Honest 836 Report post Posted December 2, 2007 Airtel Pilots Mobile Money Transfer Debuting international remittances over mobile phones, Bharti Airtel and Western Union have joined hands to develop and pilot a 'Mobile Money Transfer' service in the country. Claimed to be the first-of-its-kind in the country, the mobile money transfer will make it possible for NRIs to send money to India via mobile phone transfers. Though subject to regulatory approval, the service will enable Indians living abroad to send remittances to their dependents in India through safe and convenient transactions via the vast networks of both companies. According to The World Bank, the number of immigrants globally is in the region of 200 million -- approximately 3 percent of the world's population. The World Bank also identifies India as the number one remittance recipient market. Meanwhile, statistics from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) suggest that the inward annual remittance into India stood at over $26 billion for the financial year 2006-2007, accounting for 10 percent of the global inward remittance market, which stands at $260 billion. In addition, mobile networks now cover the majority of the world's population. Their reach and accessibility in developing economies creates new opportunities to extend the benefits of financial services to many families. Moreover, applications that allow a mobile subscriber to view and manage funds on the handset are emerging in select countries as a foundation for phone-based financial services. Banking further on network capabilities, Airtel is also developing a new technology that will enable its customers use their mobile phones to shop at retail outlets that are being set-up from next year by the company's parent company, Bharti. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
