Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Mobile phones to send money home

A BBC article 'Mobile phones to send money home' describes how mobile phone operators and banks are backing a scheme to allow those who work abroad to use their phones to send money home:

The pilot programme, announced by mobile operator trade body the GSM Association, could make sending cash easier and cheaper for migrant workers.

The initiative is backed by 19 mobile firms representing over 600 million customers in over 100 countries.

Vodafone and Telecom Italia are among mobile firms backing the scheme.The system will allow a person to put cash onto their mobile, and order it to be sent to a mobile phone number abroad, where the recipient receives a text message saying that money has arrived.

As a result, the costs of sending small amounts of cash could be reduced to just a few percent, from 24% currently.

No comments: