Point Roberts, WA - January 31, 2013 (Investorideas.com mobile
payment stocks newswire) Investorideas.com, a leader in sector research
for independent investors, issues a sector snapshot for the mobile
commerce sector in India. With data supporting mobile payments on the
rise in India, new players are entering the market, with different
approaches and solutions for Indian consumers. Calpian
(
OTCQB:CLPI) and Western Union (
NYSE:WU) are addressing the needs of the millions of underbanked Indians, while Citibank, a subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc. (
NYSE:C), builds on the services of 320 million card customers in India.
Calpian (
OTCQB:CLPI)
strategically placed itself in India in March 2012 with its investment
in its subsidiary, Money-on-Mobile, that allows users to make simple
financial transactions for anyone with a text-enabled phone.
Calpian recently reported that, as of December 31, 2012,
Money-on-Mobile is now being supported by over 118,000 retail locations
and has been accessed by approximately 32.5 million unique phone number
customers since April 1, 2012. The December 2012 processed transaction
volume, measured in Indian rupees, was 620.4 million INR - an
approximate 90 million increase over November 2012 processed volume. At
current exchange rates, December processed transaction volume was
approximately $11.4 million.
Cynthia Bailey, Chief Marketing Officer of Calpian
(
OTCQB:CLPI)
notes, "part of the problem in India is that most of the population,
well over 50 percent according to a 2012 Mastercard study, do not even
have a bank account, much less a credit card, so our solution addresses
the issue of "financial inclusion" to allow these unbanked people the
ability to pay their bills, send money to other individuals, etc.
Previously, they had to rely on cash which was not a safe, fast or
particularly effective method to use."
The Western Union Company (
NYSE:WU)
has addressed the same problem, joining forces with ICICI Bank and
MasterCard last October to launch the Western Union® ICICI Bank Prepaid
Card in India.
The card offers millions of underbanked Indians - many who carry
cash 24/7 - a safe way to store and access their money anytime along
with new options for saving and spending.
"Western Union's vision is to promote financial inclusion in India
with ICICI Bank and MasterCard," said Mike Hafer, Senior Vice President,
Global Prepaid, Western Union. "The new card will give Indians benefits
similar to those offered by mainstream banked cards without the
restrictions of maintaining an average daily balance limit or being
denied for creditworthiness."
Citibank, a subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc. (
NYSE:C),
announced earlier this month the launch of a fully integrated and
certified mobile payment solution in India and across the Citigroup
network, globally. The mobile payment solution, developed by Citi's
partner, Ezetap Mobile Solutions, allows for more than 320 million card
customers in India to make payments through their debit and credit cards
at the point- of- payment. The secured paperless transaction not only
does away with managing charge slips but also combines the many benefits
enjoyed by Citibank card customers, including instant redemption of
reward points, accelerated rewards as well as the ability to opt for the
popular EMI payment option while using this new payment alternative.
Merchant partners using this device for customer payments and
collections will be given real time information during the payment and
collection process, providing an integrated, secured and efficient
receivables payment solution.
"Our partnerships with leading brands in India stand testimony to
the fact that the solution is already a market leader driving digital
payments in our country," said Muge Yuzuak, country head of Cards and
Personal Loans, Citibank India. "We believe that this payment and
collection device has the potential to dramatically increase the
penetration of card terminals from the current low level of 700,000
units in India."
Cynthia Bailey, Chief Marketing Officer of Calpian (
OTCQB:CLPI)
commented following the news, "it sounds like it's a solution that will
enable people who already have credit cards and bank accounts to make
mobile payments at the point- of -sale - if there were more cardholders
and point- of- sale terminals, this might be a good option, but that
really isn't the problem. The problem is, it's a big country with a huge
population of individuals who are basically excluded from the
banking/credit/electronic payment system completely, and this is not a
solution that will address that while Money-on-Mobile does ."
The industry is poised for explosive growth. According to Calpian
this is a $200 Billion opportunity. Google India recently reported that
30 per cent of online shopping queries last year came from mobile
phones. A recent article in Businesstoday.com notes that month-on-month
transactions carried out through mobile banking are surging both in
volume and value terms but consumers in India have not yet fully
embraced mobile payments. So it may come to who has the easiest
solutions and services to convince consumers.
Article source :
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/mobile-banking-on-the-rise-in-india/1/191851.html
About Calpian (OTCQB: CLPI)
Calpian, Inc. (CLPI) is a publicly traded company with corporate
offices in Dallas, Texas and mobile payments emerging-market operations
through its subsidiary in India. Calpian's U.S. business focuses on the
10,000 Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) that serve approximately 2
million small merchants across all industries in the U.S. who pay an
estimated $1 billion in annual residuals. Calpian's Indian subsidiary
offers Money-on-Mobile, a pre-paid mobile payment solution, to over 32.5
million unique Indian phone number customers at more than 118,000
Indian retail locations. Calpian's management team has over 70 years in
combined experience in the payments business. Calpian's CEO, Harold
Montgomery, is a recognized industry leader who has provided expert
testimony to the U.S. Congress and Federal Reserve Bank on
payments-related issues and regularly appears in numerous industry
publications, such as
Transaction World Magazine.
www.calpian.com and
http://www.money-on-mobile.net/ for more information.
Follow CLPI on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CalpianInc
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Article source:
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/m-payment-industry-in-india-to-touch-115-billion-by-2016/199779/on
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