Forget sending money orders to distant villages or visiting an ATM or standing in a queue at a bank.

Indian telecom giant Bharati Airtel has tied up with four banks SBI, HDFC, ICICI and Corporation Bank to offer m-banking services to not only the metros but the smallest towns in India. Bharati Airtel aims at 10 million mobile subscribers by the end of the fiscal year by roping in 100 major banks in India by end 2008.

The customers will enjoy the freedom to open a bank account with a photo ID at any authorised Airtel dealer. M-banking even offers the subscriber the freedom to pay bills, transfer, withdraw, deposit or remit money on their mobile phones.

You can use the service to remit to India, make a person-to-person transfer or make a Mobile Money Transfer (MMT).

All of this really sounds enticing. But would m-banking be the next big thing? Or will it fizzle out? Well that’s for time to tell (and even the 270 millions Indian customers).