The Magex Managed Payments Platform adds Interactive Voice Response (IVR), SMS and WAP access to its person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) products for the banking community, in addition to Web-based access.

Magex, a London-based mobile payment technology company, today announced the launch of new mobile payment services for the banking community.

The Magex Managed Payments Platform adds Interactive Voice Response (IVR), SMS and WAP access to its person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) products, in addition to Web-based access.

"We've got a platform that can enable a bank to allow payment services across different channels," said Josh Groves, CEO of Magex. "Our customers can now choose from all these different delivery mechanisms for the payment tool." Users can make a payment using the IVR service by calling a designated telephone number and keying in their six-digit passcode, the amount they wish to send, and the recipient's mobile number. An SMS message is also sent to the recipient.

"In about 15 keystrokes, you can send someone money using a phone," said Groves.

The SMS service allows users to initiate a payment by sending a text message with their password, the amount they want to send, and the recipient's mobile phone number. They can also include a short message. As long as the person is on the GSM network, the service will transfer the funds and the recipient is notified via SMS, Groves said.

The third payment option -- the WAP service -- lets users make a payment, check their balance, and view past transactions from a Web-enabled phone.

Groves compared the service to PayPal. "A number of banks see what PayPal is doing as successful and effective, and our technology lets them offer a similar service with mobile capabilities."

The Royal Bank of Scotland is currently using the Web and IVR aspects of the Magex service, Groves said, and the company is in discussions with other large retail banks in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In related news this week, European online auction company QXL ricardo appointed NatWest's FastPay, which runs on Magex's payment platform, as its exclusive online payment partner.

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