Banks closer to offering WAP account access
When Pierwszy Polsko-Amerykanski Bank (PPABank) started offering mobile phone access to its web site last month it became only the second bank in Poland to provide that kind of a service.
But which bank will be the first to offer direct account access using WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) technology remains to be seen, industry figures said.
"It's only the information service via a mobile phone (that is accessible) now," said Waldemar Leszczynski, a PPABank spokesman. Apart from offering general information about the bank and its services, the WAP link allows users to calculate foreign exchange rates.
WAP technology enables those with a properly equipped mobile phone to surf the internet without a computer. The web is accessed through a browser on the mobile unit's display screen.
So far, PPABank offers account access through its internet banking system Pl@net, which allows customers to make transfers and deposits. The company expects to offer the same services via WAP within a few months. "Now it's a step ahead, tomorrow it will be the standard," Leszczynski said.
But PPABank isn't the only bank planning for the future. Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy (WBK), which in February became the first bank to offer mobile phone access to its web site, also has plans to extend its WAP technology.
"We're gearing up for that," said Piotr Gajdzinski, WBK spokesman. "But right now it's a question of security."
Gajdzinski predicts that in three to four years customers will make more bank account transactions by mobile phone than computer. "Poles react very fast to high-tech novelties," Gajdzinski said. "It's easy to expect that in the case of WAP technology, it will be the same." He added that the small number of internauts 2 million compared with 4 million mobile phone users is a statement in itself. "Using WAP technology will be cheaper," Gajdzinski said. "It's a question of time."
Others are not so sanguine about the wide-scale implementation of WAP account access. "(WAP's) potential is limited due to a lack of trust (by the general public)," said Piotr Wozniak, an analyst at CDM Pekao Securities. Wozniak said that WAP technology will be used by a small group of people who are "up-to-date" on such things. While most trust using phone and internet services separately, the link between mobile phones and the net creates the biggest risk in terms of making bank transactions secure. Security concerns will also hold banks back from becoming interested in WAP technology.
However, Krzysztof Sieczkowski, the head of the development department at mobile phone operator PTK Centertel disagreed. "The possibility for safe transactions is great," Sieczkowski said, adding that Centertel was currently developing a security technology for the use of banks. "If any one of the banks would like to implement WAP technology, we are ready to implement our services," he said.
