ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, has struck a deal with Movida to enable consumers to carry out a number of online transactions through their mobile handsets.

Movida is a joint venture between Visa and Monitise.

The service will enable holders of ICICI Bank payment cards to pay bills, recharge prepaid airtime and buy cinema tickets from their mobile phones. The service does not enable proximity payments, for instance making a purchase in shops.

The service is accessible through the USSD data channel or an interactive voice response (IVR) system available in multiple languages. This approach means all handset types can use the service, as well as widening the profile of possible users.

Cardholders will be able to make payments through Movida after linking their payment card to the mobile number registered with their bank. Their account information is kept secure by a PIN number.

The announcement is interesting because six months ago Visa said its attempts to launch Movida via the USSD channel had been blocked by the non-cooperation of the country’s mobile operators.

This is not ICICI Bank’s first foray into mobile payments. It offers the M-Pesa mobile money service through a partnership with Vodafone. The P2P money transfer service does not appear to overlap with what it plans with Movida.