Western Union Certifies mChek as a Mobile Money Transfer Vendor
IT News Online Staff
2010-02-23
mChek, a provider of mobile money solutions, announced that it has been certified by Western Union as a Mobile Money Transfer Vendor. The certification under the Western Union Mobile Vendor Program was received after a rigorous technology integration and certification testing program.
Whether for sending money or receiving money, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) around the globe can now use the mChek platform as their technology service provider platform and partner with Western Union to offer Money Transfer Services to customers through a turnkey hosted service and introduce these services in a matter of a few weeks.
The goal of Western Union's Mobile Vendor program is to reduce integration costs and accelerate go-to-market activities for banks and mobile operators by creating standard technical deployments. Once a bank or mobile operator contracts with Western Union to activate the Western Union Mobile Money Transfer service, its consumers will be able to send and/or receive money through Western Union's money transfer system. Western Union has a global agent network of more than 350,000 locations in over 200 countries and territories.
The mChek service for mobile banking, payments and commerce is currently live in India with Bharti Airtel, Tata Indicom and Tata Docomo, and in Sri Lanka with Dialog Telekom. The service is also being piloted in other countries in Asia and Africa.
Following a direct contractual relationship with Western Union, a mobile operator and mChek can potentially offer cross-border Mobile Money Transfer, whether for sending, receiving or disbursing money, in countries wherever cross-border Mobile Money Transfer is permitted by banking regulators.
"Our certified integration with Western Union, a leading global Money Transfer Service provider, and our hosted, out-of-the-box platform ensures minimal time to market and zero risk for MNOs to introduce Mobile Money Transfer services," said Valerie Rozycki, Head of Strategic Initiatives for mChek. "With our pre-integrated, certified turnkey service, MNOs can now focus on the business, marketing and operational issues rather than worry about technology and integration. We welcome operators from around the world to get started with Mobile Money Transfer right away."
"Cross-border Mobile Money Transfer represents a significant growth opportunity for MNOs in emerging countries," said Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, GCEO of Dialog Telekom, Sri Lanka. "mChek is our chosen platform in Sri Lanka for mobile payments, and we are pleased to see that mChek had been certified by Western Union."
Western Union Mobile Vendor certification recognizes software and services that meet Western Union's technical delivery standards. Vendor certification does not authorize a vendor to act as a gateway connection to Western Union systems or operate as a direct reseller of Western Union services. Interested parties must enter into a commercial agreement with Western Union to activate services.
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