Two mountaineers have set a world record by being the first to use a mobile banking app on Mount Everest.
Climbers Horacio Galanti and Horacio Cunietti achieved the feat using Standard Chartered Breeze mobile banking apps during their expedition to summit the highest peak in the world; an altitude of 8,848 metres above sea level.
In a series of firsts for banking, they have successfully traded shares with Breeze Trade and conducted funds transfers with Breeze Banking at Everest Camp 3 located at 6,500 metres then confirmed their bank account balances with Breeze Balance at Everest Camp 4 located at 8,000 metres.
Aman Narain, Standard Chartered's group head of digital banking, says: "This challenge really shows how far mobile technology has come, in that it's possible to bank anytime, even from the most extreme locations on the planet."
Mountaineer, Horacio Galanti, says: "I've been mountaineering for more than 23 years and this expedition has been the realization of a lifetime ambition for me. On our journey we experienced ice, snow, moving glaciers, hurricane force winds and temperatures that dipped to -40 degrees celcius. I was amazed at how resilient the Breeze application was. Not many people can say they have been able to do their banking on the highest mountain on earth."
The climbers achievements may soon be eclipsed by former Goldman Sachs trader and reality TV star Anton Kreil who will attempt to secure world records for the "first financial transaction in space' and 'highest recorded financial transaction' at 103 kilometres above sea level from aboard Space Expedition Corporation's Xcor Lynx MKII shuttle in 2014.
And for our Russian readers, here's a video from Sberbank of Russian cosmonauts doing a spot of online banking from onboard the International Space Station: