Bharti Airtel and Western Union Money Transfer have collaborated to develop and pilot a Mobile Money Transfer service in India. This happens to be the the first agreement of its kind to take place in India.
Bharti Airtel who is a network provider has a vast footprint across India, while Western Union has an equally large network not only in India but also globally.
This service allow users to send money to India via a mobile phone. It will enable Indians living abroad to send remittances to their dependents in India in an easy and convenient fashion through the vast networks of both the companies.
Mr. Gopal Vittal, Director Marketing & Communications, Bharti Airtel Limited stated, “We are delighted to work with Western Union in this path-breaking initiative and be at the forefront of enabling international remittance over the mobile for our 50 million mobile phone customers in India.”
He further continued, “This will help us move remittances via the mobile in a fast and convenient way, supporting low value transactions.”
“Our association with Bharti Airtel for the Mobile Money Transfer service is an important step in expanding the range of Western Union global services to a new category of consumers across the country,” commented Anil Kapur, Managing Director, Western Union.
“This is a very exciting development, especially given the expanse and reach of mobile services in the Indian subcontinent,” he concluded.
Such services are becoming quiet popular in India due to applications such as these which enable users to view and manage funds on their handset. Such services are emerging in select countries as foundation for phone-based financial services.