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Published on March 7, 2008

For-exchange and interest rates are available for everyone, but bank services like alerts are exclusively for the bank's customers.

Rates are quoted for five foreign currencies - US dollars, Singaporean dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Australian dollars and euros - via SMS by sending a request to 450 0555.

Under the four bank-service categories are 10 options for users, including alerts for debit-card use and auto payment results.

Kasikornbank spearheaded SMS banking by introducing K-M Alert, but its services are limited to money-transfer and credit-card-use alerts.

Roy Gunara, head of consumer banking at Bank of Ayudhya, said the bank provided the most extensive SMS banking service, with on-demand and alert services. All services are free, but customers who use on-demand services must pay a Bt3 charge to cellphone operators for each SMS.

Krungsri SMS Banking service is available through the country's three main mobile-phone service providers.

On-demand services cover account-balance inquiry and interest and foreign-exchange-rate checking.

The bank plans to provide convenience and security to customers with the new service. Profit-making is not the bank's priority, even though it receives a share of the SMS charge from cellular operators.

The bank expects two million transactions via the service this year.

The country's sixth-largest bank has more than four million customers, with four million savings accounts and 200,000 current accounts. It has about 2,600 ATMs deployed around the Kingdom.

Somruedi Banchongduang

The Nation