesday, this time on their CSR initiative ‘Karu Mumkin’. The aim of the event was to experience the idea with Telenor Pakistan’s Marketing and Communication team.

Host, Sohaib Mustafa ( external communication specialist at Telenor) started with the show with introducing the campaign. This was followed by bloggers introduction. Around 25 bloggers and bloggers to-be were present at the event.

Then Mustafa Ramazan, brand manager, elaborated on Telenor’s vision behind Karu Mumki. His presentation got a little boring, the only part that got my attention was about Telenor after successfully realizing possibilities and making it happen over the past 5 years has now repositioned it self from The Smart Call to Karu Mumkin.

Affan Haider, manager corporate communication, then took over. He talked about his experience of a recent seminar he was invited on corporate perspective on blogging. He was of the opinion of need of a PR blog in Pakistan. He also emphasized on how life is changing with innovations in mobile technologies.

It was not the turn of Karu Mumkin’s TVC to be screened, but due to some technical issues it couldn’t happen.

Then was the last segment, some ideas and the Q and A session. The ideas discussed mainy focused on how to make education available to far rural areas. A few questions on localized content on mobile phones were asked and also if Telenor has a business objective on the ideas coming in from this campaign. Mustafa Ramzan cleared on this that no idea form this campaign shall be used for any business objectives, all will be realized for a social cause and for Pakistan.

Here, I would also like to give my views on the event, but this is no way to hurt or discourage the efforts put in by Telenor Pakistan to get bloggers on board. It is more about how possibly this particular effort could have been realized better.

First of all the choice of day, Wednesday, a weekday was not a good pick for such kind of a event. Mobile Account’s meet-up went very well on a weekday but this was very different from that, the brand manager himself said that its away from business and something social.

I personally felt that Karu Mumkin meet-up did not trigger the excitement it could have at this event platform. The event could not get the energy level of participants at the par it gets when you talk about Pakistan and solutions to Pakistan’s problems.

It some where lacked emphasizes over Pakistan. I personally missed the flag there. Also as I had earlier said that it was in the month of March the idea of a nation was laid and realized. This March this event could have been associated with the 70th Pakistan Day.

And yes about the TVC, it really had  touched me at heart but unfortunately it didn’t get to play on the venue. For many it may be the visuals of that, but I believe its vocals by Zia Mohiuddin are much powerful, powerful enough to make one think an idea.

Nevertheless, I wish Telenor Pakistan a very good luck with the Karu Mumkin and hope to see great ideas on the coming show.

Developers, here’s your chance to EARN a million rupees. Nokia’s 2010 Calling All Innovators contest has a special prize for developers who submit locally relevant applications (in Urdu or English) and content for use on Nokia devices by consumers living in Pakistan. Pakistan is one of the 11 countries where Nokia is offering the award for local content/apps.

1. The best entry by a developer based in Pakistan will receive a special prize of 1,000,000/- PKR in cash.
2. Additionally, two runners-up will get 500,000/- PKR in cash and 300,000/- PKR in cash respectively.
3. This is an additional incentive – you could still be a global winner in one of the four categories!

Click below to read more about what you need to do for a chance to win the special prize in Pakistan.

I thought the term ‘Sim Jagao’ was an interesting marketing phrase to ask people to start using Warid’s prepaid SIM again. I have noticed a number of such offers from all the mobile operators. Mobile number portability is one of the reason. Today it is easy for a customer to switch service. This ‘churn’ is an issue for the companies. My advice: pay attention to customer service and customers are more likely to stay with you.

This offer is for Warid prepaid customers who have not used their SIMS Since January 01, 2010. All such customers upon reactivating their SIMS will immediately get Rs.30 in their accounts as free activation balance. And not only this, they can also get free balance equal to 50% of their first recharge for three months. Another exciting feature is that the customer can enjoy facility of two numbers in their F&F list, one of Warid and one of any other network with the charges as low as Rs. 1 + Tax/min. This offer is valid till 15th June 2010.

Mobilink Infinity has announced that they will no longer offer 256Kbps package. It means that you have to use the upgraded package and pay more. It is great for those who were looking to upgrade but not good for those who are not interested in paying more. The official announcement is below. Somehow the message is not very clear and some people may be surprised to see the extra charge after a couple of months. This is related to our rants about clear messages and billing issues.

We are excited to inform that your 256Kbps Mobilink Infinity Wi MAX account has been upgraded to 512Kbps under a special promotion!!

The Data allowance will be the same as of your 256Kbps package, but with double the speed and performance. You can experience blazing fast browsing, downloads and streaming with this upgrade and enjoy it at *Absolutely No Additional Cost for the Next Two Months*.

This promotion will give you a free speed upgrade for initial two months however, you will have to pay the 512Kbps package monthly charges according to the tariff from the third month onwards.

Here are the tariff details.

Mobilink’s prepaid brand Jazz has come up with a new tag line. Earlier which was ‘No Samjhta‘ now is  ‘Apna Hai‘. The picture below taken from their website shows this.

So far it is just the change in the tag line, lets wait and see if Jazz comes up with more new things.

Telenor Pakistan has launched the ‘Karo Mumkin’ campaign with the aim to position itself as a leader in innovation, and provide the people of Pakistan with a platform for inspiration and realization of possibilities. The campaign is designed to showcase the vision of Telenor Pakistan which seeks to explore new business opportunities in telecommunications, financial services and media. The occasion also marks Telenor Pakistan’s 5th anniversary.

Everyone has an idea or a dream that they wish to transform into reality. With its products and services, Telenor Pakistan hopes to inspire hope and self-belief in the people of Pakistan. Just recently, Telenor Pakistan transformed an opportunity into an achievement by launching the country’s first real mobile banking service, easypaisa. In the same tradition, we aspire to extend this faith to everyone that any possibility can be realized if pursued with commitment, confidence and belief.

Usman Javaid,

Director Marketing Telenor Pakistan

The ‘Karo Mumkin’ campaign invites people to realize possibilities by coming forward and sharing ideas. Its latest TVC is worth watching. A well executed concept with a positive message backed by Mr. Zia Mohiuddin’s voice.

Participants can register on the ‘Karo Mumkin’ web portal and respond to the question “Where do you see Pakistan in the future?” An idea that best describes the future Pakistan will be selected by a national jury of specialists as well as public voting and aired on the “Karo Mumkin” TV show.

To participate entrants need to visit the webportal www.telenor.com.pk/karomumkin or send an SMS to 576 or call 0345-555 5540. Entries must be sent in before 31^st March 2010.

Charges for sending an SMS are Re1 plus tax per min for IVR and 50 paisa plus tax per SMS. For calls, standard charges apply as per package plans.

[via PR]

Here are the results from our most recent poll on billing errors. This matches the results from PTA survey and shows that billing errors are common and a source of problem for consumers. After service quality issues, this is probably the worst that a consumer faces.

This is definitely an area where telecom companies can strive to make a difference. Our advice is to keep the packages simple and not make it too hard for customers and also for your own billing systems.

Poll results are based on a sample size of ~150 votes.

Mobilink Jazz has come up with another limited time reactivation offer. This time for those who have not used your Jazz connection since the 10th of February 2010.

In this offer after putting the Jazz SIM back and sending an SMS to 550, customer gets 50 free minutes. Everyone who has received the 50 free minutes can also get 300 more free minutes by recharging in each of the next three months.

Customers who have lost their SIMs can get new SIMs free of cost from their nearest Mobilink franchise or CC centers. Other service mechanics of the offer can be found here.