Press Releases

Global money transfer pilot uses mobile telephony to benefit migrant workers and the unbanked

The MTN Group is pleased to announce its participation in the GSM Association (GSMA) pilot programme aimed at enabling the world’s 200 million international migrant workers to easily and securely send money to their dependents in their home countries.

The pilot programme was announced earlier today by the GSMA at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. By exploiting the extensive reach of the mobile networks, the programme will complement existing local remittances channels and make transferring money internationally significantly more affordable.

Spearheaded by a special group of MTN and 18 other mobile operators with networks in over 100 countries and representing over 600 million customers, the programme could double the number of recipients of international remittances to more than 1.5 billion. In addition, it could assist in quadrupling the size of the international remittances market to more than $1 trillion by 2012.

To combine the strengths of the mobile and financial ecosystems, the GSMA is setting up a pilot with Mastercard. The GSMA and Mastercard plan to pilot a global hub that will link together national markets and the local payment systems run by mobile operators in partnership with the local banks. The hub will enable migrant workers to initiate international money transfers using mobile phones and their families will be notified via their mobile phones.

Says Karel Pienaar, MTN Group’s Chief Technical and Information Officer: “The MTN Group is proud to participate in yet another innovative telecommunications initiative in partnership with the GSMA. As a leading emerging markets operator covering a population of over 400 million, we are confident that EMMT will have a positive impact in our markets. EMMT complements MTN’s other financial services products and innovations, including MTN Banking and Mobile Credit.”

International remittances, which total more than $230 billion a year, are already a major source of income for many developing countries and a very important factor in their economic development.

Says Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA: “The creation of a global hub will enable the mobile networks, which now cover more than 80% of the world’s population, to offer the world’s burgeoning migrant population a convenient way to securely and cost-effectively transfer money to their families back in their home countries, We are mobilising financial services for the billions of people who are un-banked and the under-banked.

“The programme will resonate with governments because it makes the international payment market more transparent, encourages financial inclusion, reduces crime and boosts the flow of hard currency into their countries,” concludes Conway.