Soon, you will be able to transfer cash via mobile

Mumbai: Bharti Airtel and Western Union have decided to jointly develop and pilot a Mobile Money Transfer service in India, ushering in the possibility of sending money to India via a mobile phone.

However, the Mobile Money Transfer service is subject to a regulatory approval.

"We are delighted to work with Western Union in this path-breaking initiative and be at the forefront of enabling international remittance over mobile for our 50-million mobile-phone customers in India. This will help us move money via mobile in a fast and convenient way, supporting low-value transactions," said Gopal Vittal, director marketing and communications, Bharti Airtel Limited.

In India, Western Union operates through 45,000 agent locations, including 8,500 post offices and more than 14,000 bank branches across 5,000 towns and cities. This program will enable Indians living abroad to send remittances to their families in India in an easy and convenient fashion through the vast networks of both companies.

"Our association with Bharti Airtel for the Mobile Money Transfer service is an important step in expanding the range of Western Union global services to a new category of consumers across the world," said Matt Dill, General Manager, Western Union Mobile. "This is a very exciting development, especially given the expanse and reach of mobile services in the Indian subcontinent."

With mobile phones becoming an integral part of our lives, applications that allow a mobile subscriber to view and manage funds on their handsets are emerging in select countries, as a foundation for phone-based financial services.

According to the World Bank, the number of migrants globally is 200 million, approximately three per cent of the world's population. The World Bank also identifies India as the number one remittance recipient market. Statistics from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggest, that the inward annual remittance into India stood at over $26 billion for the fiscal year 2006 – 2007, accounting for approximately 10 per cent of the global inward remittance market.

The relationship with Bharti Airtel follows an 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.