The Bank of Scotland has teamed up with mobile phone company BT Cellnet to launch a mobile phone banking service.

The new service will be available to Bank of Scotland account holders and BT Cellnet's seven million customers.

Customers will be able to use their BT Cellnet WAP (wireless application protocol) phones to pay bills, transfer money between accounts, view balances in any of their Bank of Scotland accounts, as well as browse the internet.

The Bank of Scotland internet venture comes just as it enters the last week of its battle for control of NatWest.

Woolwich trial

News of the Bank of Scotland service follows an announcement on Friday that the Woolwich is to trial a similar service with Vodafone.

The Woolwich scheme is already being tested on 100 of its customers, who have been issued with WAP mobile phones.

One industry insider said: "We expect all banks to go the WAP way, but it will be to the advantage of the early birds."

The WAP factor

Both services are made possible by the latest developments in WAP technology.

This technology allows the transfer of data from the internet to cellphones.

The Bank of Scotland's Shaun Trowbridge said that the service would be available to holders of WAP phones at the cost of a regular call.

"We are working on providing other bundles of information, which we may then charge for," he added.

These services could include a signal that alerts people via their mobile phone to a particular investment opportunity or a change in their portfolio.