Visa with HDFC bank will offer mobile payments

Movida mobile payments platform promoted by Visa will be going live next month with the second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank as its banking partner. Other banks also will follow suite.

Movida, is an equal joint venture between Visa and the LSE-listed mobile banking solutions company Monitise.

The product is pitted against the interbank mobile payment service (IMPS) launched by the National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI), which already has 50 banks as members.

The IMPS is an account-to-account transfer of money and requires a special registration while the Movida solution will allow for a card-to-card transfer of cash using the mobile platform.

Rajapaksa begins India visit

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa begin his Indian visit during which he will meet President Pranab Mukherjee, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This visit is expected to bridge the communication gap between the leaders of two nations while the fact remains that Sri Lanka and India have not been on the same side on many issues, especially after the fall of Tamil Tigers in May 2009. India wants substantial progress in reconciliation issues, especially the question of political rights of Tamils, ahead of Dr. Singh’s planned Sri Lankan visit. 

India’s vote against Sri Lanka in the March session of the United Nations Human Rights Council is one of the reason for the differences between the nation. India decided to vote against Sri Lanka because it made promises in 2009 which it did not keep.