Payment news, October 5

State Bank of India enables cross-border mobile money transfers via Western Union 

Western Union announced that it will launch a mobile money transfer service with the State Bank of India (SBI) at the beginning of 2011. SBI customers will be able to receive cross-border money transfers using their mobile phones.

“India is a key market for Western Union,” said Anil Kapur, South and Southeast Asia senior vice-president at Western Union, in a statement. “Western Union has more than 61,000 agent locations in India. As we continue to expand our network, this collaboration with SBI realises our commitment to provide our customers with the greater convenience of accessing money sent by their families and loved ones from overseas.”

The new mobile transfer service will complement the 12,000 SBI branches that currently offer Western Union money transfer services.

Wells Fargo expands presence in Philippines

US-based Wells Fargo has expanded its remittance network in the Philippines by adding Banco De Oro Unibank (BDO) and M. Lhuillier Financial Services to its ExpressSend international money transfer service.

“We understand how important remittances are to the Philippines,” said Daniel Ayala, executive vice-president and head of Wells Fargo’s global remittance services, in a statement. “By helping our Filipino customers reach more locations throughout the country, we hope we can help them stimulate the economy of their homeland by supporting their family and friends.”

The addition of BDO and M. Lhuillier will triple Wells Fargo’s payout locations in the Philippines to more than 2,900 automated teller machines and 2,800 bank branches.

“The new working relationship between Wells Fargo Bank and M. Lhuillier Financial Services is a collaboration of two remittance industry leaders, and together we are offering a service that will provide secure, convenient and competitively priced remittance services,” said Michael Lhuillier, vice-president of M. Lhuillier, in a statement. “This working relationship will help millions of Filipino’s living and working in the US to better facilitate money transfers to their beneficiaries in the Philippines.”

Mobile-based trading available on Bombay Stock Exchange

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched mobile-based trading with expertise from several software vendors including Marketplace Technologies, Technova Religare and Financial Technologies (India). It will be the first India exchange to launch what is essentially an extension to internet-based trading.

“We all have been beneficiaries of parallel movement in various spheres, especially technology. We must ride this highway and be on the consumers' side,” said Anup Bagchi of ICICI Securities, in a statement. “Access plays a critical role in education and awareness. This is the time that investors will get over the fears of capital markets through easier access. The new generation [in India] knows no other means of access but mobile, and they adapt to it quicker too. This initiative is a building block for decades to come.”

Philippine Stock Exchange chooses NYSE Technologies trading platform

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has migrated to a new trading platform provided by NYSE Technologies, the commercial technology division of NYSE Euronext, which has enhanced its product range, trading performance and volume capacity.

“In today’s increasingly competitive exchange industry, cutting-edge and high performance technology is a key differentiator for continued volume growth and product innovation,” said Val Antonio B Suarez, president and chief executive of PSE, in a statement. “The migration of PSE to the NSC V900 trading system complements our business strategy to further increase liquidity in our capital markets and introduce new investment products.”