BICS Partners with Airtel Africa to Extend Reach of International Money Transfer Services

Brussels, Belgium & Nairobi, Kenya: 21^st November, 2012, BICS, a leading global provider of international carrier services and a pioneer in the mobile financial services market, today announced an agreement with Airtel Africa, a provider of mobile communications services to the African market, to facilitate mobile money transfers throughout Africa. This agreement applies to all of the markets covered by Airtel in the African region and it will allow Airtel Money subscribers to send and receive money transfers over the operator’s network.

Airtel Africa is part of Bharti Airtel, the fourth largest mobile operator in the world, providing mobile communications services across 17 different markets in the African region. Airtel Africa has an extensive geographical footprint across the African region. This agreement will enable Airtel Money customers to send and receive money instantly using a money transfer service supported by BICS. Subject to regulatory approvals in each of the countries, Airtel Africa will be connected to a growing community of mobile network operators, and money transfer organisations, through the HomeSend remittance hub.

HomeSend is a global hubbing service that enables mobile-centric money transfers. HomeSend is a BICS service, based on the technology of eServGlobal, its strategic business partner. HomeSend connects a global community of telecom service providers, banks and financial organisations. It facilitates money transfers in real-time, enabling person-to-person transfers of cash, credit card payments or direct bank transfers. The addition of Airtel Africa, with its network of regional subsidiaries and the support of its parent company, Bharti Airtel, will extend the international reach of money transfers to even more global destinations. This agreement follows the announcement from BICS in October that it had opened up two new mobile remittance corridors towards Africa, to allow mobile subscribers in the region to receive money transfers.

Frederic Salmon, VP Mobile Financial Services at BICS said: “The global footprint for mobile money transfers continues to grow rapidly, with Africa playing a prominent role. The Airtel Africa agreement enables mobile subscribers to send and receive money transfers, opening up a two-way model in the region. Airtel Africa has now joined the community of service providers connected to the HomeSend Hub and will extend the reach of the network. As more and more leading operators join the community, the scope of mobile money transfers will continue to increase and this will contribute to our aim of developing a truly global mobile remittance ecosystem.”

Chidi Okpala, Airtel Africa’s Director and Head of Airtel Money: “Mobile is seen as a viable channel to transfer money in Africa. This agreement enables us to guarantee the availability of money transfer services for our subscribers. It will enable them to send and receive transfers in a safe and secure environment. This partnership with BICS is another step by Airtel Money to deepen financial inclusion, expand cash less ecosystems and facilitate intra Africa fund flows across our 17 markets. More so, our customers will no longer need to travel long distances because they want to send or receive money.”

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About BICS

BICS delivers best-in-class international wholesale solutions to any communication service provider worldwide. Through its Mosaic portfolio, a comprehensive, flexible and innovative suite of solutions designed to be used individually, or collectively, BICS meets the existing and future requirements of the global telecoms industry. Our passionate and creative teams located in Brussels, Bern, Dubai, Singapore and New York, continuously strive to provide our customers with the highest levels of quality, reliability and interoperability enabling them to maximise their end-user value. With our successful consolidation strategy, and a continuing focus on technological advancement and innovation, we have achieved a world-leading position in the international Voice and Mobile Data markets.

For more information, please visit: www.bics.com and www.homesend.com

About Bharti Airtel    

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company’s product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 259 million customers across its operations at the end of September 2012. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com