Egyptian mobile operator Orascom Telecom has launched a mobile finance service in Pakistan. Mobilink, Orascoms Pakistani subsidiary, created the service with Citibank – making this the third mobile money announcement from the financial institution this week.
The service is initially focused on getting banking services out to people who couldn’t access them before. Users will be able to open and manage bank accounts without needing to go anywhere near a branch. Setting up a “branchless” account can be done through authorised agents, and money transfers are accomplished via SMS.
More features will be added in the future, like loan and bill payments, mobile payments for real-world goods, and buying minutes and texts – and Mobilink says it wants Citibank to continue handling these services.
Via Total Telecom
From the statement:
Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom: “Offering access to financial services via a mobile connection is a project that has been very close to my heart for a long time. The case for mobile financial services is particularly strong in emerging markets where penetration of the financial sector is quite low.”
What we think?
Visa and Western Union have been announcing huge moves in the mobile finances and transactions areas for the past while. Western Union has some basic cash transfer services out there as well. And while these two companies are previewing and teasing with announcements of upcoming services, Citibank is actually out there creating solutions all over the place. I’m not saying that the Visa and WU services won’t get used when they launch, but Citibank is certainly making hay while the sun shines.
