Spanish banking group Banco Sabadell is investing EUR57.5 million in a joint venture with telecommunications firm Telefónica that will focus on developing anytime, anywhere 'instant banking' services, incorporating new interactive TV and mobile telephony channels.
In a joint statement, Banco Sabadell and Telefónica say they have signed a five-year agreement aimed at applying new technologies to the joint development of instant banking services which will be delivered over a range of channels - including the Internet, mobile phones and digital television.
The first applications will be available during the third quarter of the year.
Both organisations have also agreed to work together on a number of initiatives, including a service that will enable customers to use loyalty points accrued on their banking cards to pay for air time.
One of the first initiatives to be piloted will be a secure access management system for employees that will use RFID technology to manage staff access to buildings and internal networks.
Research will also be conducted into the use of voice recognition technology to provide secure access to banking services.