Now cash in and out with your mobile phone with rapid technological advancements such as e-banking and easily accessible ATMs, today transferring money is a quick 1-2-3 process. But in India, not all remote villages have this facility and even for those who do, technical failures and power cuts are not rare occurrences which in turn result in a lack of ATM access.

On the other hand, India is the second largest mobile phone market in the World with over 900 million users. The concept of mobile payments is making inroads in the country and use of mobile phones over hard cash to make payments may soon become a reality. There are several telecom companies who have launched or in the process of launching their own mobile payment service, but there is one company which differs from the others.

Vodafone Indias M-Pesa empowers customers to not only make utility payments like electricity, DTH and mobile bills through their mobile but also transfer money from a registered Vodafone mobile number to any other number, irrespective of the service provider. It works on any mobile handset and one does not need GPRS or a data plan.

M-Pesa is a safe, secure and convenient service to transfer money and make payments beyond the reach of traditional banking channels. It can be used by anyone who has a basic mobile handset. So right from a construction worker to a housewife or a student to a working professional, everyone can use the service to make payments or transfer money, says Suresh Sethi, Business Head  Mpesa, Vodafone India.

The money received on mobile can be then withdrawn in the form of hard cash, from a specially trained and authorised M-Pesa agent. Vodafone has 80,000 such agents across the country, out of which over 3364 are based in Mumbai. We ensure proper training and background check of these agents before they start working for us. Thus, with M-Pesa it is as good as handing over the money yourself, adds Suresh Sethi.

India has about 100 million migrants spread across the country, for whom remittance is a primary financial service requirement. Close to 60% of them remit money back home.

With a pan India distribution network of close to 80,000 agents and with more than 2mn customers, M-Pesa is the largest banking business correspondent in the country. Vodafone is driving financial inclusion amongst the unbanked and underbanked community through various tie-ups across the country; out of over 174 million customers, more than 50% (92 mn) are rural base.

Vodafone M-Pesa was launched in October 2013 in Mumbai and the service is now available across the country. It currently has 3364 agents in Mumbai, and a customer base of  2,11,273.

M-Pesa has partnered with the NRHM (National Rural Health Management) project in Bihar and Jharkhand to promote health care in the rural belts. Also they have joined hands with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) in Odisha to provide mobile-based wage payments for NREGA workers. Vodafone M-Pesa also facilitates Online Railway Booking on 139 through a tie-up with Bharat BPO, the official Rail Sampark partner of IRCTC to enable customers book railway e-tickets from their mobile phone.

With the increasing adoption of technology by banks as well as its customers, electronic payment modes have gained ground. Besides credit cards and debit cards, there has been a rise in multiple mobile payment products that present an alternative mode of cash transfer.

Source: Sachin Murdeshwar