Western Union and Euronet announce Q3 results
2008-11-04
Western Union and Euronet have announced their results for quarter three 2008.
Both companies have had an increase in revenue despite the global economic downturn with Western Union posting an increase of 14% over the same period last year, and Euronet finishing with an increase of 17% over the same period last year.
These results are strong indicators of the money transfer business holding up against the prevailing economic conditions.
Expansion plans are continuing at both companies and revenue increase are expected to continue for the forseeable future.
Western Union to pilot mobile money transfer
2008-10-22
Western Union, the worlds largest money transfer organisation have come together with Orascom to pilot a new mobile money transfer service.
Orascom operate mobile telephone networks in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Zimbabwe.
Orascom's current subscriber base are amongst the worlds largest receivers of remittances and also amongst those who have the least access to banking facilities.
Western Union currently run a mobile money transfer service to the Phillipines from select locations in the West and the Middle-East. They are hoping to increase the number of sending and locations and, with this deal with Orascom, hugely increase the potential destination market.
With Pakistan and Bangladesh in the top ten destinations for remittances according to the World Bank, and most of North Africa, both Orascom and Western Union hope to provide a high quality service to this emerging and very important business sector.
Mobile Money Transfer Set to Boom Says Report
2008-10-09
Juniper Research have just released a report on the growth of mobile phone based money transfer.
Many people in developing countries are ineligible for bank accounts so have to use more informal methods to receive money. These people also tend to be those who receive the most from abroad and are in need of it most.
The proliferation of mobile phones around the world has led to the creation of money transfer services through the mobile phone networks.
The report estimates some 100 million mobile phone users will use their handsets to transfer money by 2013. This is expected to amount to $5 billion annually.
It is expected that the major transfer routes will account for most of this money, namely Middle-East to the Philippines, and Western Europe and North America to Mexico, India, and China.
Despite international money transfer slowing due to the global economic crisis, mobile money transfers are expected to continue to grow.
RemitONE's rapid expansion brings global presence
2008-09-16
Due to the success of the RemitONE money transfer system the company has expanded rapidly in a short space of time.
Says Anwar Saleem, managing director, RemitONE:
“Interest in RemitONE is growing daily. We are getting enquiries from established money transfer institutions, banks and start-ups all over the world. Demand is so high that it became difficult to handle from one time zone. That’s why we have set up regional offices in Singapore and Toronto.
“Our regional offices mean that we can give better service to our customers by being available during their working hours.
“We can give them system demonstrations, discuss how to meet their particular needs and help them to grow their business on a one-to-one basis.”
Our Singapore office serves Asia and South East Asia. Toronto is our newest office and it handles the many enquiries we receive from North American money transfer institutions.
Neil Cesario, Senior Technology Consultant, STERLING Information Technologies Inc., is delighted to be working with RemitONE:
"We're a large business consultancy based in Toronto, covering the whole of North America. We've built an enviable reputation which means our clients expect results.
“When we decided to offer a remittance service to our clients we knew it would have to be the best available.
“We evaluated five of the top automated money transfer systems. Each system had its strengths but it was RemitONE that really impressed us. It combines all the really great features of the other four in one easy to operate system. It was the best fit for what we needed and we are delighted to be on board with RemitONE."
Money Transfer Conference London 2008
2008-09-12
Following the success of the previous conferences in London and Dubai for the past three years, the International Association of Money Transfer Networks announces its Fourth Annual Conference in London, MONEY TRANSFERS LONDON 2008, to take place at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel, located right in heart of Mayfair, on the 17th and 18th November 2008.
You can expect ever more in-depth discussions on business development, investment opportunities and service standards in money transfers. Top industry leaders will share their views on the evolution of the remittance industry. Regulators and government agencies from around the world will reveal the recent and forthcoming changes in the regulatory environment for money transfers and financial services.
IAMTN are looking forward to an exciting conference with over 130 delegates and distinguished speakers. There will be Networking opportunities during the two days at our exhibition and there will also be a reception for all the delegates, speakers and sponsors on the evening of 17th November.
For more information and confirmed speakers please visit http://mtl2008.iamtn.org
Speaker and Sponsor opportunities: charlotte.giles@iamtn.org
Remittances to Mexico show first falls in a decade
2008-09-09
Mexico's central bank, Banco de Mexico, last week announced that remittances have fallen for the first time in the past decade. A decline of 6.93 percent was reported for the month of July compared to the same period a year ago.
This fall has been influenced by the high inflation in the US, stricter border controls reducing the influx of immigrants, and the currently troubled economy.
Money sent from abroad to families is Mexico's second largest legal source of income after oil. In 2007 a total of $24 billion was sent compared to $13.6 billion from January to July 2008.
Many local businesses who also provide remittance services have noticed a distinct drop in customers sending money, some even reporting 50% declines.
Concerns have been voiced in Mexico where about 17% of the adult population receive on average $2,250 per year. This money would normally be used for school fees, food, and building of houses and infrastructure.
Spain, Chile, and Uruguay join UN money transfer
2008-07-31
Spain, Chile, and Uruguay have joined the UN's electronic money transfer service. The system was originally developed by the UN's postal service United Nations Universal Postal Union (UPU) which was developed with the intention of it being adopted by national postal services around the world.
The service will be available in 2,300 post offices in Spain, 110 in Chile and 60 in Uruguay, giving cheap and local access to money transfer services in these countries.
It is estimated that there are 4.5 million immigrants, 1.5 million of which are from Latin American living in Spain sending approximately $10 billion of remittance back to their home countries.
For the UN press release see here.
GCB Bank Ghana open more branches
2008-07-14
Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) have announced the opening of two new branches in Tema, Greater Accra, and Sampa in Brong Ahafo. This brings their branches to a total of 141 across the country.
The GCB spokesperson said that their hope is to bring GCB banking services to all areas of Ghana, and the opening of these new branches will help them in achieving this aim.
GCB currently have the largest network of banks in Ghana.
The new branches are connected to the GCB wide area network so they offer all services including GCB Xpress Money Transfer for internal transfers, GCB Fast International Money Transfer, and GCB Moneygram Remittances.
Com2U launch mobile money transfer in Malaysia
2008-07-12
Com2U Sdn Bhd of Malaysia have launched Malaysia's first non-provider run mobile money transfer system called moneyMe.
The system works by loading money in to your virtual account via any of the 10,000 e-pay outlets around the country. This money can then be sent to the destination by sending a SMS to a special number. The beneficiary will then receive an SMS with a unique code that can be taken to any one of 2700 Post Offices in Indonesia with Wesel Pos Instant Service to receive the money.
Future plans are to install 10,000 local cash-points to augment the Post Office networ
Com2U estimate that annual money transfer from Malaysia to Indonesia is around US$1 billion. Com2U hope to take over a significant portion of that by the end of 2009.
Philippines Land Bank and iRemit sign deal
2008-06-03
The state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines have signed a deal with iRemit to provide remittance services via debit cards.
The system will allow ex-pat Filipinos to send money back home to their families via iRemit to special accounts from which cash can be drawn at any of the countries 7,000 ATMs.
There will be no limit on how much money can be sent, and a flat fee of P5.00 per transaction will be charged.
The cash cards can also be used to make social security and savings payments.
The chairman and CEO of iRemit, Bansan Choa, said, "This agreement with Landbank will further strengthen our already established cash card services. It also brings convenience to our customers because of the bank's geographically dispersed branches particularly in the provinces and remote areas in the country."
More on this story can be found at ABS-CBN.
