Mobile banking: Inside SIM Application Toolkit one of the key factors which enhance mobile Banking performance in Africa.

The mobile banking is growing quite very well everywhere in Africa: From Kenya via Ghana, across Central Africa to South Africa people find out and enjoy new mobile services. Among the key factors which enhance this performance, we can’t forget SIM Application Toolkit .

Actually, SIM Application Toolkit (commonly referred to as STK) is a standard of the GSM system which enables the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) to initiate actions which can be used for various value-added services.

The SIM Application Toolkit consists of a set of commands programmed into the SIM which define how the SIM should interact directly with the outside world and initiates commands independently of the handset and the network.This enables the SIM to build up an interactive exchange between a network application and the end user and access, or control access to, the network. The SIM also gives commands to the handset such as displaying menus and/or asking for user input.

STK has been deployed by many mobile operators around the world for many applications, often where a menu-based approach is required, such as Mobile Banking and content browsing. Designed as a single application environment, the STK can be started during the initial power up of the SIM card and is especially suited to low level applications with simple user interfaces.

In GSM 2G networks, the SIM Application Toolkit is defined by the GSM 11.14 standard released in 1995. From release 4 onwards, GSM 11.14 was replaced by 3GPP 31.111 which also includes the specifications of the USIM Application Toolkit (USAT) for 3G networks.

•  Some manufacturers claim that STK enables higher levels of security through identity verification and encryption, which are necessary for secure electronic commerce.

• STK has been deployed on the largest number of mobile devices.(image:istockphoto).