The GSM Association (GSMA), the trade association of GSM mobile phone
operators, and The Western Union Company announced an agreement to facilitate the
development of cross-border mobile money transfer services.
Western
Union and the GSMA are developing a commercial and technical framework
to enable consumers
to send and receive low-denomination, high-frequency money transfers
using their mobile phones. Service is expect to begin the
second quarter of 2008.
Western Union and GSMA to Create New Global Mobile Money Transfer Service
The framework forms a key element of
both Western Union’s mobile strategy and the GSMA’s Mobile Money
Transfer program which aims to use the reach and ease of mobile money
transfer services to expand the mobile financial services market and
stimulate social and economic development. Mobile money transfer
services will make it simple, quick and affordable for more people to
send small amounts of money through a conventional and regulated
system. Both Western Union and the GSMA believe there is an opportunity
to create and grow a large new market for low-denomination transfers.
“Mobile
networks now cover more than 80 percent of the world’s population and 3
billion people(1) have a mobile phone, creating an unprecedented
opportunity to extend the benefits of financial services to the
majority of the world’s families for the first time,” said Rob Conway,
CEO of the GSMA. “Mobile money transfers are a key driver in the
development of a potentially vast market for financial services
delivered via the mobile phone.”
“Western Union has a long
tradition of innovation,” said Western Union President and CEO
Christina Gold. “Our focus on the mobile money transfer space is an
important step in expanding the range of Western Union’s global
services to a new category of consumers. Our brand, extensive network,
and compliance capabilities, combined with the GSMA members’ market
reach, uniquely positions Western Union in the mobile money transfer
marketplace.”
The
Western Union mobile service will connect operators to Western Union’s
existing global money transfer system, which processed approximately 17
percent of the world’s remittance volume in 2006. Once connected to the
Western Union service, operators will be able to use their own “mobile
wallet” software to enable person-to-person mobile money transfers over
Western Union’s cross-border remittance network. The Mobile Money
Transfer service will enable consumers to transfer money to or from
mobile wallets and will offer a global network of Western Union Agent
locations for cash-to-mobile and mobile-to-cash transactions.
Thirty-five
GSMA operators with more than 800 million customers in more than 100
countries are participating in the GSMA Mobile Money Transfer program.
Led by Sunil Mittal, the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti
Airtel, the Mobile Money Transfer program is overseen by a steering
committee made up of representatives from Bharti, MTN, Orange, Orascom,
Smart, Telenor and VimpelCom.
“Remittances are playing a vital
role in the social and economic development of India and many other
developing countries,” said Mr. Mittal. “This initiative will bring
down the cost of lower-value and high-frequency mobile remittances
considerably and also enable smaller amounts to be transferred in a
fast and secure fashion, thereby benefiting millions of people in the
developing world.”
Western Union and its affiliates provide money
transfer services across 200 countries through a network of more than
312,000 Agent locations.
Notes to editors:
(1) Source: GSMA
The
GSMA and Western Union will provide more details at the forthcoming
Mobile Asia Congress, which takes place in Macau between 12th and 15th
November.
About the GSMA
The GSM Association (GSMA) is
the global trade association representing more than 700 GSM mobile
phone operators across 218 countries and territories of the world. In
addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the
Association’s initiatives as key partners.
The primary goals of
the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work
globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual
customers and national economies, whiles creating news business
opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The Association’s
members serve more than two billion customers - 82% of the world’s
mobile phone users.
About The Western Union Company
Western
Union, together with its affiliates Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, is a
leading provider of global money-transfer services, providing people
with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send money around the world,
pay bills and purchase money orders through a network of more than
312,000 Agent locations in over 200 countries and territories. For more
information, visit www.WesternUnion.com.