MUMBAI, India—ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, has announced the launch of a service that enables non-resident Indians (NRIs) to send money to a beneficiary in India using social media such as WhatsApp in addition to e-mail.
Called “Social Pay,” the first-of-its-kind service by any Indian bank 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, Finextra reported.
To transfer money, users generate a secure link from the M2I app and share it with the beneficiary on their social media profile or email for adding personal bank details. This link, which is valid for 24 hours is secured with a four-digit code set by the senders, which they share 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, Finextra explained.
ICICI Bank is the first in India and among few globally to launch a service that allows cross-border remittances over social media, Finextra said.
“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,” Vijay Chandok, executive director, ICICI Bank, stated in the Finextra report. “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.”
The communication between Money2India app and social media platforms is carried out using the bank’s secured channels. All transactions on the platform have two-factor authentication between the bank and the M2I user, Finextra noted.