Tag Archives: Mobile Banking

Ufone Extends its Mobile Banking Solution Called UPayments

Ufone has enhanced its mobile banking services, named as UPayments. Earlier, Ufone was offering WAP based bill payments and other financial transactions, however, now in collaboration with its banking partner Habib Bank Limited, Ufone is offering bill payments and bank account management through USSD.

Now UPayments allows Ufone customers the ability to pay their utility bills wherever they are directly from their handsets, even without GPRS. Ufone customers can buy Ufone airtime for their prepaid accounts and pay their Ufone Postpay bills.

In order to use this service all one needs is an HBL account and a Ufone connection.

Ufone customers will have the ease to check their HBL account balance as well as view their HBL mini account statements directly on their Ufone.

UPayments is a USSD based service hence it is extremely customer friendly and has no handset limitation.

One of the unique selling points for UPayments is that the customers can avail all these banking services while roaming anywhere in the world with Ufone’s International Roaming network. This is the first time in Pakistan that customers are being offered mobile banking services via USSD when traveling around the globe.

Services Offered:

Pay your Utility bills
Make Utility bill enquiries
ULoad any Ufone number
Pay your Ufone Postpay bill
Check your HBL bank account balance
View a mini bank statement of your HBL account

How to Avail:

If you have a bank account with HBL then to subscribe to UPayments, dial *808# now!

Charges:

Rs. 5 + tax will be charged on the payment of every utility bill. (This charge will be deducted from customer’s airtime. The bill amount will be deducted from customer’s bank account)

Mr. Akbar Khan Chief Marketing Officer Ufone said,

‘The launch of UPayments gives Ufone’s customers the ease to pay their bills no matter where they are’. ‘This is just the start to many other features to come which will eventually allow Ufone’s valued customers to use their handsets for all banking transactions’ he added.

MCB Wins Award for Best Mobile-Banking Services

MCB Pakistan mobile-banking services has won an award for best bank-led mobile money transfer programme in the first world’s Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) Awards ceremony held recently.

The bank won the award on the best subscription and adoption rates as well as the market entry strategy and customers’ responses.

The MMT award aims to recognize and reflect the rapid emergence of this new sector in all its varied forms. The entry was open to all players in the ‘Mobile money transfer’ eco-system. This year’s awards brought together mobile money project leaders from 53 different countries, representing key stakeholders the world over.

MCB transacted amount reached more than Rs 3.05 billion since the launch of mobile-banking services in July 2009. The number of transaction carried were 2 million over the same period of time.

MCB mobile-banking services are specified for its account holders enable of making payments and view balances directly from their accounts via mobile phones or any device connected to the internet.

MCB has also been nominated for the GSMA and Banker Magazine awards for mobile-banking services.

Majority of the customers used the services for utility bills payment, money transfer of money within the country.

Besides, services of international remittance transfer, purchase of as life insurance and protection policies, mini statements and balance inquiries, donations, visa and mobile phone pre-paid cards payment are carried out through MCB mobile-banking services.

Telenor Easypaisa Wins Best MMT Entrant of the Year Award

Easypaisa has won the award for ‘Best Mobile Money Transfer Entrant of the Year’ at the world’s first Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) Awards held in Dubai last week, making it the year’s best service of its kind in the world.

The service was pitted against some of the world’s leading mobile financial service providers such as Vodafone and Safaricom.

In the winning category, easypaisa competed against Grameenphone, Banglalink and Vodafone to win the award. It was also the only service nominated by the jury in three of the six categories; the two other categories being ‘Most Inventive Marketing Campaign’ and ‘Achievement in Financial Inclusion’.

Pakistan’s first real branchless banking solution easypaisa was launched jointly by Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank Limited last year. The service is now available at more than 11,000 agents across Pakistan. With more than 500,000 unique users in the last month alone conducting more than 1 million transactions with a value of Rs2 billion in throughput, easypaisa is helping to provide people across Pakistan with much needed financial services.

Roar Bjaerum, VP Financial Services, Telenor Pakistan speaking about the win, said:

The award is recognition of the uniqueness and the early success of the easypaisa portfolio of services. Telenor Pakistan is committed to offering secure and reliable mobile financial services to the people of Pakistan. By doing so we aim to bring empowerment and convenience to everyone, enabling them to carry out financial transactions whether in urban areas or rural communities

Ali Abbas Sikander, Group Executive Director Technology & Operations, Tameer Micro Finance Bank Limited, commenting on winning the award said:

We are honored. While easypaisa is one of the most revolutionary services to come out of Pakistan’s banking and telecom sectors, it is also timely. The World Bank estimates the domestic transfer volume at close to $7 billion a year. Through easypaisa we aim to target current users of domestic remittance services. In addition, we aim to help bring a portion of the $2 billion to $4 billion transacted through informal channels into the mainstream

Abbas said that the State Bank of Pakistan, too, has provided a favorable regulatory environment for the promotion of innovative financial services. In a recent international study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Pakistan has been listed as number 5 in the world in terms of overall business environment for microfinance, and number 1 in terms of regulatory environment.

The Mobile Money Transfer Global Conference & Expo, where the award was announced, was held in Dubai from October 24-27 and attracted 500 participants from more than 50 countries. It is recognized as the industry’s definitive category event.

Telenor Easypaisa Service Complete One Year Successfully

Teleor Easypaisa service has successfully completed one year of operations. which was launched jointly by Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank last year, has helped provide people across Pakistan with access to convenient financial services.

Roar Bjærum, Vice President Financial Services, Telenor Pakistan while commenting on easypaisa’s one year of completion said:

“Easypaisa is a uniquely convenient way for everyone to carry out financial transactions such as money transfer and bill payments. More than six million transactions worth Rs10 billion have been moved through the system in this one year, with a million transactions worth nearly Rs2 billion moved in the last month alone. These numbers reflect our customers’ increased trust in the services. Our aim is to continue to change the way financial transactions are carried out in Pakistan, and to develop a portfolio of easypaisa services that meet different customer needs.”

Ali Abbas Sikander, Group Executive Director Technology & Operations, Tameer Microfinance Bank, speaking about the milestone said:

In Pakistan, there are currently an estimated 30 million economically active people who have no access to basic transactional services, let alone savings and other financial safety net solutions. Now, with easypaisa, these people can have a bank account without a physical bank branch and can conduct financial transactions from the comfort of the home using just a basic cell phone. All transactions are transparent, regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan, and are accounted for towards the country’s economy.

The service, when it was launched a year ago, was available at 2,200 outlets. Currently, easypaisa services are available at more than 11,000 outlets in 700 urban and rural areas across Pakistan. The spread is even greater than the number of bank branches in Pakistan which is 8,000.

Easypaisa Launches New Service International Home Transfer

Tameer Microfinance Bank and Telenor Pakistan made another addition to the bouquet of easypaisa services with the launch of ‘International Home Transfer’ in collaboration with Xpress Money, UK.

This service adds on international home remittances receiving facility in Pakistan.

The latest easypaisa service can be availed by anyone with a valid CNIC irrespective of any mobile operator or bank affiliation through all Sales and Service Centres and Franchises of Telenor Pakistan and all branches of Tameer Microfinance Bank.

Vice President Financial Services Telenor Pakistan, Roar Bjaerum, announced the launch of ‘International Home Transfer’ service and shared,

“Lack of financial infrastructure in many areas of Pakistan makes the process of receiving international remittances sent by loved ones abroad cumbersome. easypaisa International Home Transfer is meant to facilitate bridging this gap. At the same time, this service is part of our vision to offer wider range of financial services to increase financial inclusion in Pakistan.”

Speaking at the launch of International Home Transfer, the Chief Executive Officer Tameer Microfinance Bank, Nadeem Hussain said,

“The regular stream of new additions in the easypaisa portfolio displays regulators confidence in the reliability and performance of the solution. This new service offers all the benefits of any conventional remittance service. We are making quick progress towards offering new services providing additional benefits to the customers”

The senders of funds from abroad can transfer the money through the wide network of Xpress agents present in more than 80 countries including United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom.

A transaction ID will be generated on sending the amount which, along with the CNIC, are required to claim the funds through all Telenor Pakistan Sale & Service Centers, Franchises and Tameer Microfinance Bank outlets.

International remittances can play a valuable role in providing foreign exchange, but more importantly, also offer significant potential to support incomes of poor and vulnerable groups. Tameer Bank has been given a member status of Pakistan Remittances Initiative (PRI).

PRI is a joint initiative of State Bank of Pakistan, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Ministry of Finance aimed at increasing the inflow of remittances through legal channels. Keeping in mind the importance of international remittances to Pakistan’s economy, the International Home Transfer service is being offered without any charges.

Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Microfinance Bank’s easypaisa International Home Transfer Service will extend its relationships to more transfer agents in addition to Xpress Money in the future.

Guidepk.info

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