Mobile Payments to reshape crossborder remittance market

Mobile remittances - a person-to-person payment system that is cross-border in nature and involves mobile data applications at either end of the transaction - is moving in on a total global remittances market of a half trillion dollars annually (USD). New TowerGroup research finds that the accelerating investments being made in ubiquitous mobile payment platforms will be a disruptive industry force. As a consequence TowerGroup believes the emerging revolution occurring for sending and receiving remittances may well undercut existing fee structures and traffic volume of incumbent brick-and-mortar money transfer operators, which already appear to be under pressure in this current economic climate.

TowerGroup believes the confluence of channel investments in mobile banking and payments by banks suggests that the benefactors of the combination of mobility and remittances may well be the banks as they emphasize more growth efforts among unbanked customer segments.

On the sending side in developed markets, mobile remittances represent an avenue for banks to initiate relationships with unbanked consumers - who are heavy users of both remittance products and mobile phones - with an eye to fueling deposit inflows through later cross-sale of traditional banking products like checking accounts. On the receiving side, mobile remittances will spur evolution of the financial sector in developing countries and economies, so that recipients can direct remittances to checking accounts, bill payments, and microfinance applications.

"The inevitable convergence of remittances and mobility offers new opportunities for banks to grow this market by making payments faster, more convenient, more secure, and more accessible to a greater number of senders and recipients," said Virginia Garcia, co-author of the research and senior research director in the Cross-Industry practice.

(This is the press release of TowerGroup)

"Banknet's Seminar on Mobile Banking & Payments" on 26th August 2008 at Taj President, Mumbai will will bring together GMs, DGMs, EVPs, SVPs, Heads of Mobile Banking from 10 major banks to discuss the challenges, opportunities & experiences.

With its theme "Changing Mobile Payment Landscape - Challenges & Opportunities", the Seminar aims to keep apace with the recent developments, emerging m-payment models, newest technologies, market trends in the mobile banking & payments arena, role of mobiles in the financial inclusion and RBI guidelines on mobile payments....read more


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