Western Union, Nabil Bank, Fonepay jointly offer mobile money transfer service

The cost of remittance inflow is going to come down encouraging the migrant Nepali workers to send their hard earned money back home through banking channels. They neither have to visit the Western Union outlets to remit back home.

Western Union, in collaboration with Nabil Bank and Fonepay, today launched a mobile money transfer service for relatives of migrant workers in Nepal from over 200 countries cutting down the cost of sending remittance.

The receivers will collect remittance directly into mobile wallet through Fonepay – powered by F1 Soft.

“Over 20,000 registered eSewa wallet users can cash their money out from any of the 1,200 direct and subagent locations of Nabil Bank,” according to president of F1 Soft Biswas Dhakal.

Consumers subscribed to eSewa mobile wallet can receive remittance sent in minutes from Western Union around the globe using their mobile phone-cum-wallet.

The customers can use their mobile account balance for fund transfers, utility payments, airtime topups, and purchasing goods and services at eSewa accepted websites.
Nepal has not only some 71.46 per cent mobile penetration rate, but is also one of the largest remittance receiving countries among the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) but high cost of remitting has encouraged the migrant workers send their hard earned money back through various dubious channels, hurting the economy.

The country received $4.9 billion – that is almost equivalent to 23 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) – in remittance in 2012.
The new option for remitters jointly offered by the Western Union, Fonepay and Nabil Bank to receive international remittance 24/7 through eSewa mobile wallet is expected to boost the remittance inflow through banking channels.

“Western Union is happy to expand mobile services to Nepal,” said senior vice president, Pacific and Indochina of Western Union, Patricia Riingen, on the launching ceremony, here today.

“We aim to expand its mobile footprint as part of our multi-product, multi-channel strategy across world,” she added.

e-Sewa starts e-Sewa Zone

e-Sewa has launched e-Sewa Zone with increased facilities for the consumers.
"After implementing the new system e-Sewa’s users can use the service without having any bank accounts," said F1 Soft International — the promoter of e-Sewa and Fonepay — chief executive Biswas Dhakal.
"People can either use mobile or internet to send or receive money to anyone; pay electricity, water or telephone bills, top-up balance in their mobile, pay internet bills, buy airplane tickets, deposit credit card amount, pay college or school fees or can shop," he added.
Users needed bank account earlier to use these services but now under e-Sewa Zone users no longer require any bank account, said director of Fonepay Asgar Ali, on the occasion.
"For this, company is expanding its agent’s network," he said, adding that the company has setup three super agents in Kathmandu and hundred agents nationwide, in first phase. "Within the next two months the company is planning to increase its super agents from three to ten in Kathmandu and one hundred to 1,000 agents nationwide."
The company is planning a minimum of three agents in one district before expanding its network further.
e-Sewa’s agents will do the customer registration and provide top-up facility to its existing users. Agents will get Rs 20 for every new customer registration but for that customers have to pay some amount.
“The amount will be given to agents by the company," Ali said. "Agents will use their own bank account to top-up the amount of registered e-Sewa users. The amount from agent’s bank account is transferred to the users account in e-Sewa and the users can spend the amount via e-Sewa."
Along with expanding its network e-Sewa is also planning to expand its merchants, who will install credit service machine. The company will pay Rs 500 to agents, who will promote to increase the number of merchants, where e-Sewa users can shop and transfer their amount for payment.
"We are trying to implement a system, were customers can shop and pay without even carrying cash," Dhakal said, adding that in digital payment, e-Sewa’s effective presence and popularity among the users has made it successful.

Cellcom launches payment platform

Cellcom has launched Cellpay, the latest payment platform in the growing domestic mobile commerce market.

In the first phase, Cellpay will allow its users to make payments for Nepal Telecom’s (NT) services — balance recharge, payment of GSM, CDMA and PSTN service and ADSL internet. "It is the first of its kind payment portal that allows pinless recharge for pre-paid mobile service of Nepal Telecom at anytime from anywhere," said managing director of Cellcom Rajendra Bahadur Singh.
Cellpay can be accessed either through a mobile application in smartphones or through SMS service. Customers, who have a deposit account with any of Cellpay’s partner banks can tie up their account with the service after registering themselves with Cellpay.
After the order is placed through a mobile device, the amount is deducted from the bank account and the mobile, landline or internet bill is paid simultaneously.

"Our service will not include any additional charge," added Singh.
At present, Cellpay has affiliated its service with Citizens Bank International, Century Commercial Bank and Kumari Bank.

Any customer without any bank account can also access the service through designated agents like local retailers. "We are in the process of appointing agents who will allow customers to access Cellpay and make payments," he said.

Mobile payment service and mobile commerce is an emerging sector that facilitates the expansion of financial services. Some existing services are Kumari Bank’s Mobile Cash, Finaccess’ Hello Paisa, and F1Soft’s Fonepay and eSewa that provide a platform for mobile and internet payments.
These portals work as a mobile wallet that allows customers to make merchant payments at retailers, and utility payment for phones bills and electricity among others, and even make person to person transfers.

MNepal to launch mobile financial services

MNepal Pvt Ltd has formally launched a project to bring mobile financial services platform to Nepal.

The company will provide a shared and fully managed mobile financial services ecosystem that will enable member banks and financial institutions to launch mobile based customised services and products, according to chairperson of the company Sanjib Raj Bhandari.

"MNepal has selected the Fundamo platform powered by VISA International to implement its mobile financial services in Nepal," he said, adding that VISA is a globally recognised brand and a proven market leader in global mobile money installations.

It will provide a range of product categories like mobile banking, mobile-wallet, mobile commerce, mobile remittance and mobile payment, he added. "In addition to the managed platform, MNepal will also provide technical assistance to banks and financial institutions regarding mobile financial services."

"International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group has agreed to extend cooperation to MNepal in developing products, business model, agent framework and risk management," said chief executive of MNepal Prabin Raj Pokharel.

He mentioned that IFC's cooperation will equip MNepal with all the tools required to enter this new market with a high potential.

A cooperation agreement was signed between IFC and MNepal recently.

Powered by F1Soft International — one of the finalists of the 2012 Red Herring Top 100 Asia Award — FonePay earlier, introduced mobile payment switching that facilitates customers of any bank and even the unbanked customers to pay nationally at present and further expanding to international later.

Fonepay to bring mobile wallet from January 21

Fonepay will introduce a mobile wallet from January 21.

"A mobile payment switching system, Fonepay will work as a wallet for customers, who will be able to transfer money or pay for their purchase," said Biswas Dhakal, who is president of F1 Soft International that has powered Fonepay.

The wallet — a uniquely designed platform — will facilitate customers of any bank and also the unbanked customer to pay nationally from Nabil Bank, Sunrise Bank and Machhapuchchhre Bank initially, according to chief executive of Fonepay Asgar Ali. "Within three months, we will have more than half a dozen banks as members."

"A customer of one bank can pay a merchant acquired by another bank, with ‘Fonepay’," he said, adding a customer, who receives money directly in the mobile phone, can deposit it to a bank account, cash out using any associated agent network, or utilise that amount for acquiring any service associated with Fonepay like merchant payment, utility payment, person to person transfer or can store it in the wallet account for future purposes.

Powered by F1 Soft International — one of the finalists for the 2012 Red Herring Top 100 Asia Award — Fonepay will also facilitate international remittance to transfer remitted amount directly to a mobile phone.

"The company is also planning to pay interest on the amount accumulated in the wallet account," Ali said, adding that Fonepay targets to serve in national and international money transfer services with low cost and efficient services that will help channel more remittance due to cost reduction.

One has to register with Fonepay to avail the service, which is easy, he added.

Currently, Fonepay has 22 member banks with a customer base of 1,500,000. The company has already partnered with nine remittance companies with more than 4,500 agent locations covering all parts of Nepal, besides the 13 international remittance companies for digital remittance, which covers more than 30 per cent of the market share.