KDDI Corporation, a Japanese telecommunications company that was established in 1984, has partnered with Microfinance International Corporation (MFIC), a provider of financial solutions based in Washington DC, to jointly develop a global mobile payment platform. The partnership includes a USD 22 million investment by KDDI in MFIC. The two companies hope to develop a competitive cross-border money transfer system by combining KDDI’s network of approximately 600 telecommunications carriers with MFIC’s money transfer technology.
The first stage of the partnership will allow KDDI’s New Jersey subsidiary, Locus Telecommunications Incorporated, to launch a service in January 2011 in the United States that will enable customers to use a multi-purpose stored-value card to transfer money overseas. According to Takashi Tanaka, President of KDDI, “We are seeing more and more convergence of telecommunications and financial services going worldwide.” Atsumasa Tochisako, President and CEO of MFIC concurred that mobile network operators will become a key player in the financial sector saying, “Mobile money brings paradigm shift in the financial sector” [1].
By Julie Moksim, Research Associate
About KDDI Corporation: KDDI Corporation is a telecommunications company that was established in Tokyo, Japan, in 1984. The company currently has approximately 30 million subscribers and services both consumers and corporate clients by offering fixed-line and mobile communications solutions. As of September 2010, KDDI reported total capital of JPY 142 billion (USD 1.7 billion) and net income of JPY 213 billion (USD 2.6 billion).
About Microfinance International Corporation (MFIC): MFIC is a Washington DC-based financial solutions company that was established in 2003. MFIC was founded initially to link remittances with microfinance to benefit immigrants to the United States and their families in developing countries. Today, MFIC’s mission is to expand affordable financial services by providing technology solutions and consulting services to financial institutions including banks and microfinance institutions. To meet its goals, MFIC collaborates with technology companies, mobile carriers, nongovernmental organizations and the public sector.
[1] Microfinance International Corporation (MFIC): “KDDI Invests $22m in MFIC to Jointly Build Mobile Payment Platform Worldwide”, http://www.mfi-corp.com/index.php/en/kddi.html
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: KDDI Corporation
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=KDDI+Corporation
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: Microfinance International Corporation (MFIC)
MicroCapital.org Brief, August 31, 2010: Microfinance International Corporation (MFIC) and Smart Communications Inc. (SMART) Team Up to Expand Remittance Services in the Philippines, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-international-corporation-mfic-and-smart-communications-inc-smart-team-up-to-expand-remittance-services-in-the-philippines/
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at:
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