Wireless Federation

Etisalat launches mobile money services (Afghanistan)

On 12.02.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Etisalat Afghanistan has reportedly launched Telepin Software’s mobile money service titled mHawala. According to reports, Etisalat Afghanistan is the first mobile network operator to offer complete mobile banking services as well as cross-border money transfers in the future.

As per sources, Vincent Kadar, CEO, Telepin has said that they understand transactions better than any general value-added services infrastructure vendor and apply this knowledge to forward-thinking operators such at Etisalat Afghanistan. He added that Etisalat is responding to the needs of its customers, and is delivering a best-in-class mobile money solution that will extend value to its mobile subscribers, merchant networks, and ecosystem partners.

Vodafone launches ‘m-paisa’ mobile money service with HDFC Bank (India)

On 11.29.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Vodafone India, a unit of global telecom giant Vodafone Group PLC, has launched mobile money services in India, in collaboration with HDFC Bank. The service titled ‘m-paisa’ will enable customers to perform basic banking transactions on the mobile phone as well as deposit and withdraw cash, at appointed Vodafone m-paisa outlets. According to reports, the service will first be made available in the state of Rajasthan, covering over 2,200 retailers across 320 villages and 54 towns. The service, considered to be the country’s first such financial initiative for financial services via mobile banking was unveiled by Dr. K.C. Chakrabarty, Deputy Governer, Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

According to reports, Mr. Sunil Sood, Director (Business Operations), Vodafone India has said that Vodafone ‘m-paisa’ is a great opportunity for a country like India to improve financial inclusion through mobile banking. It is a pioneering initiative modeled on the lines of Vodafone’s m-pesa product running in three different countries of Africa, offering more than 17 million people, basic financial services, beyond the reach of traditional banking. He added that with Vodafone India’s reach and ability to connect to customers, they expect many million people to come into the banking fold through Vodafone m-paisa in the coming years.

Further, sources claim that Mr. Rahul Bhagat, India Head (Retail Liabilities, Marketing& Direct Banking Channels), HDFC Bank, said that there are 600,000 habitations but only about 89,000 bank branches in the country, making access to banking services difficult in remote areas. With this in mind, the partnership between HDFC Bank and Vodafone India is path-breaking as it leverages the telco’s significant distribution reach and provides customers the security of financial transactions offered by a bank. He added that with HDFC Bank MobileBank Account and Vodafone m-paisa, a user from any segment of the society can open a savings account and transact at a bank-appointed outlet convenient to them, with the same sense of trust and security as if they were in a bank branch.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: HDFC Bank • India • M-Paisa • M-Pesa • Mobile Banking • Mr. Sunil Sood • RBI • Vodafone India

Orange and BNP Paribas launch m-banking services (France)

On 11.25.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Leading telecommunications operator Orange France has reportedly launched the first mobile banking service in the country in collaboration with BNP Paribus. According to reports, the service enables users to manage their accounts as well as make payments through a number of applications using their mobile phones. As per sources the smartphones offer with the service include the Acer Liquid Express, BlackBerry Curve 9360 and Samsung Galaxy Cityzi phones, among others.

Reports reveal that Francois Villeroy de Galhau, head of retail banking, BNP Paribas had said at the time of the agreement that through this partnership they would create a new way of managing bank transactions. Further, Orange’s expertise will enable them to offer all their customers mobile banking making BNP Paribas the first mobile bank in France.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Blackberry • BNP Paribas • France • France Telecom • Mobile Banking • Orange

Mobile operators shift focus towards rural markets (Nigeria)

On 11.24.11, In Mobile, By Editor

With the increase in saturation of mobile services in urban markets across the world, mobile operators have shifted their focus to towards the relatively untapped rural markets for better business opportunities and a chance at increasing revenues.

According to reports, industry analysts predict Nigeria the largest mobile market in the continent, to be home to over 90 million subscribers by this year end. Further, improvements in broadband connectivity along with the emergence of new generation smartphones are expected to drive mobile data growth in the economy.

In most rural economies, the lack of adequate infrastructure has been a grave cause of concern for mobile operators as it reduces their profits and drives up costs for customers. Currently, industry reports suggest that a fully functioning network grid could help operators cut their mobile tariffs by 50 percent, which is higher than those being offered in developed countries.

Changes have been observed in the investment environment as well. With operators offering discounted services to low income users in order to expand their reach, the ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) has witnessed a decline. Bharti Airtel, which had acquired Africa’s Zain, slashed its prices by significant amounts in a bid to increase its market share, which increased the pressure across the industry. Further, sources reveal that Etisalat (Saudi Arabia) and Globacom have also been increasingly gaining customers, giving strong competition to market leader MTN.

The next big thing in the economy is being considered to be mobile banking services. With a large portion of the population being unbanked but gaining access to mobile devices, more and more consumers are using their phone to transfer money and pay for goods, in a more convenient and secure manner.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: ARPU • Bharti Airtel • Etisalat • Globacom • Mobile Banking • MTN • Niger • Nigeria • Rural Mobile Market • Saudi Arabia • Zain

Airtel Money to enhance mobile banking services for Airtel customers (Ghana)

On 10.21.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Airtel Ghana has launched Airtel Money, allowing customers to use their mobile handset in place of their wallet. As per reports, Mr Luck Ochieng, Sales Director, Airtel Ghana has said that this innovative mobile service would help customers to overcome many challenges that they go through when transacting business in their daily lives. He added that the company’s objective was to make communications, banking, payments, retail, and infotainment affordable and accessible to all in Africa, especially in Ghana through Air Money. He said the company had enhanced public safety by initiating a ‘cashless society’ where one could make direct purchases with e-money instead of the actual exchange of cash from one source to another.

Mr. Emmanuel Kola, Head of Airtel Money, has reportedly said that the service was in partnership with Ecobank, Standard Chartered Bank and Zenith Bank and assured customers their money would be safe through that facility. He added that after successful registration, a customer could access the service with their pin numbers with which they could access their bank accounts. This service also allows users to transfer money from the phone to their bank account and vice versa.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Airtel Money • Ecobank • Ghana • Mobile Banking • Standard Chartered • Zain • Zenith Bank

America Movil and Citigroup to launch mobile banking services (Latin America)

On 10.19.11, In Mobile Operators, By Editor

America Movil, Mexico based wireless service provider, has reportedly entered into a joint venture with Citigroup to provide mobile banking services in Latin America. The $50 million venture has been named ‘Transfer’ and is expected to begin in Mexico by early next year.

As per reports, the joint venture will enable customers to open bank accounts, transfer money, withdraw cash from the ATMs along with shop, receive payments and pay bills via their mobile handsets. The service will initially be offered to clients of Citi’s Mexican subsidiary, Banamex and Telcel.

Manuel Medina-Mora, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Latin America & Mexico of Citigroup Inc. has reportedly said that the governments could use ‘Transfer’ as a platform for making benefits available to the poor, as well as for civil service payroll.

Filed under:Mobile Operators Tagged with: America Movil • Citigroup • Latin America • Mexico • Mobile Banking • transfer

Monitise partners with RBS for Mobile Banking (UK)

On 09.01.11, In Mobile Banking, Mobile services, By Editor

Monitise has signed a new partnership agreement with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Technology Services to broaden mobile banking and payments services across its banking divisions. The five year deal will enable RBS to utilise Monitise’s industry leading and award-winning platform to provide innovative bank-grade and secure mobile apps and services to RBS customers.

According to reports, Will Jones, general manager for Monitise’s RBS partnership has said that new apps have been developed on the Monitise platform as part of a partnership project with RBS called Quantum Leap. The integrated technology is expected to be fully flexible along with allowing the bank to optimise every app so as to take advantage of what advanced handsets can do. The contract covers all RBS group divisions including NatWest UK Retail, Ulster Bank and RBS Global Corporate and Business.

Filed under:Mobile Banking,Mobile services Tagged with: Mobile Banking • Monitise • Quantam leap • RBS • UK

Monitise to offer new app for UK BlackBerry users

On 03.21.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Mobile banking software provider Monitise will offer a new banking app for UK BlackBerry smartphone users this summer. The new app will deliver a high quality look, feel and user experience specifically tailored for BlackBerry smartphones. The app functionality is being developed via Globe, Monitise’s technology platform which allows financial institutions, service providers, payment companies and processors to create a wide array of mobile money services in both developed as well as emerging markets. The new mobile money client services app in development for the BlackBerry platform is a key part of Monitise’s global growth strategy to deliver mobile money services more quickly to an ever-increasing number of customers.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: a new banking app • Globe • Mobile Banking • mobile money • Monitise • Offer • software provider • summer • UK BlackBerry smartphone users

Global mobile transaction value to reach $1 Trillion by 2014

On 02.15.11, In Mobile, By Editor

A research report has revealed that while mobile transaction usage is growing, consumers show little willingness to pay for these services. The researcher’s predict unparalleled growth in mobile transactions worldwide, with the total value of global mobile transactions increasing from $162 billion in 2010 to $984 billion in 2014.

However, according to a survey result, less than 10% of respondents would be willing to pay extra for mobile transaction services such as mobile banking, mobile coupons and mobile payments.

Every silver lining comes with a big, dark cloud and the explosion in mobile transactions is much the same. Although mobile transaction service usage is increasing phenomenally, consumers show little interest in paying any additional fees for them. If banks, mobile operators, card networks and retailers want to tap mobile transactions as a revenue stream, they’ll need to come up with more creative schemes than per-transaction fees.

Researchers mobile transaction forecast tracks metrics on mobile banking, international and domestic remittances, contactless cards, mobile coupons and NFC communications. Other forecast findings include:

Asia-Pacific overtakes EMEA as the mobile banking powerhouse: In 2010, EMEA leads all regions with 42 percent of worldwide active mobile banking users, followed by Asia-Pacific (38 percent), North America (16 percent) and Latin America (4 percent); by 2014, Asia-Pacific will lead with 54 percent, followed by EMEA (32 percent), North America (10 percent) and Latin America (4 percent)
Mobile coupon usage explodes: The number of active mobile coupon users is expected to grow from 2.7 million in 2010 to nearly 35 million in 2014
Near field communications (NFC) takes off: The number of NFC-enabled phones will grow from just 834,000 in 2010 to 151 million in 2014, a CAGR of more than 300 percent. Similarly, the value of NFC-based transactions will explode from $27 million in 2010 to $40 billion in 2014.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Asia Pacific • CAGR • EMEA • Latin America • Mobile • Mobile Banking • Mobile Coupons • Mobile Payments • mobile transaction services • mobile transaction usage • NFC • North America • USA

Airtel, Vodafone set to offer mobile banking (India)

On 01.13.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Banking services on mobile phones are all set to bring revolution in the mobile industry. The country’s two leading Cellphone companies have announced separate tie-ups with the largest banks here to provide financial services on handsets.

Bharti Airtel has formed a 49:51 joint venture with State Bank of India to provide mobile banking and other financial services, targeted at the rural and urban poor. Both SBI and Airtel companies will jointly invest about US$22.18 million initially in the JV.

Vodafone Essar, majority owned by UK’s Vodafone, unveiled a similar deal, by entering into a JV with ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank. The joint entity will offer financial products ranging from savings accounts, prepaid instruments and credit products through a mobile phone platform. Vodafone did not give investment details.

According to SBI chairman OP Bhatt, the SBI-Airtel JV will offer bank accounts, cashless transfer facilities, cashless spending and purchases from March 31 at one-tenth to one-fiftieth of the transaction cost incurred by the bank. These agreements follow India’s central bank’s recommendations to lenders to expand more into rural and semi-urban areas.

Bhatt added, all Cellphone users will be able to access mobile banking by opening a no-frills account with SBI at a nominal cost. SBI-Airtel is targeting to get two million such accounts on a yearly basis which would be easily scaled up to five million accounts a year owing to the bank’s wide reach and Airtel’s 1.5 million touch points.

Similarly, ICICI has stated it plans to make use of Vodafone’s reach, which also has over 1.5 million retail points, for acquiring customers and servicing them. Both companies claimed that they are working out the finer details of the JV and charting out a go-to market plan, and stated that the details would be announced later.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Airtel • ICICI Bank • India • Mobile • Mobile Banking • SBI chairman OP Bhatt • State Bank of India • Vodafone