October 2015
mHITs Remit international mobile money transfer service WINNER in ACT Chief Ministers Export Awards for 2015
mHITs (pronounced Em-HITS), a pioneering developer and operator of mobile payment services, received the winning award in the on-line sales category for its mHITs Remit mobile micro-remittance service. The mHITs Remit service allows the instantaneous cross-border transfer of funds from Australia to counterpart mobile money services across Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. The award was announced at the ACT Chief Ministers Export Awards ceremony in Canberra Australia on 22 October 2015.
“The mHITs Remit micro-remittance service allows people in Australian to send money safely and conveniently to partner mobile money operators in other countries simply by sending an SMS. Countries include GLOBE GCASH and SMART Money in the Philippines, MTN Mobile Money in Ghana, M-PESA in Kenya, Vodafone M-PAiSA in Fiji, PocketMoni in Nigeria and eZ Cash in Sri Lanka” says mHITs CEO Harold Dimpel. “Unlike traditional international remittance methods, the mHITs Remit service provides very low fees and instantaneous transfer of funds directly to a recipient’s mobile money account without requiring a transfer agent or bank,” he continues.
Through mHITs Remit, senders can conveniently perform a transaction from their mobile phone at any time and require only the mobile number of the recipient in order to send money. Recipients automatically receive an SMS notification as soon as funds are credited to their mobile money account. The recipient can access the funds instantly and securely from their mobile money account directly or depending upon their region, may also withdraw funds in cash via an agent or ATM. Recipients do not need a bank account or to travel to locate a transfer agent in order to access funds. mHITs is also one of the first mobile money operators in the world to provide a cross-border micro-remittance service.
For more information on the mHITs Remit service see www.mhits.com.au/send-money.
about mobile international remittance
International remittance is the process of sending funds to friends and family overseas. It is the hidden force in global economics with over US$640 billion sent globally per year. By comparison, global foreign aid is approximately US$135 billion. Banks or money transfer organisations have traditionally performed international remittance with the majority of funds sent to developing countries. However, with the introduction of mobile phone technology and the introduction of mobile money systems in these same markets, a new alternative now exists for funds to be sent directly to a recipient via a mobile money system using their mobile number as their account identifier. This approach is simpler, more secure, is more efficient, provides instantaneous transfer of funds, and bypasses banks in the process therefore reducing the cost of sending money meaning the recipient ultimately receives more money.
Mobile money systems also for the first time provide the ability for funds to be sent to regions of the world where previously money transfer was impossible because of the absence of banks or money transfer operators. Mobile technology significantly lowers the cost of remittances as it removes the need for physical points of presence.
The World Bank estimates that reducing remittance commission charges by between 2 and 5% could increase the flow of formal remittances by 50 to 70%. Reducing the cost of sending each individual remittance encourages the delivery of lower value remittances, at values far less than today’s average transfer of US$200. Lower sending costs also encourage use of mobile remittance over unregulated informal remittance services. The GSMA forecasts that the formal global remittance market could to over US$1 trillion in five years with the help of mobile communications.
For more information visit www.gsma.com
about the Export Awards
The ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards are the Territory’s most prestigious business awards. They acknowledge the innovation, hard work and success of businesses, large and small, in reaching new global markets. The Awards recognise the important contribution that Australian Capital Territory businesses make to the local economy through job creation and increased prosperity in the community. Winners of the ACT Export Awards go on to represent the ACT in the Australian Export Awards in November 2015.
For more information visit www.exportawards.gov.au
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