Bharti Airtel & Western Union to pilot Mobile Money Transfer Service in India

Bharti Airtel Ltd has announced that in a first-of-its kind agreement, Bharti Airtel and Western Union have decided to jointly develop and pilot a Mobile Money Transfer service in India. This pioneering agreement will usher in the possibility of sending money to India via the mobile phone. Western Union agents presently provide cash remittance services in India. The mobile money transfer service is subject to regulatory approval.

According to The World Bank, the number of immigrants globally is in the region of 200 million - approximately 3% of the world's population. The World Bank also identifies India as the number one remittance recipient market. Statistics from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) suggest that the inward annual remittance into India stood at over $26 billion for the financial year 2006 - 2007, accounting for 10% of global inward remittance market, which stands at $260 billion.

"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. This will help us move remittances via the mobile in a fast and convenient way, supporting low value transactions," said Mr. Gopal Vittal, Director Marketing & Communications, Bharti Airtel Ltd.

Bharti Airtel has an extensive footprint across India and Western Union, together with its affiliates Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, has more than 320,000 agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories. In India, Western Union operates through 45,000 agent locations, including 8,500 post offices and more than 14,000 bank branches across 5000 towns and cities. This programme 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.

The reach and accessibility of mobile networks in developing economies create new opportunities to extend the benefits of financial services to many families for the first time. Mobile networks now cover the majority of the world's population. Applications that allow a mobile subscriber to view and manage funds on their handset are emerging in select countries as foundation for phone-based financial services.

The relationship with Bharti Airtel developed follows a landmark agreement between Western Union and the GSM Association (GSMA), a global trade association representing over 700 GSM mobile phone operators, to facilitate the development of cross-border mobile money transfer services. Bharti Airtel chairs the GSM Association's Mobile Money Transfer steering committee, a group of 35 mobile network operators committed to development, trials and commercialization of mobile remittance services.