Nokia officially launched its mobile wallet service “Nokia Money” across India. This service allows users to make basic financial payments easily with their mobile phones without having a bank account.

After initial pilot projects in Pune, Chandigarh and Nashik in 2010, Nokia finally unveiled its mobile wallet service “Nokia Money” which will be available across India. Nokia Money is like digital cash on your mobile through which users can pay his bills, do top-ups, pay insurance premiums and even book tickets through SMS and without the need for an internet connection. Nokia users can use this service after a registration process at their local authorized Nokia retail store. One has to load the wallet with cash and then it is ready to use. The service doesn’t need KYC documentation as it is a closed wallet.

“There is a need for alternate financial payment instruments in India and the mobile handset offers a perfect mass platform to deliver these. Transaction costs on mobile devices are significantly lower. Nokia brings multiple offerings and is developing an open ecosystem to deliver mobile money services to users depending on their need,” said Gary Singh, General Manager, Nokia Mobile Payment Services.”

Nokia Money is independent of any mobile operator or banking service and operates across all handsets in India. The application can be installed nearly on all Nokia handsets. Nokia Money service works over SMS, GPRS/3G and Wi-Fi and also allows for zero balance giving users flexibility.

[via]