OCBC offers cash transfer via Facebook

Singapore

IF you were going to cull people from your Facebook friends' list, you might want to hold off until they have paid up for, say, a drinks tab rung up some six months ago. OCBC has now made it possible for its customers to instantly send as much as $100 daily to any bank account in Singapore through a link via Facebook, a phone number, or an e-mail address. It is the first bank in Singapore to provide this free service, which was launched yesterday through an update of its mobile banking application.

Unlike the current payment system, the sender will not need the recipient's bank account number to transfer the money. To use this service, the sender picks the "pay anyone" option from the mobile banking app. He selects the mode of communication - phone, e-mail, or Facebook - and then accesses his OCBC banking account. After keying in the amount to be transferred, the user inputs a passcode and a one-time password for the funds transfer to be completed.