ASB (News - Alert), a New Zealand bank that is a member of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Group, offers a mobile app that allows customers to make P2P payments directly to their Facebook (News - Alert) friends. It allows customers to pay friends in seconds with just a couple of clicks, regardless of whether their friends are ASB customers or not.

Users sending the payment must be an ASB customer, and Facebook payments that go unclaimed after 14 days are credited back to the payer. ASB is one of the few banks to offer a mobile banking lineup this robust. About the only thing that’s really missing is mobile check deposits, but according to ASB, it’s coming soon.

The bank offers some innovative mobile tools, including ASB property guide app, mobile phone service payments, page virtual wallet, online banking via mobile, TXT banking and mobile alerts by text or e-mail.

ASB has nearly $50 billion in assets and 1.2 million customers, meaning one out of every three people in New Zealand is an ASB customer. The bank has 54,425 ‘Likes’ on Facebook, 4.53 percent of its customer base, or about one in every nine New Zealanders.

“More than two million New Zealanders are on Facebook, and many of them are managing their lives through social media channels,” noted Anna Curzon, ASB’s GM/brand experience & digital channels.

The bank is no stranger to Facebook. In 2011, ASB created an application that allows users to engage in two-way, real-time conversations with service specialists. Its app was the financial industry’s first ‘Virtual Branch’ on Facebook. The Virtual Branch is set as the bank’s Facebook homepage, so every visitor is greeted with a giant banner promoting the app. The branch gives you a menu of photos of real ASB staff, tagged as either unavailable or available.

“Facebook initiated payments are another step towards a cashless society in New Zealand,” Curzon explains. “Mobile and online banking innovations mean customers no longer need to rely on the traditional wallet – they can instead use ‘the bank in their hand.’”

Security is a top priority for ASB, and claims its mobile tools integrate the latest in encryption technology to minimize threats such as malware, phishing and hacking.

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