Kumari Bank, in partnership with Leapfrog Technology, a US based Software Company, launched “Kumari Mobile Cash”, a revolutionary service that uses mobile phones to provide access to financial services on August 17, 2010,
Through this revolutionary product, we plan to deliver financial services in a new and innovative way to all Nepalese, including those that do not have access to banking services, in a fast, secure and low cost manner. We intend to leverage the ubiquity of mobile phones to bring financial access to all, and stress that one does not have to have a bank account at all to use this service.

The first of its kind in Nepal, this service pioneers the “mobile wallet” concept, which allows users to store cash balances in their mobile phones. Users are then able to deposit and withdraw cash from their mobile phones, and use the stored cash value to remit to anyone, anytime, anywhere, with the push of a few buttons. At present, this service is available through all of Kumari Bank’s 28 branches and 189 authorized agent locations nationwide.

At Kumari, we believe that, mobile phone is not only a medium of connectivity, but also can spur various entrepreneurial activities, which contributes directly to the socio-economic development of the nation. In around 75 years of formal banking era in Nepal, only less than 30% of Nepali population has access to formal financial services. In comparison, the number of mobile phone users in Nepal is currently 75 lakhs within 7 to 8 years of its market penetration, and with an annual growth rate of more than 35%, the number of users by 2014 is projected to reach 1.5 crores. Thus, Kumari Mobile Cash will leverage the proliferation of mobile phones to bring financial services within the reach of every mobile user.

Kumari Mobile Cash will save time, effort and money for everyone in Nepal. For instance, In Nepal, this means, someone does not have to travel by bus for 8 hours to deliver money to family. It means that an elderly woman no longer has to walk for five hours to a remittance agency to withdraw the funds that her son has just sent her.

Initially, we will be offering the following services through Kumari Mobile Cash:

• Deposit Cash into a Mobile Phone
• Withdraw Cash from a Mobile Phone
• Mobile to Mobile Fund Transfer
• Recharge Pre-paid airtime minutes
• Payment of Merchants and Utility Bills
• Transfer funds from/to bank account to mobile
  

Kumari Bank is thrilled to launch this new service. Not only will it enhance the reliability, efficiency, and convenience of Nepali financial services, it will also make banking possible for all Nepali people.