Agrani Bank chooses the RemitONE online MTS
2009-05-12
With over 800 branches, state owned Agrani Bank is one of the largest commercial banks in Bangladesh. Its branches are located in almost all the commercial areas throughout Bangladesh. Agrani Bank operates its remittance business with a number of exchange houses overseas. These exchange houses serve the many Bangladeshi nationals who live and work abroad, and need to send money back to their families.
Agrani Bank engaged us because it wanted to improve its customer service. At the moment money transfers are processed manually and can take up to four days to reach the beneficiary account.
Agrani Bank needed an automated, web-based system to streamline its remittance business. It also wanted to offer customers popular same day services such as spot cash. RemitONE will allow Agrani Bank to upgrade its remittance processing and payment delivery infrastructure to offer exactly that and more.
With RemitONE Agrani Bank will be able to offer a much better, faster, and safer service to its clients which will include:
- spot cash remittance for non-account holders as well as Agrani Bank customers
- improved remittance delivery options to make it easier for remitters and beneficiaries
- reduced processing costs
- SMS notification within minutes of transactions being processed. Funds can be withdrawn the same day.
Agrani Bank took a very detailed look at the RemitONE system and decided it was the ideal system to improve its remittance business. They plan to roll out the system on the Singapore - Bangladesh corridor in June this year.
Agrani Bank already has a very powerful delivery network and will be expanding its operation to Malaysia, then to the Middle East.
American debit provider to integrate with RemitONE
2009-04-30
Canadian online payment company, Debitac International, has chosen RemitONE to provide transaction management and tracking systems for its Direct Debit product.
Direct Debit is an ideal way to transfer money. Funds can be taken from the sender’s account and sent direct to the account of the beneficiary. This reduces the length of time it takes for funds to clear before they can be issued to the beneficiary.
RemitONE seamlessly integrates the Debitac system with the banks’ systems. It allows Debitac to provide a comprehensive and easy to use online service for its clients. Importantly it also speeds up the transfer process and eliminates mistakes.
Debitac chose RemitONE after looking at a number of similar products. It was very impressed after the demonstration and described the system as 'feature rich'. However, it was the responsiveness of our service and good communication that was the deciding factor.
Operating in Canada and the US, Debitac has extremely good relationships with a number of major Filipino Banks. Debitac also plans to expand its operation to China and India.
Since Debitac entered into partnership with RemitONE, it is in the final stages of negotiations with the Filipino Banks to use the integrated system. Within the next six months it is predicting around 500,000 transfers per month and is confident other banks will follow.
Innovative card-based MTO chooses RemitONE
2009-04-02
Card-based money transfer company, Krores, has chosen to partner with RemitONE for its innovative remittance service. RemitONE will allow Krores’ payment network to integrate electronically with its customers’ systems.
The Krores pre-paid ATM card is currently aimed at beneficiaries in India who do not have bank accounts. Once they have received their card, they can withdraw cash from any ATM anywhere in the world quickly and safely. They can also use it wherever credit cards are accepted.
Because the Krores service does not rely on bank accounts, it has reached regions that are not normally served by money transfer companies. It is accepted in over 23 million places around the world.
The RemitONE system allows Krores to provide a fully integrated, automated service to its clients. It speeds up the transfer process so beneficiaries receive their funds faster.
Krores partnered with RemitONE after extensive research and evaluation of available money transfer systems. RemitONE’s flexibility and high quality service were deciding factors in the choice.
The Krores money transfer card is a new concept, currently only available to customers in India. However, the company has plans to expand its operation to China and the Philippines. It aims to process tens of thousands of transactions per month.
Western Union positive about Philippines transfers
2009-03-12
Western Union have said they expect remittances to the Philippines to be sustained through the present recession.
Speaking at the launch of their Gold Card rewards program, senior vice-president Patricia Riingen for the Pacific and Indochina regions said they were "very optimistic" about remittances to the Philippines. She also said that they were expecting an increase in transaction volumes during 2009.
Ms. Riingen said that many of the ex-pat Filipinos who had initially lost their jobs had managed to find alternative employment and had continued to send money home.
The launch of the Gold Card rewards program, which gives discounts at shops and restaurants, is a sign of Western Union's confidence in the continued strength of transfers to the local region.
Ethiopia opens doors to remittance companies
2009-02-26
The National Bank of Ethiopia has announced a new directive that allows all banks to accept remittance from any agent.
This policy will allow money to flow more freely and encourage more remittance to come in to the country.
Figures from the bank show an increase in remittances of 19%. It is hoped that this announcement will encourage this growth to continue bringing with it much needed foreign currency in to the country.
There has been opposition to this move from some areas who think the money being sent back home by expatriates is creating a hand-out culture. Concerns are that this money is being used for vanity, and that the youth are shying away from study and work in expectance of being supported by family members abroad.
But with a significant trade deficit, the need for foreign currency is taking precedence, and the doors to remittance are being opened.
New Report On Mobile Remittance and the Recession
2009-02-11
A new report has been released by Juniper Research detailing the negative effects that the global recession is likely to have on the mobile money transfer business over the coming years.
The report says that mobile money transfer growth may be as much as 50% lower than previous estimates. The net result would be a revised global total of $72bn for 2011.
Countries most likely to be affected by this global downturn are India, Phillipines, and Mexico who all have very large ex-patriate worker populations who have traditionally sent large sums home. It is expected that these workers, in the face of lower wages, will forego the benefits that mobile money transfer provides, and instead opt for more traditional, and cheaper, transfer services.
This report is still very positive about mobile money transfer, and significant growth is still expected, especially as the recession starts to decline global enconomies start to bounce back.
The report is available in full from Juniper Research .
Money Transfers Conference Dubai 2009
2009-01-26
RemitONE are proud to announce that we will be attending and sponsoring the second annual Money Transfers Conference Dubai 2009, organised by the International Association of Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN).
Amongst other attendees, the following organisations have confirmed attendance:
National Bank of Abu Dhabi
UAE Exchange
CitiBank
Mi-Pay
Dahabshiil
Visa
Mastercard
Topics for the conference include the relevance and methods of implementing anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism compliance. Regulations-compliance is an area in which RemitONE has worked extensively, and has an offering of software solutions to meet these needs.
Also scheduled for discussion is mainstream remittance, a subject that has been receiving little attention lately, but still constitutes the bulk of all business. 'It is interesting that there is significant news coverage of mobile payments but little of mainstream remittances. One of our tasks at IAMTN will be to raise media interest in the valuable work that all of our members undertake' - Leon Isaacs, Managing Director of IAMTN.
And finally, mobile money transfer will be discussed, and how existing operators can extend in to this new and exciting area, including a short documentary film covering the topic.
RemitONE will be attending this conference, and will be available before and after the event to discuss how we can help you automate and grow your money transfer business. Talk to us at the event, or alternatively call us on +44 20 8099 5795 to arrange a meeting.
We hope to meet you there!
For more information on the conference visit http://mtd2009.iamtn.org
Money Transfer From Russia Declining
2009-01-06
Russia's construction sector had last year resulted in a boom of money being transferred to Central Asian countries by migrant workers, but this boom seems to be coming to an end.
The construction business is declining, coupled with increasing unemployment amongst the natives, has led the government to reduce the quotas for migrant workers by as much as 50%.
The Central Bank of Russia's figures show an average money transfer of $656 to Central Asian republics, but this figure is expected to plummet.
There have been growing reports of migrant workers wages being reduced, and in some cases payments being refused altogether. The knock on effects are huge in the Central Asian countries, like in Tajikistan where remittances account for 50% of GDP.
The plummeting Ruble is another cause of problems as exchange rates result in effectively less money being received. This is significant when considering that the Ruble fell by 17% against the Tajik Somoni last year.
The World Bank is predicting only a 4% growth in remittances to Tajikistan compared to 66% growth from 2006 to 2007.
The Central Asian Republics will be the worst hit by this down turn as they rely on people to be able to find work in Russia and send money home. Poverty levels are expected to increase with unemployment.
Recent Rises in Mobile Money Transfer Availability
2008-12-14
Money transfer via mobile phone networks has been on the rise for some time now. Most operators are still trialling in various locations around the globe, but the results from these trials have been outstanding.
Orange have started a scheme with BNP Paribas in the Ivory Coast.
Vodafone have had great success in Kenya with their M-Pesa brand. They have since signed a deal with Western Union giving access to the worlds largest money transfer organisations outlets in almost every country in the world.
Work has also been going on to get retailers to accept mobile payments for their goods and services. The GSMA has had an initiative running since February 2008, and in June it signed a deal with the European Payment Council to further this end.
Ten percent of the $250 billion a year remittance market is expected to occur via mobile phone networks by 2010 giving this sector huge potential.
US Banks Closing Somali Money Transfer Accounts
2008-12-01
US Banks have increased the rate at which they are closing money transfer accounts of money transfer companies that are transferring to Somalia.
National City Bank closed accounts earlier this year and Huntington National Bank has given its account holders until the end of the year to find alternatives.
The banks are claiming the reason is that it costs too much to monitor these accounts for fraud.
The Somali American Chamber of Commerce and money transfer agencies have been appealing against these closures as approximately 5 million people in Somalia rely on the weekly of transfer of funds to survive.
It has been suggested that the use of money transfer software systems with in-built anti-money laundering protection such as RemitONE would reduce the banks need to monitor these accounts and hence allow them to retain them cost effectively, but the uptake of software amongst agencies is slow.
The US government is concerned by this turn of events with US Representative Carolyn B. Maloney commenting that restrictions like these on licensed money transfer companies could lead the public to use illegal means of transfer.
A federal bill has been passed through the House of Representatives that designed to help banks deal with situations like this by allowing them to rely more on government regulators but it is yet to be passed by the Senate.
