Ericsson, a Sweden-based telecommunications company, has launched an international money transfer and payment service via internet and mobile phone. Ericsson began a pilot program in September 2010 involving 50 service delivery partners in six European countries and the Philippines and is in the process of scaling operations. As of May 2011, the program serves thousands of users with several currencies. Detailed numbers are not available.
Head of Ericsson Mobile Money Services Semir Mahjoub stated, “The whole telecom community is very focused on mobile financial services, and the market for mobile ‘light banking’ services is expected to be worth around EUR 20 billion (USD 27 billion) annually by 2015….We can easily integrate any operator wishing to deploy the service because we have the presence. We are there already, so we can integrate them very rapidly” [1].
By: Alexandra Pattee, Research Associate
Sources and Resources:
[1] Mobile Money Africa, “Ericsson Money: the future of mobile money starts now”, http://mobilemoneyafrica.com/?p=3380
MicroCapital.org Article, April 7, 2008, “China: Ericsson and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Plan Mobile Financial Services for Rural Areas”, https://www.microcapital.org/news-wire-china-ericsson-and-united-nations-development-programme-undp-plan-mobile-financial-services-for-rural-areas/
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