Plus GSM and Pekao bank collaborating on mobile-phone banking services

Poland's second-largest retail bank Pekao S.A. has teamed up with mobile-phone operator Plus GSM to offer mobile-phone banking services (Teleserwis) to its account holders. People will be able to find out their current-account balance and exchange rates via Plus GSM's short messaging system (SMS). The only condition is to have an Eurokonto account with Pekao. For the first three months, the service will be provided free to subscribers, the only cost being for SMS usage. After this the bank will charge a zl. 5 fee for using the service. "Combining banking and mobile-telecoms services is one of the most lucrative new markets," said Plus GSM's Ryszard Woronowicz. One of the conditions set by Pekao is that the service can also be accessed by subscribers to other mobile-phone operators, such as Era and Idea. Plus GSM is also planning to diversify its partnership by including other banks. Last November, Plus GSM formed a partnership with Wielkopolski Bank Kredytowy to develop a banking service for mobile-phone users and is also expanding its services based on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and has recently expanded into mobile-phone commerce ("m-commerce"). (Prawo i Gospodarka, page 4) P.S.