New mobile remittance corridor between mHITs Australia and M-PESA Kenya

JUNE 05,2014.

PRESS RELEASE.

mHITs (pronounced Em-HITS), a pioneering developer and operator of mobile payment services, has announced that it’s Australian SMS mobile wallet service has launched an international mobile remittance corridor between Australia and leading mobile money service M-PESA in Kenya. 

For the first time, this new corridor will provide for instantaneous direct mobile-to-mobile funds transfers between Australia and Kenya. The service also offers one of the lowest rates for remittance in the market with a 1st time transaction fee from as little as $2.50.

“The mHITs Remit micro-remittance service allows people in Australian to send money safely and conveniently to partner mobile wallet operators in other countries simply by sending an SMS including GLOBE GCASH and SMART Money in the Philippines, MTN Mobile Money in Ghana and now M-PESA in Kenya” says mHITs CEO Harold Dimpel. “Unlike traditional international remittance methods, the mHITs Remit service provides very low fees and instantaneous transfer of funds directly to a recipient’s mobile money account without requiring a transfer agent or bank,” he continues.

M-PESA is a leading mobile money transfer and payment service available from Vodafone and its partner, Kenya’s Safaricom. The revolutionary service offers a simple, low-cost and secure way for customers to conduct a cross section of monetary transactions via a mobile phone.

“Standing at an average of USD 109 million a year, diaspora remittances are a big contributor to the Kenyan economy, yet sending money back home remains a hugely costly affair. By taking advantage of leap frog technologies such as M-PESA and mHITs’ mobile wallet, this partnership will provide both the senders in Australia and the recipients in Kenya with a convenient and affordable channel through which to send and receive money,” said Ms. Betty Mwangi-Thuo, General Manager, Financial Services, Safaricom Limited.

Through mHITs, senders can conveniently perform a transaction from their mobile phone at any time and require only the mobile number of the recipient in order to send money. Recipients automatically receive an SMS notification as soon as funds are credited to their mobile money account. The recipient can access the funds instantly and securely from their mobile money account directly or depending upon their region, may also withdraw funds in cash via an agent or ATM. Recipients do not need a bank account or to locate a transfer agent in order to access funds.

mHITs is one of the first mobile money operators in the world to provide a micro-remittance service.  People living in Australia can send money instantly and conveniently by mobile phone to their relatives and friends living in Kenya by having funds credited immediately to their M-PESA mobile money account.