Seoul, June 1: Imagine a technology that will enable you to access your bank account through a phone line while at home or exchange electronic money instantaneously around the globe.

Mastercard, the international payments company, has already made this a reality with the accelerated development and implementation of its product called `mondex' that can store and transfer currencies of five different countries at a time from one card.

"The move will revolutionise the way people transact as it is secure, convenient and fast," Mastercard International vice-president (advance payment systems), Greg Devlin said.

For instance, a businessman in London can transfer a particular amount of money to his counterpart in Tokyo by just swiping his smart card attached with a chip in a `stand alone' mondex telephone that resembles a fax machine.``Negotiations were under way in Asia and Pacific region,'' Devlin, who was here to attend Mastercard annual meeting, said.

Already, mondex technology has been introduced on an experimental basis in Canada, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Philippines, Australia and New Zealand, Devlin said adding "it will be the force behind electronic cash".

Mondex has been successful as electronic cash card because the industry recognises it as both reliable and secure, he claimed.

Inside every card, a high performance chip is attached and the value stored in each card can be read using a balance reader. Apart from transferring money through telecommunication lines, mondex can be used to transfer value from one card to another by inserting the card in an electronic purse that looks similar to a calculator.

The world's first secure internet transaction (SET) standard was completed recently when a Mastercard cardholder in Denmark purchased a book over internet from a `SET' certified merchant.

However, Devlin also stressed the importance of developing good communication infrastructure in big emerging markets such as China and India for making mondex way of convenient banking.

Devlin said new the multi-application operating system `multos' recently adopted by Mastercard International for its chipcards business provided its member banks with a flexible and sustainable platform.

The multos platform would be globally available in the first quarter of next year which will give banks a competitive edge to offer their consumers cards that can be tailored to their lifestyles.

``Mastercard's Smart card strategy is based on multos and leading companies such as Motorola, Siemens, Dai Nippon, Gemplus and Hitachi have introduced the system," Mastercard International president and chief executive Robert Selander said.

Mastercard has acquired a 51 per cent stake in London-based Mondex International and all the Mastercard member financial institutions will have the right to apply for a Mondex member license in the regions they operate. Mastercard members can also participate in the development of the Mondex platform for other chip based products, he said.

As a result of its full endorsement of the mondex technology, Mastercard will not participate in any other electronic purse products other than Mondex, he added.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.