New Delhi: Leading private lender ICICI Bank announced the launch of a service that enables Non Resident Indians (NRIs) to send money to a beneficiary in India using social media platforms like WhatsApp and e-mail.
Christened ‘Social Pay’, this first-of-its-kind service is available on Money2India (M2I), the bank’s app for remittances. This new facility will enable NRIs to send money conveniently to their friends and family.
To transfer money, users need to generate a secure link from the M2I app and share it with the beneficiary on their social media profile or email for adding his/her bank details. This link, which is valid for 24 hours is secured with a four digit code set by the sender, which he/she shares with the beneficiary. The beneficiary then validates the passcode before adding the bank details. The M2I user then re-verifies and confirms the payment details on the app to complete the transaction in a safe and secure manner.
“ICICI Bank is one of the leading players in the Indian remittance market. With increasing number of people connected on social media globally, ‘Social Pay’ embraces the medium as a way to simplify money transfers, adding to customer convenience. Users of our Money2India remittance app can now send money to their friends and family on special occasions like birthdays and festivals by leveraging social media, which they are regularly using,” said ICICI Bank Executive Director, Vijay Chandok.
The communication between Money2India app and social media platforms is carried out using the bank’s secured channels to ensure safety and privacy of information. Any transaction to be carried out on this platform, has a two-factor authentication between the bank and the M2I user, thus ensuring that the transfer of money takes place in a safe and secure manner.
For the sender to initiate transaction, a user may log into the M2I app, enter the amount, select ‘Social Pay’, set a four-digit passcode, choose the bank account and purpose of remittance. A link will be generated which can be shared through the desired social channel. The user also needs to share the passcode separately with the beneficiary.
To complete the payment process, the beneficiary needs to update his/her bank account details via a secured link which the M2I user generates. He/she needs to click on the transaction link and enter the four digit passcode shared by the sender and then enter bank account details
Once the beneficiary submits his/her bank account details, the sender gets a notification of the same on the app. He/she then verifies and validates the bank account details of the recipient on the app and confirms the same.
The launch of this new feature comes close on the heels of a number of technology-led innovative services on the Money2India remittance platform. The bank recently launched the new M2I website and mobile application with a host of features, many of which are industry-firsts, including voice-based international remittance service. (ANI)