Mobile remittances may account for 20% of transfers in 5 years time

Key thought leaders of the remittance industry believe that mobile payments will make a significant difference to how remittances are handled within the next 5 years. A survey at the International Payments Summit in London revealed that the respondents felt that payments made or received by a mobile phone will account for at least 20% of all remittance transfers in 2014. Chairman of the remittance section of IPS, Leon Isaacs, Managing Director of IAMTN, commented ’This was a slightly surprising result given that the composition of the sample was mainly traditional money transfer companies and banks and that there are only one or two schemes in the Philippines that have successfully demonstrated the ability to transfer money across borders using mobile phones’. The same survey revealed that the majority of respondents felt that regulators were not creating a level playing field for mobile payments and were taking a different approach to these items than to traditional money transfers.

’Mobile payments are undoubtedly a hot topic at the moment and relatively embryonic. If they can demonstrate the ability to transfer money cross border as well as domestically then we may see some traction in this area’ said Isaacs.

Leon Isaacs
IAMTN

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Kellie Waidson

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IAMTN

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