Bank account holders can soon make purchases through transfer of funds from their account to the merchant's, using the interbank mobile payment system (IMPS), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said on Wednesday.

"Three months from now, we will launch this project on a pilot basis," NPCI Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer A P Hota told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

He said 20 banks were part of IMPS and expected five more to be part of it by the end of the month. Ten million customers have been issued mobile money id (MMID), he said

The banks which are part of interbank mobile payment system include most of the large private banks and several public sector banks

"Transactions up to Rs 1,000 can be done through SMS, which means that any mobile phone is interbank mobile payment system-enabled," Hota said.

He said these customers could presently transfer money to any other bank account holder who has MMID. "At present, only peer-to-peer transfers can take place," Hota said.

He said the pilot project would be started by four or five banks, without divulging their names, adding that the banks would have to identify the merchants, while NPCI would provide the infrastructure.

Hota said NPCI was in talks with the Life Insurance Corporation for the IMPS, as most of their clients would find it convenient to transfer the money through an SMS.

He also said the company has not decided on the location for the implementation of its pilot project.

The interbank mobile payment system transfer facility will also be extended to Internet banking and ATMs, he said.