Telenor’s DiGi and Citibank have activated DiGiREMIT on October 10, 2007 to facilitate secure transfer of money from Malaysia to Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines via SMS.
DiGiREMIT is designed to simplify and secure the transfer of money using the mobile phone from anywhere and at anytime to the widest distribution networks in the three recipient countries. This gives DiGi customers, particularly migrant workers, the opportunity to improve their financial security.
Mobile as a financial tool
DiGiREMIT Enables Money Transfer Using Mobile Phone
“DiGi is ready to lead the change for people to use the mobile phone as a financial tool with value propositions that are hard to ignore,” said Albern Murty, DiGi’s Head of Product Management.
Beneficial for migrant workers
“The easy accessibility to the service will bring new opportunities to those with insufficient access to regular banking services. This applies in particular to migrant workers who now have an opportunity to improve their financial security. This will mean added safety for the appointed beneficiaries and will also benefit the economy of their home countries,” said Noel Saminathan, Director of Citi’s Global Transaction Services.
Significant migrant remittance
Migrant worker remittance is often a large source of national income for recipient countries. According to Citibank research as at December 2006, Malaysia is a major source of migrant income in ASEAN with an estimated total migrant remittance of more than RM 5 billion yearly.
“DiGi’s strategic alliance with the Citi guarantees security of remittance. Our customers will have peace of mind knowing that their money is 100 per cent safe,” said Murty.
