Idea Cellular to empower the rural segment of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, UP West & AP
Idea, the pan-India telecom operator and handygo, India’s leading provider of VAS solutions, have announced the launch of ‘Behtar Zindagi ‘, latest bouquet of VAS offerings for customers in rural areas of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, UP West and Andhra Pradesh. This innovative product is specially designed to provide day-to-day information to Idea’s rural subscribers. The subscribers can get exhaustive and up to the mark information regarding health, education, finance, weather updates, mandi rates, livestocks, agriculture and fisheries.
To use this service Idea subscribers need to dial 556780 (tollfree) and avail the subscription pack at a minimal charge of Rs 30, 15, 7 and 2 for 30, 15, 7 and 1 day, respectively. The service is available in all the respective states regional languages along with Hindi and English.
This unique IVR based rural solution by handygo provides credible and authentic information to the rural subscribers. For latest and reliable updates handygo has partnered with various organizations such as Care India, Aviva Life Insurance, Indian Metrological Department, INCOIS, Hariyali Kisan Bazaar, Network for Fish Quality Management and Sustainable Fishing, Transparency International India, Sonalika, EKO India Financial Services and plethora of other organizations.
On this tie-up, Mr. Praveen Rajpal, CEO, handygo said, “We are contented to partner with one of India’s leading mobile operator -Idea Cellular. We envisage great potential in the untapped rural market and are bullish about the stupendous feedback from the end consumers. We have partnered with various large associations for ensuring the latest and authentic information to the mobile subscribers using the service. Our IVR based rural product is available in all the regional languages along with Hindi and English.”
Announcing the launch of these services, Mr. Rajendra Chourasia, Chief Operating Officer – Maharashtra & Goa, Idea Cellular said, “With over 1.2 crore subscribers, Idea is the largest mobile network and has the highest penetration in rural parts of Maharashtra & Goa. We are happy to partner with handygo to offer relevant and affordable services to our rural subscribers in the circle.”
FIS launches prepaid electronic financial account service (USA)
FIS, US-based banking and payments technology provider has launched a prepaid electronic financial account service, in a bid to offer financial services to a range of consumer segments.
With the new electronic financial account application customers will be able to make electronic deposits and payments as an alternative to traditional demand deposit account (DDA) or general-purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid card.
In addition, users can access the prepaid electronic financial account service via a range of channels, including online, mobile, point-of-sale (POS), ATM, interactive voice response (IVR) as well as through a call center. Account holders can conduct payments using various payment networks such as Visa, MasterCard and the NYCE payments network. Moreover, with the new application, users can also initiate payments to billers and electronically transfer funds between accounts.
M-Paisa- Structuring the real Afghanistan
Afghanistan being the heroin capital of the world brings in more money than most Afghans can dream of, the continuing war and rampant corruption means the money goes to the wrong people and the country has no infrastructure. There are no decent roads, no railways, but they do have mobile phones.
Months back the country’s National Police started paying salaries through mobiles (using a text and Interactive Voice Response system), instead of cash. This platform was similar to the M-Pesa service in Kenya. M-Paisa was launched by Roshan, an operator in Afghan in partnership with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) and had an instantaneous effect.
On receiving their money in this way for the first time, most Afghan policemen assumed that they had been given a salary increase: in fact they had simply received their full pay for the first time. In some cases they received pay ‘rises’ of more than a third, preventing defections to the Taliban who were previously able to pay higher ‘salaries’.
The Afghan Police are not the only people to be paid this way. All of Roshan’s employees are paid by M-Paisa and consequently Afghanistan’s economy has started to benefit the country as the currency goes in right hands and not the corrupt middlemen. Local stores have effectively become banks and the finances of Afghans who used to carry cash around the country are infinitely more secure.
The service facilitates the transfer of funds through SMS and an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. The IVR-based menu is available to customers in Dari, Pashto and English; important in Afghanistan where 70% of the population is illiterate. M-Paisa launched by Roshan mobile network which covers across 230 cities and towns in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
Seema Desai, Director of Mobile Money for the Unbanked for the GSMA is unequivocal in what Afghanistan represents for the programme. According to her, if they can make it work in this country, then they can make it work anywhere.
According to Karim Khoja , CEO of Roshan, currently, discussions are underway with the Government of Afghanistan to examine how M-Paisa can best serve their needs and reduce the need for cash in the field, while also serving as a tool to support financial inclusion.
