Etisalat to facilitate money transfer to India with a few clicks through your mobile handset

In a move aimed at extending the convenience of its mobile commerce initiatives, Etisalat today announced the start of a pilot service for Mobile Money Transfer from UAE to India. Etisalat will work with Mashreq , Tata Communications (formerly VSNL), Idea Cellular and HSBC India to roll out this convenient, secure and streamlined service following  completion of the pilot phase.  The service will be commercially available to the public by June 2008. 

Customers enrolling for Mobile Money Transfer service will be provided a mobile wallet which can be loaded by transferring money from a partner bank account. The actual money transfer would be a simple menu driven process using just a few clicks. Transactions will be secured using a PIN chosen by customers. They will also be able to enquire about exchange rates at any point of time. 

The service will enable Indian expatriates in UAE to transfer money to their relatives back home through Idea Cellular, with Tata Communications being the central hub for the service. HSBC India will be the banking channel for the funds transfer in India with  Mashreq being the banking partner here in the UAE. The service will complement existing remittance channels and make transferring money internationally significantly more affordable once it is commercially rolled out. 

According to Essa Al Haddad, Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat , “This joint launch with Tata Communications and Idea Cellular is just the start of a comprehensive initiative to broaden the scope of Etisalat’s mobile commerce initiatives. We believe the convenience of this service, its ease of use & lower transaction costs will constitute a great attraction for the large Indian expatriate population here in the country. We look forward to working closely with our partners to revolutionize the process of money remittance here in the UAE which will become the first country in the region to offer such a service.” 

“In the current pilot phase, selected participants of the pilot will be able to transfer funds to over 40,000 bank branches in India,” said Abdulla Hashim, VP, Marketing, Enterprise Solutions, Etisalat . “This will be enhanced to offer cash through authorised agents to the beneficiary once the regulatory framework is available. As an additional security feature, the sender will also be able to track the transaction until the money reaches the recipient.” 

“Mashreq has always been a pioneer in the UAE market with state-of-the-art and customer friendly products & services.  We were the first bank in the UAE to introduce credit cards, ATMs, traveler’s cheques and many other services”, noted Douglas Beckett, Head of Retail Banking in Mashreq. “It gives us great pleasure to work with major institutions like Etisalat, HSBC India, Tata Communications & Idea Cellular to develop this revolutionary new product. We will continue to work aggressively with our partners to ensure the success of this pilot and finalize the product for a full scale public launch.  We can assure our clients that their money will be in safe hands until it has been received by their loved ones back home in India, and later on across the world”. 

 “This service is only the beginning of Tata Communications’ plans to create a Global hub for interoperability of all Mobile Commerce transactions”, said Vinod Kumar, President, Global Data & Mobility Services, Tata Communications. “Our dedication to the mCommerce space reinforces Tata Communications’ commitment to the continued development of new, innovative value added services for mobile network operators.” 

“The remittance space is growing significantly and we need to provide a cost effective, convenient and secure mode of money transmission to the migrant population”, said Natasha Patel Head Payments and Cash Management, HSBC India. 

“We see mobile commerce as the next big wave in the global telecom marketplace and we are delighted to announce our partnership with Tata Communications and Etisalat to bring cross border remittance to our subscribers, specifically in the India- UAE corridor, as soon as regulatory approvals are in place” said Pradeep Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular. “Through similar strategic investments in the mCommerce arena, we are confident that the value we create will benefit not only our subscriber base, but will also create enduring value in the socio-economic fabric of the country.”

Etisalat is working closely with leading banks, financial institutions and telecom operators in other countries, to offer a comprehensive network of partners for the service. It is expected that Etisalat customers in the UAE will have the first opportunity to use this service to send money to various countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines and Egypt. 

Money Transfer Over the Mobile Phone is a part of Etisalat’s larger mobile commerce strategy, which has already seen the introduction of m-Commerce solutions such as MobilePay and AutoPay for customers, to pay Etisalat bills or recharge and renew Etisalat prepaid services. Etisalat currently offers several mobile payment solutions for paying government fees, charity payments and for banking purposes. Etisalat will shortly offer Parking, Ticketing and paying of Government fees through their mobile phone.