Pakistan's MCB Bank has signed a deal with handset manufacturer Nokia to push mobile banking in the country.
MCB has been offering mobile services for around two years, letting customers check accounts, view mini statements, transfer funds and pay bills through their handsets.
It hopes the partnership with Nokia will help extend its services to under-banked parts of the population. The deal will see Nokia handsets come with a pre-loaded money client right out of the box while customers can also download the capabilities.
Ali Mubashir Kazmi, group head, consumer banking, MCB, says: "The upside of our cooperation with Nokia in extending banking and payment services to a largely underserved segment of our society has the potential to both improve and transform not only millions of lives at home but also in other countries where MCB has financial services and banking operations running."
Nokia teamed with Union Bank of India and m-payment vendor Obopay on a similar project last year, pre-installing applications in its mobile devices.
Teppo Paavola, GM, mobile financial services, Nokia, says: "With our experience and expertise in the area and a reliable and right banking partner like MCB, we are very confident that Nokia will make life easier and better for millions in Pakistan with Nokia Money service."