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FREE remittance to Philippines in Typhoon Haiyan recovery

FREE remittance to Philippines in Typhoon Haiyan recovery

November 2013

mHITs (pronounced Em-HITS), a pioneering developer and operator of mobile payment services, has announced that it’s Australian SMS mobile remittance service will be temporarily providing FREE REMITTANCE from Australia to the Philippines in support of the Typhoon Haiyan recovery. This means that no transaction fees will be applied for any Philippine remittance transactions.

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“This initiative has only been made possible through the unprecedented and combined support of all stakeholders participating in the remittance transaction process. This includes remittance partner operators and also the mobile network operators Smart and Globe in the Philippines whose respective mobile money services are used as the receiving network. “Bypassing intermediaries by sending money directly to end recipients can sometimes be more effective than sending money to an NGO or aid agency.” says mHITs CEO Harold Dimpel. “The mHITs Remit micro-remittance service allows people in Australian to send money safely and conveniently to partner mobile wallet operators in other countries simply by sending an SMS including GLOBE GCASH and SMART Money in the Philippines.” he continues. “Unlike traditional international remittance methods, the mHITs Remit service provides very low fees and instantaneous transfer of funds directly to a recipients mobile money account without requiring a transfer agent or bank. Finally, we would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our partners and service providers who by removing fees and charges have made this free remittance initiative possible in this time of great need.” he concludes.

mHITs is one of the first and only mobile money operators in the world to provide a micro-remittance service. People living in Australia can send money instantly and conveniently by mobile phone to their relatives and friends living in the Philippines by having funds credited immediately to their Globe GCASH or SMART Money mobile money account. In some developing markets, families and communities rely on money sent by relatives abroad to pay for essentials such as food, clothing and medicines. In Australia, mHITs operates the mHITs mobile payment service that allows users to send and receive payments via SMS text message. mHITs is also working globally to provide simple, ubiquitous mobile payment solutions for the unbanked in emerging markets.

For more information on the mHITs Remit service see www.mhits.com.au/send-money/philippines.

about mobile international remittance

Mobile technology lowers the cost of remittances as it removes the need for physical points of presence and ensures a timely and secure method of transaction. The World Bank estimates that reducing remittance commission charges by 2-5% could increase the flow of formal remittances by 50-70%. Reducing the reducing remittance commission charges by 2-5% could increase the flow of formal remittances by 50-70%. 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. Mobile communications can also drive significant growth of the formal remittance market and has the potential to vastly improve and transform access to remittance funds for people in developing countries. The GSMA forecasts that the formal global remittance market could grow from around US$300 billion today to over US$1 trillion in five years with the help of mobile communications.

For more information visit www.gsma.com.

about mHITs

mHITs (pronounced Em-HITS) is a leading Australian based developer and operator of mobile payment services. In Australia, mHITs operates the mHITs SMS payment service that allows consumers to send and receive payments by SMS text message. mHITs is also working globally to provide simple, ubiquitous mobile payment solutions for the unbanked in emerging markets. Use of the mobile phone as a payment device is acknowledged as a logical payment solution for the unbanked as people in developing countries often lack the formal identity requirements that traditional banking services require such as a birth certificate, formal address or regular employment or income. The lack of bank branches, limited number of ATM’s, limited access to the Internet and the general low level of financial literacy in developing countries are contrasted by the large-scale uptake of mobile phones in these same markets.

For more details visit www.mhitslimited.com.