RemittancesGateway.org

Vodafone, Globa GCASH to offer instant mobile to mobile money transfers from Qatar to Philippines

Wednesday, 10 November 2010 11:15

Source: AMEinfo.com

Vodafone Qatar and Globe Telecom are working together to offer their customers instant mobile-to-mobile money transfer service from Qatar to the Philippines.This means Vodafone Money Transfer (VMT) account holders in Qatar will soon be able to send funds directly from their mobile phones to the GCASH accounts of Globe or TM subscribers in the Philippines.

The recipients will have the option to cash-out their GCASH from any of the 18,000 GCASH outlets nationwide or use it to pay for goods and services, or to settle their bills.

Recipients are also given 24/7 access to their GCASH wallets via the new GCASH Card, Philippine's first customizable mobile wallet ATM card, which they can use to easily withdraw their GCASH from any of the 9,000 Bancnet, Megalink, ExpressNet or Encash ATMs nationwide.

All Vodafone and GCASH transactions are secured with a PIN to ensure security of the fund transfer. In addition, both the sender and recipient are notified of the transaction via SMS.

"Vodafone has led mobile money transfer in Africa with our M-Pesa service. In Qatar we are building on this experience with the breakthrough innovation of the world's first mobile-to-mobile international remittance. We're excited to be working with GCASH on this service as they have been pioneering mobile money services since 2004 with over 1 million customers in the Philippines," said Vodafone Qatar's Acting CEO, John Tombleson.

He added: "The service with GCASH will appeal to the thousands of Filipinos living in Qatar who will have an easy, safe, quick and convenient way to send money home to the Philippines. We look forward to making a world of difference for the Filipino community."

Currently, there are over 200,000 Filipinos living and working in Qatar with remittances to the Philippines reaching in excess of $184.5m as of end-2009.

Vodafone Qatar recently announced the successful completion of its VMT service pilot which gave the ability for 35 Filipino employees working at Vodafone and a local manufacturing company to send money home from their Vodafone mobiles.

"The mobile phone is a very essential communication tool practically anywhere in the world, making it an ideal platform for cash remittance. By leveraging on its ubiquity and popularity, Vodafone and GCASH will be able to provide the consumers with low-cost, yet fast, accessible and reliable financial services," said Rizza Maniego-Eala, President of G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), a fully-owned mobile commerce subsidiary of Globe which pioneered GCASH.

Vodafone Qatar and Doha Bank, Vodafone's financial services provider for VMT, will continue to test the service and work with the Qatar Central Bank toward a commercial launch by late 2010.