Obopay, the US based mobile payment services, on Tuesday announced its formal entry into the Indian market. Headquartered in Bangalore, Obopay India will be headed by Aditya Menon as the Executive Director.

According to Mr Menon, Obopay India will be a catalyst for financial inclusion in India, by providing payment services to anyone with a mobile phone. “Among the benefits that Obopay India will bring to mobile users in India are P2P (Person-to-person) money transfer, prepaid top up, post paid bill pay, salary payments, ticketing for railways, buses and airlines, insurance collections and payments, international payments etc,” he said. “Obopay India has tie-ups with six leading bankers and three cellular providers for availing this facility to customers,” Mr Menon added.

Free software

The software for registering to Obopay services in mobile phone can be downloaded free of cost, he said, adding that, “It would initially offer transactions in English and later introduce all regional languages for the benefit of users.”

In the US, Obopay is a financial service firm which issues debit cards, Mr Menon said, while its Indian operations will be under a new form and only be through banks.

“The company cannot issue debit cards in India due to the regulatory conditions of the RBI,” he said. “Hence, in India our service is nothing but extending the ATM service to the mobile phone,” Mr Menon added.