BROKAT and Nokia team up to deliver WAP solutions to the financial services industry

As a result of the initiative, businesses using BROKAT's e-Services platform, Twister, will be able to offer secure transactional services via WAP-enabled mobile phones. Services will run over the Nokia WAP Server.

The first beneficiary of WAP-enabled business applications is expected to be the financial services industry, an early adopter of e-commerce. Because of its dynamic nature, WAP is expected to become a key delivery channel for the secure execution of transactions on the move and the retrieval of ever-changing information, such as bank account details.

Banks will be able to provide mobile financial services, including balance enquiries and fund transfers. The partnership also allows development of further services such as mobile ticketing and sharedealing.

"Banking is changing more than any other industry," said Roy Smith, general manager for Northern Europe at BROKAT. "The arrival of Internet banking has changed customer expectations. Mobile services are just the next step on the road to full customer autonomy and self-service via electronic channels."

According to Gerhard Romen, vice president enterprise at Nokia Internet Communications: "WAP has become the de facto standard in mobile communications. Nokia's WAP technology is highly applicable to BROKAT's Twister e-Services platform. Therefore, we're looking forward to working with BROKAT to deliver reliable and secure WAP-enabled solutions to the customers in the financial services industry."

About BROKAT
BROKAT (www.BROKAT.com) is a leading supplier of software that permits financial transactions to be conducted easily and securely, anytime, anywhere through electronic channels. BROKAT Twister provides an open, secure, multi-channel infrastructure that is optimised for rapid development, software re-use, and electronic delivery of business services. BROKAT Twister e-Services Platform is used by more than 2000 companies, including Deutsche Bank, ABN Amro, Allianz, Cooperative Bank UK, Debitel and Primus-online. BROKAT was founded in 1994 and currently has 495 employees in twelve countries.

About Nokia
Nokia is paving the way to the mobile information society with its innovative products and solutions. Nokia is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks including related services. It also supplies multimedia terminals and computer displays. In 1998, net sales totaled EUR 13.3 billion (USD 15.7 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK), Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more than 53 000 people. Internet: www.nokia.com.

About WAP
The Wireless Application Protocol, (WAP), is an open, global specification that empowers mobile users with wireless devices to easily access and interact with information and services instantly. For more information about WAP see: www.wapforum.org.