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mHITs Australian mobile wallet to connect to BICS HomeSend global remittance network

Announcement posted by mHITs Limited 08 Nov 2011

The mHITs Australian SMS mobile wallet service has connected to the BICS international remittance hub, HomeSend.

Canberra: 8 November 2011

mHITs (pronounced Em-HITS), a pioneering developer and operator of mobile payment services, today announced that it’s Australian SMS mobile wallet service has connected to the BICS international remittance hub, HomeSend.

In Australia, mHITs operates the mHITs branded mobile payment service that allows users to send and receive payments via SMS text message. mHITs is also working globally to provide simple, ubiquitous mobile payment solutions for the unbanked in emerging markets.

HomeSend is a strategic business partnership between BICS and eServGlobal, allowing the real-time transfer of any type of funds, such as airtime or money, and from various fund sources, such as eWallets, bank accounts, credit cards and cash. HomeSend, as such, acts for mHITs as a central worldwide aggregator, and enables overseas international remittances via the mobile phone. As a result, people living in Australia will be able to remit money cost effectively and instantly to their relatives and friends living abroad.

Frdric Schepens, SVP Mobile Financial Services at BICS said “We are very happy to work with mHITs as this agreement is a major next step in the further development of HomeSend. Through one single technical and commercial connection, mHITs’ users gain instant access to all of HomeSend’s partners.”

“We are very excited to be partnering with BICS for our remittance service” said mHITs CEO Harold Dimpel. “By connecting to the BICS HomeSend platform, mHITs users will be able to send money instantly from their mobile phone to friends and relatives overseas at very competitive rates” he continues. “The BICS HomeSend platform is very powerful and the remittance network has a global reach.” he concludes.

about BICS

BICS delivers best in class global solutions for Voice, Messaging, Roaming, Connectivity and Mobile Financial Services to hundreds of telecommunication providers around the world. With teams located in Brussels, Bern, Monaco, Dubai, Singapore and New York, BICS continuously strives to provide customers with the highest levels of quality, reliability and interoperability that enable them to maximise end-user value. BICS’s innovative approach is visible through its place at the forefront of market consolidation and technology advancement. BICS is a joint venture of Belgacom, Swisscom and MTN, and has rolled out transformative Next Generation Networks (NGN). This together with a continued focus on Value Added Services for Mobile Operators and growth strategy has enabled BICS to reach a world-leading position both on the International Voice and Mobile Data markets.

For more information, please visit www.bics.com.

about mHITs

mHITs (pronounced Em-HITS) is an Australian based developer and operator of mobile payment services. In Australia, mHITs operates the mHITs SMS payment service that allows consumers to send and receive payments by SMS text message.

For retail transactions, mHITs allows consumers to pay for coffee or other food and beverage items using their mobile phone simply by sending an SMS. Consumers can also use the mHITs service to pre-order their items before arrival at a venue, meaning less queuing and waiting and faster service.

mHITs is also an ideal payment method for purchase of mobile content, MP3 and other electronic and digital downloads, or for making purchases for goods and services from Internet websites. Other applications include cashless vending, web based micro-billing, parking, taxi fare payment, charity donations and cash back offers. For more details of the mHITs Australian SMS payment service visit www.mhits.com.au.

mHITs technology in emerging markets for the unbanked

As well as operating an SMS payment service in Australia, mHITs is also working in emerging markets in the design, deployment and operation of mobile payment solutions for the so called “unbanked” (people who do not have access to traditional banking services).

Use of the mobile phone as a payment device is acknowledged as a logical payment solution for the unbanked as people in developing countries often lack the formal identity requirements that traditional banking services require such as a birth certificate, formal address or a regular employment or income. The lack of bank branches, limited number of ATM’s, reduced access to the Internet and the general low level of financial literacy in developing countries are contrasted by the large-scale uptake of mobile phones in these same markets.

For more details visit www.mhitslimited.com.