Central European financial institution Erste Bank Group has launched its branded mobile payment app in Hungary. Erste MobilePay, was developed by European m-commerce technology provider Cellum Group and is the first smartphone app in Hungary to offer person-to-person money transfers, according to an announcement from the developer.

Following Erste MobilePay's launch in Hungary on March 3, Erste has the option to later roll out the app to its other subsidiaries in Central Europe.

Erste MobilePay is available to Erste Bank Hungary customers with iOS- or Android-based smartphones. The app offers a range of functions including bill payment and top-up, GPS-based parking and highway toll payment. In addition, Erste MobilePay users can securely send and receive funds right on their phone.

"A financial institution needs the highest level of security," Balázs Inotay, Cellum's founder and chief visionary, said in a statement. "Bank-grade security is guaranteed by the 'split secret' technology developed by Cellum, and has already been used for years with our other solutions."

Cellum says its bank-grade security solutions cover all areas of m-commerce, including mobile purchases and payments as well as NFC contactless tranasctions. Systems operated by Cellum currently manage more than 2 million secure mobile transactions per month. The company counts among its customers and partners MasterCard, IBM, Magyar Telekom, Telenor, FHB Bank, OTP Bank and Vivacom.