No SMS services to banks customers for transactions

Bank customers and equity trading account holders have stopped getting transaction alerts on their mobiles as the government has put a ban on bulk SMS service in wake of the pending judgement in the Ayodhya title suit.
In view of the Government of India directive to mobile operators, all bulk SMS messages have been banned in all service areas till further notice. The customers will not receive SMS alerts or messages during this period, ICICI Bank informed its customer through its website.
Usually, a bank customer of gets SMS alert for their transaction done through any mean either through ATM or internet.
At the same time, credit card transaction is reported to the individual customers within few minutes after the payment is made.
As a result of this, customers may not get information of fraudulent transaction taking place during the intervening period as the ban has been extended till September 30.
"We would advise you to exercise additional caution in your banking and credit card transactions," HDFC Bank informed its customers.
GSM lobby group COAI, today said it has requested the Telecom Department to relax the ban for certain essential services for the benefit of the subscribers.
"We have already written to DoT to relax the ban for essential services. We are yet to hear from them," said COAI Director General Rajan Mattews.
According to a senior official of Air2web, a mobile messaging service provider, alerts generated by bank is not being sent to customers as it is being treated as under bulk SMS category by mobile operators.
The alerts generated by bank is routed to mobile operators through middleware firm like Air2web which has about 35 banks as customers including State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank and UCO Bank.
The ban has been imposed to prevent any rumour being spread to fan communal disturbance in the wake of verdict on the Ayodhya title suit scheduled on September 30.
"The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has today issued orders in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs to all Mobile Telecom Service Providers in the country that all bulk SMS and all bulk MMS messages shall remain banned in all service areas till September 30," the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said in a statement today.
The order was issued to all mobile telecom service providers in the country for "banning all bulk SMSes and MMSes in all service areas with immediate effect till September 30".