Amdocs, a provider of customer experience products, today announced the selection of its mobile financial services product in association with Triotech's product, which will enable State Bank of India to offer mobile financial services to India's unbanked and underbanked population, using the mobile network of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. The solution will be delivered under a five-year services contract, according to a press release.

SBI, the largest public sector bank in India, and BSNL, the country's largest public sector service provider, have come together to help the Indian government achieve its goal of providing banking services to 75 million households, including millions of households in rural India, according to the announcement. The Amdocs Mobile Financial Services product will enable SBI and BSNL to offer customers of any mobile operator in India the option to open a mobile wallet account. As a result, customers can take advantage of highly secure mobile banking services such as money transfer and bill payment, as well as pay for airtime recharges. The product also will allow SBI and BSNL to support an extended ecosystem of multiple merchants and business correspondents (credit card companies, utility providers, employers) on the mobile network, enabling payment and top-up transfers to third parties.

"Our partnership with SBI is an additional step in bridging the rural-urban digital divide, using BSNL's ubiquitous mobile network and wide reach of agents," Anupam Shrivastava, director-CM at BSNL, said in a statement. "We are also delighted with the coming together of two of the most trusted brands in the field of telecom and banking, which will redefine the landscape of mobile banking and payments. With a business model centering on branchless banking, and strong partners such as Amdocs and Triotech, we can ensure operational reliability and an efficient cost structure that will allow us to offer financial services, affordable for low-income households."