An Indian technology vendor plans to launch a service later this year that will enable investors in India to buy and sell mutual funds using mobile phone text messages.
Icra Online Ltd., a subsidiary of credit-rating agency Icra, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, to establish the payments platform, an Icra official tells PaymentsSource.
“The facility will allow users to transfer funds via mobile messaging or e-mails for transacting in mutual funds,” he says. “This facility will allow investors who are not comfortable with online banking or payment through checks for buying mutual funds.”
Fund houses also will not have to wait three days for a check to clear, the official adds, noting Icra’s system will clear funds instantaneously. “The new platform will be easy enough for even semi-literate client to transfer funds electronically through the new platform,” he says.
Details of the technology and platform are not yet available because they are still under development, though the official says “the service will go live by the fourth quarter of this year.”
