Mobile branchless banking provider mBank has formed a partnership with MoreMagic, a subsidiary of the Paris-based digital security firm Oberthur Technologies.

Amsterdam-based mBank is using MoreMagic's m:Wallet technology to provide mobile insurance, credit and loan products as well as mobile banking services to unbanked and underbanked mobile phone users in emerging markets. In addition to microfinance, m:Wallet includes mobile merchant payment, P2P transfers and core banking applications.

The PlaNet Finance group-owned mBank aims to increase financial inclusion by setting up mobile branchless banks.

Oberthur said unbanked and underbanked consumers expect not just the P2P transfers and bill payments offered by most mobile money initiatives, but also services such as loans, savings and insurance.

When a customer applies to mBank for a loan using m:Wallet, the agent sends the application to the bank via smartphone. Once the application has been approved, funds are made available in real time in the customer's account. The m:Wallet platform then shows the different accounts held by the customer, including savings and loan accounts.

"The fully packaged offer we are providing with mBank will enable banks and mobile operators to reach an untapped customer segment and to ensure the profitability of their mobile money offers," MoreMagic CEO Pankaj Gulati said in a news release. "Mobile microfinance services are expected to create a significant shift in the take-off of mobile money with stronger adoption and usage, not only because they are matching the expectation of local populations for real banking services, but also because they will generate higher transaction volumes."

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