Money remittance through mobile phone will become possible in Qatar by mid-2010 as Vodafone is setting up a service, which facilitates cash transfer to almost anywhere in the world

Vodafone yesterday said that by mid-2010 it planned to offer customers in Qatar international and local money transfer services, which they could access directly on their mobile phones.

Customers who register for ‘Vodafone Money Transfer’ will have their mobile number linked to an electronic money (e-money) account managed by Vodafone, and can use such e-money to buy airtime, send money abroad, or even make and receive payments using their mobile.

“International money transfer is a financial service in high demand by Qatar’s large working population of expatriates. Vodafone Money Transfer will make it more affordable for guest workers to send money home,” said director (Marketing) Michael Portz. 

In addition to providing such benefits as liquidity and rapid delivery, Vodafone money transfer is ‘absolutely safe’, Portz said. 

“Money is held on the customer’s behalf in a trust, not by Vodafone.  And since customers require a PIN number to use the service, using Vodafone money transfer is as safe as a debit card with a chip,” Portz said.
On November 5 Gulf Times had reported Vodafone’s plans to launch mobile money transfer based on the newspaper’s exclusive interview with Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao.

The service is a joint venture innovation project between Vodafone Qatar, the Qatar Foundation and Al Hashemi Group, as well as numerous Qatari financial service providers.  Vodafone will draw expertise from the existing Vodafone Group money transfer projects, including M-PESA managed by Safaricom in Kenya.