http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/Pressure%20builds%20on... Family Bank said trials runs of the Pesa Pap service had helped its customers significantly cut down on the number of trips to banking halls, with most preferring to deposit, withdraw and transfer money using their mobile phones, the ATM network and M-Pesa dealers. “The mobile phone reduces the cost of running bank operations. These services certainly lower the cost of transfers, improve safety and security while making payments more convenient,” said Prof Ndungu. Analysts expect a surge in the number of banks entering into similar partnerships with mobile phone service providers opening a new frontier of competition in the banking sector. Equity, Kenya’s largest bank by customer base, has already signalled its intention to initiate more deals like M-Kesho with other mobile operators to increase its reach. Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi said last week that M-Kesho had within a week of its launch signed up more than 20,000 customers signalling that there is pent-up demand for the services. But even as the banking industry rejoices in the value that technology is bringing to their business processes, insecurity is emerging as a key challenge. “My only hope is that players are securing their customers from any fraudulent activity. It is well known that an increase in financial transactions using technology attracts more risks,” said Bitange Ndemo, Information PS -- www.projectskenya.info