Bluetooth Technology used in Mobile BankingAbstractMob ile banking (M-Banking) has been welcomed in most of the countries as a new branch in electronicbanking (E-Banking). In developing countries such as Iran mobile banking is limited to fields such as SMS due to lack of infrastructure and because of high costs. In this paper we present a method for developing banking services through mobile phone in the bank area. In our method a server which is capable to be connected through bluetooth is installed inthe bank and offered banking services. Customers inside the bank and also around the bank are connected to the bank system through bluetooth technology and handle their banking operations through their mobile phones. This way they won't pay any additional cost and for example they can handle operations while they are inside their car parked near the bank. Moreover they can handle some of their other banking operations through their mobile phones while they are dealing with other activities inside the bank. This way they can use their time in an optimal way and the banks can alsoavoid the rush hours. Since our method using bluetooth, most of mobile phones can use this system.Keywords: Mobile Banking (M-Banking), Wireless Communication, Bluetooth Technology.1. IntroductionAfter Internet entered into our daily life, most of dimensions of our lives such as education,communication, business, etc, were overshadowed by this novel phenomenon. One of these dimensions is to handle banking affairs through the Internet (Figure 1).By using the Internet we don't have to go to the bank and it is possible for us to handle our banking operations anywhere and anytime. Furthermore there are not such difficulties as busy and crowded banks. Therefore the customers can save their time. On the other hand the customers' expenses are decreased. In this system we don't have to be faced the problem of banks being closed at non-working hours and we can handle banking affairs all the time. Therefore it saves the customers' time and money.On the other hand in recent years mobile phones have been developed and widelyused. After the mobile phones have got so developed and sophisticated and have been modified to be capable of new services the banks took into consideration the presentation of banking services through mobile phones. To mention the reasons of superiority of m-banking (Mobile-Banking) over e-banking (Electronic-Banking) we can point to the following items [2, 3]:1- No place restriction: In M-banking we can handle our banking transactions wherever we are and whenever we want.2- High penetration coefficient: High coefficient of mobile-phone use in the world guarantees probability of growth and success for mobile banking services.3- Fully personalized: Mobile phones are completely private and are used only by its owner. Therefore it increases authenticity of identification of the people who use the banking services. 4- Availability: Most people carry their mobile phones with them wherever they go whether indoors or outdoors. As a result it is possible to offer banking services to customers all the time. Of course mobile banking has some disadvantages; too. Among most important items of these disadvantages we can point to lack of proper keyboard for most mobile phones, small display and uncertainty of users about security system of mobile banking. But as a whole mobile banking has been welcomed due to increase of customers' welfare and decrease of costs of banking services.Mobile banking is divided into mobile forwarding services and mobile banking services. Mobile banking services which are the same as normal banking services are divided into four types:1- Notifications and Alerts: These services are presented for advising the customers of the transactions done or to be done concerning his account.2- Information: The special pieces of information concerning transactions and the amount of money available in customer's account are sent at certain intervals.3- Applications: In this type of services an application is sent to the server concerning the account or special transaction.4- Transfer: Through this service banks can transfer amount of money between customer's accounts or pay an amount to a third party.To implement mobile banking we require an infrastructure server such as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), i-mode, , etc. For exchange of information with the customer we can use services such as SMS (Short Messaging Service) or MMS (Multi Messaging Service) . But in some developing countries such as Iran services like WAP have not been welcomed due to high costs. Suchdifficulties andsuch other problems as low-speed Internet through mobile phone and continuous disconnection through Mobile phone have caused mobile banking to be limited to such services as banking through SMS in these countries. Bluetooth technology can be briefly defined as a standard of short-wave radio frequency for wireless connection of such devices as Pocket PCs, mobile phones, and desktop computers. This technology works with 2.45 Giga Hertz frequency (Figure 2) and covers a scope up to 100-meter distance with the maximum transfer speed of 3 Mbits per second (in Bluetooth 2 standard). Bluetooth can be connected to 8 appliances at the same time . Primarily designed as a cable replacement technology, Bluetooth has become increasingly popular in modern mobile phones with an estimated 24 million Bluetooth enabled in use in 2002 .Currently, with mobile phones its main use is for the connection of hands-free devices (Figure 3) and for synchronizing with desktop computers. However, with enabled devices now deployed on a wide scale, the potential for low cost multi-user personal area networkspresents itself .In this paper a method is proposed for expansion and development of banking services through mobile phones inside banks and in the bank area. Main goal in this method is to offer banking services in bank area through mobile phone without paying for any costs in order to decrease the rush hours and amount of banking operations done by the bank clerks. In this method bank customers can be connected to server installed inside the bank through Bluetooth technology and to handle their banking affairs through their mobile phones. This server will be capable to offer banking services through bluetooth technology. Details of this project will be dealt with in the next section.In third section we will point to some advantages of this method. In final section we will make the final conclusion.2. The suggested ideaBluetooth is a technology enabling users to create Wireless Personal. Area Networks (WPANs); allowing a range of devices to communicate in a local area without wires. Operating in the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band at 2.45GHz. The main advantages of Bluetooth are its low power and cost, and its ability to give high connection reliability in a crowded area of the spectrum. Bluetooth devices are currently available in three power bands and have a maximum range from 10m to 100m. To minimize any interference, Bluetooth devices use 79 channels within the ISM band, occupying 1 MHz each. Frequency hopping is used, with anominal rate of 1600 hops per second. Bluetooth supports up to 3 synchronous voice channels at 64kb/s each way and asynchronous data at up to 723.2 kb/s asymmetric or 433.9 kb/s symmetric . Most important advantages of this technology are its wireless characteristic, low costs and its being automatic. In our suggested method a computer is installed as aserver inside the bank. This service can offer m-banking services and is equipped with bluetooth. By help of this technology the server can be connected with other devices equipped with bluetooth lying in 100-meter scope. Since bluetooth radio waves can pass through the walls too, the server can be connected to other devices equipped with the bluetooth outside the bank and render the banking services. Customers whose mobile phones support Bluetooth technology can be connected to the server through bluetooth inside and outside the bank and in the area which is under the cover of the server if they have already subscribed for using m-banking services and have a user account. After entering into the bank system through their user accounts the customers can handle their banking affairs through mobile phones in the same way as they do the normal services of m-banking. Due to low-speed internet and high-cost of internet for mobile phones in such developing countries as Iran, using this service is almost fast and does not incur any cost. Of course we must point out that applications of these two services (mobile banking and presentation of banking services through mobile in bank area) are different and it is not advisable to compare and contrast these two services.3. AdvantagesSome important features of our method are as follow: 1. We can handle our banking operations while we are sitting in our car through mobile phone without having to go into the bank. 2. We can do our other banking operations through this service while we are waiting for our turn before a counter.3. Due to using bluetooth technology, it is possible to offer m-banking services to several people (in accordance with the number of servers) through mobile phone. 4. Today mobile phones are widely used by people all the time and most of mobile phones are equipped with bluetooth technology. As a result this service can cover a wide range of bank customers. 5. Not only mobile phones but also other wireless devices such as Pocket PCs, PDAs, and laptops are also capable to use this service by help of bluetooth technology. 6. Security of this service is higher than internet systems due to application of Bluetooth. Bluetooth scope is only 100 meters, so it is safer than SMS or other services. Of course as we mentioned earlier it is not advisable to contrast andcompare these systems with a usual m-banking system because these two systems are different in terms of their applications. 7. Using this service does not bring about any costs. Moreover it does not require sophisticated devices and can be used by help of simple mobile phones, equipped with bluetooth, being available in the market. 8. We can do some banking activities through Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) by help of this service. Therefore the banks will avoid long lines at their ATMs. 9. Even when the banks are closed we can use this service to handle some banking affairs.4. ConclusionThis paper presents a method for offering banking services through mobile phones in the bank area by help of bluetooth technology in order to decrease visits to the interior of the banks and to avoid the rush hours inside the banks. Due to low speed internet and high rate of internet for mobile phones in developing countries such as Iran, using this service will have an approximately high speed and will not incur any costs. Due to widespread growth of mobile phones this system can cover a wide range of users. This system not only decreases visits to interior of the banks but also can decrease some visits to ATMs (Automatic Teller Machine) for handling such affairs as inspection and checking of our account balance and alleviate problems of these appliances. Right now other wireless standards are being developed which are far quicker than bluetooth and can cover a larger area. A sample of these technologies is Wi-Fi wireless standard which have been implemented even on mobile phones recently. Wi-Fi is a limited-range wireless networking protocol based on the 802.11 family of standards; uses spectrum in the 2.4 GHz range to exchange data at broadband speeds. Therefore we can enhance the advantages of these systems through replacing bluetooth with these standards. We can use this service not only in banks but in other places such as shops and restaurants. The similar method can be used for taking exams and quizzes using mobile phones through Bluetooth.蓝牙技术应用于手机银行摘要手机银行，作为电子银行的一个新分支，在大多数国家广受欢迎。