New Delhi, India – December 08, 2010: Banglalink, a wholly owned subsidiary of Orascom Telecom and a leading operator in Bangladesh, has won the International Association of the Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN) “Best New Service” Award for Mobile Remittance services, powered by Comviva’s mobiquity mMoney. This is the first international remittance service available via the mobile phone in South Asia.
Remittance inflows contribute USD 10 billion in foreign exchange annually equivalent to 9% of Bangladesh’s GDP. However 40% of remittance inflows bypass formal channels primarily because of asymmetries in access to retail payment infrastructure. Many beneficiaries who receive remittances live in rural areas and incur high travel and opportunity costs when going to the nearest payout point, which functions as a disincentive to transfer money over formal channels. Banglalink’s Mobile Remittance service in collaboration with the partner Banks viz. Dhaka bank Ltd and Eastern Bank Ltd transforms the mobile into a convenient cash-free and card-free transaction medium, enabling customers to receive funds from overseas foreign workers into a secure, wallet account. Beneficiaries can convert the electronic value into cash at an partner bank accredited outlet branded as “banglalink Mobile cash Point”.
The Best New Service Award was announced at the Money Transfers London Summit 2010 held in London recently by the IAMTN, the only international trade association representing the money transfer industry globally.
Speaking on the occasion, Solaiman Alam, Head mCommerce, PR and Communication, Banglalink, Bangladesh said, “We are honored to win this award as it stands testament to our goal of making a difference to people’s lives by bringing new and affordable services to everyone. We chose to partner with Comviva due to its leadership in the mobile financial services space and its ability to deliver mobile money services efficiently. Besides we have also carefully partnered with two of the most advanced private commercial banks of the country namely Dhaka Bank Ltd and Eastern Bank Ltd as our banking partner for the service which gives us access to their global network of partnership with significant number of exchange houses all over the world. As a result, Banglalink customers now have affordable, convenient and easy access to mobile money services. We see mobile money services having a positive and far-reaching effect on the overall economy.”
“Monies sent home by migrants constitute a critical livelihood strategy for an approximate 7 million households in Bangladesh. High fees charged by remittance service providers, and low level of banking penetration among rural people compels a sizeable segment of non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) to use informal channels to remit money. This remittance shadow market represents a substantial welfare loss for remitters, who are forced to send money home via unreliable, time-consuming and inefficient remittance channels,” added Alam.
Milind Pathak, Vice President SAARC, Comviva, commented, “This is a very heartening industry recognition for Banglalink and Comviva as we are both committed to improving people’s lives through mobile solutions, such as mobile money. Comviva’s mobiquity mobile financial services platform ensures mobile money services are easy to use and secure – enabling financial services to be extended to underserved segments. Providing mobile financial services is a key focus area for us, and we are pleased to see Banglalink being recognized by the IAMTN.”
Banglalink has teamed up with leading banks in Bangladesh to ensure the Mobile remittance service is available widely. Banglalink mobile remittance service is already available at more than 1,000 Mobile Cash points throughout Bangladesh as well as 100,000 agent locations in 20 countries.
About IAMTN
IAMTN (International Association of the Money Transfer Networks) is the only international trade association representing the money transfer industry worldwide. As a global lobbyist for the remittances industry, IAMTN raises awareness regarding the importance of money transfers as one of the most dynamic sectors of the world economy as well as a widely spread social phenomenon. The members of IAMTN provide a full range of money transfer (remittance) services to private individuals and small businesses in over 90 countries and territories. For more information, please visit www.iamtn.org
About Banglalink
Banglalink is the second largest cellular service provider in Bangladesh. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orascom Telecom that launched in Bangladesh in 2005. Banglalink is considered the pioneer in making mobile telephony affordable for the mass population of Bangladesh. As of October, 2010, Banglalink has a subscriber base of 18.4 million. Banglalink is committed to improving people’s lives by introducing cost effective communication solutions. Banglalink has aggressively brought a number of innovative products and services for the first time to the mass population of Bangladesh. In April 2010, Banglalink became the first company in South Asia to launch cross border remittance services through mobile phone.
About Comviva
Comviva is the global leader in providing mobile solutions beyond VAS. With an extensive portfolio of solutions spanning VAS infrastructure, application delivery platforms and customer-facing applications, Comviva enables mobile service providers to enrich mobile users’ lives, whilst rationalizing costs, accelerating revenue growth and enhancing customer lifetime value. Comviva’s solutions are deployed by service providers in over 85 countries and power services to more than 600 million mobile subscribers globally. For more information, please visit www.comviva.com
