IN a bid to strengthen its mobile money business, MTN Rwanda has launched a platform that will help subscribers to receive money from the Diaspora directly on their mobile handsets.
Albert Kinuma, the head of MTN business said that the platform dubbed MTNMMO.COM is an online facility that enables the operator’s Mobile Money customers in the country to receive international remittances directly on their mobile phones from senders living or working abroad.
“Making the connection to MTNMMO.COM to enable international remittances together with MFS Africa was a high priority for us to better serve our customers, understanding their need to use their Mobile Money accounts to receive money from abroad,” he said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Kinuma explained that the system enables a sender abroad to transfer their money from their debit card or bank transfer through the internet to an MTN subscriber’s mobile phone in Rwanda.
“We will continue to add new services to MTN Mobile Money, and grow our agent network, now standing at over 700 agents across Rwanda,” he added.
Through a partnership with MFS Africa, a South African based company, Kinuma says MTN plans to upgrade the platform by introducing additional products in the near future.
Auke Algera, the General Manager East Africa at MFS Africa believes that the service will extend the benefits of Mobile Money to the Rwandan Diaspora.
He added that; “Long travelling times and uncompetitive remittance costs are now a thing of the past,
“We established ourselves in Rwanda because we are committed to deploying a range of innovative financial products for mobile money providers in the region.”
MTN is partnering with MFS Africa and Rwanda Commercial Bank (BCR) to initiate the service.
Since its launch in 2010, MTN Mobile Money has attracted over 475,000 subscribers and has transacted over Rwf60 billion, a move that has helped many people to be financially included.
Moreover, mobile banking has created an impact in the country, a move that has made it ranked among the eight fastest growing mobile money economies in the world in the recent GSMA Mobile Money report.
Meanwhile, MTN has announced the launch of its new brand campaign codenamed “We Are Better Together” from My people, MY country, My Network.
The new brand campaign not only highlights MTN’s role in every aspect of people’s lives but it also emphasises the sense of community in the country and how life is better when people come together”, Yvonne Makolo, MTN Rwanda’s Chief Marketing Officer said
Money is flying out of Spain - International Business Times
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Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said the data was more a reflection of the troubles of the banking sector to fund itself externally than deposits flying abroad.
The capital flight data predates the nationalization of Spain's fourth biggest lender Bankia (MC:BKIA) in May when it became clear the bank could not handle losses from bad real estate investments, compounded by a recession.
Spain's center-right government has contracted independent auditors to assess the health of its financial system in an effort to restore faith in its banks.
The prospect that Spain might not be able to handle losses at its banks has hammered shares and the Euro, although both regained some stability Thursday.
Mr. De Guindos said that the future of the euro would be at stake in the next few weeks in Spain and Italy, adding that the rumors that Spain was negotiating financial assistance with the International Monetary Fund were "complete nonsense."
"The battle of the Euro is being fought right now in Spain and Italy," he said at an event in the north-eastern region of Catalonia.
He also said Germany should help correct imbalances in the euro zone created by a loose monetary policy over the last 10 yrs, and by the non-respect by Berlin of the stability and growth pact in Y 2003.
Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr.
Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr. writes and publishes The Red Roadmaster's Technical Report on the US Major Market Indices, a weekly, highly-regarded financial market letter, read by opinion makers, business leaders and organizations around the world.
Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr has studied the global financial and stock markets since 1984, following a successful business career that included investment banking, and market and business analysis. He is a specialist in equities/commodities, and an accomplished chart reader who advises technicians with regard to Major Indices Resistance/Support Levels.
How to make money on mobile, in three easy steps - CNET News
Earlier this week, I wrote about how Facebook is in danger from a new kind of social network, one that's born mobile and figures out how to make money on that mobile usage.
I figured, in response to many questions and comments, it was only fair to get a little wonky for a moment about who actually is making money on mobile, or how a site or startup might try a mix of potentially successful strategies in the future. Here are my guesses.
First, the only apps and companies making significant money on mobile right now are making most of that money off in-app purchases. The apps are free, and if you want upgrades like extra jewels, more levels, additional features and so on, you pay small amounts of money over time. Research house IHS speculates that in-app purchasing would generate $5.6 billion in revenue in 2012, up from $970 million in 2011. That number would equal fully 64 percent of app revenue.
And in-app purchases can take all kinds of forms: it doesn't just have to be buying extra jewels in Bejeweled 2 or the Mighty Eagle to get you out of your Angry Birds jam. It's a popular option in photo filter apps, fitness apps like Skimble are trying it for additional workouts, and the model works fine for subscriptions, as well.
Just buy your way out of trouble, with Mighty Eagle.
(Credit: Rovio)Amazon just started testing in-app purchasing, and while it appears that only 2 percent of Android apps offer in-app buying, that really just means it's kind of an untapped market. It's a proven winner, too: 72 percent of revenue from App Store titles on iOS come from apps with in-app purchasing.
So, that's one obvious mixer in the money-making cocktail we're creating here.
The next is retail and leads: a company gets paid because users click on coupons, take advantage of a local deal, or buy things that are aggregated on a mobile site or app. I know Groupon's current stock price would seem to indicate that local deals are a dead end, but I've never seen a busier cul-de-sac. There's still something to the idea of local offers -- maybe not local deals that feel a little off, somehow, but to the concept of letting you know what's around you when you've got your nose glued to your smartphone while you're walking.
Plus, there are in-app commerce opportunities galore. Apps like Karma, which we profiled at South by Southwest, have a simple premise: aggregate products, make it super easy and social for you to buy gifts for people, and then get paid every time you buy one of said gifts. (Why Facebook, for example, doesn't have gift-giving integrated all on its own is just beyond me.)Start imagining a fun, easy-to-use app that's social, offers in-app upgrades, and lets you buy really great curated items either as gifts or based on your interest and location...and you start feeling like you've got a winner on your hands.
Social gift-giving app Karma lets you send actual, real-life tasteful gifts to your Facebook friends.
(Credit: Karma)Then, of course, you've got the booze in the shaker: ads. Advertising is still the biggest moneymaker in mobile -- it's just had a slow takeoff. You can't blame Facebook entirely for not making any money on mobile (although they should have seen the mobile shift coming and made some alternate plans). Mobile advertising accounts for just 29 percent of mobile revenues because advertisers have been slow to jump in the pool. That means, as Mary Meeker pointed out this week at All Things D, that there is massive growth potential in mobile advertising.
Right now, advertisers are concerned that maybe mobile ad tracking isn't as detailed as Web tracking; publishers are figuring out how one ad in an app or on a mobile Web site can make up for five or 10 ads on a full-sized Web page; everyone is trying to figure out mobile CPMs and targeting that isn't too creepy and how to work with ad networks that can sometimes be more trouble than they're worth.
But as I said earlier this week, these issues will sort themselves out, especially as advertisers and publishers start to see how much money is really on the table. Maybe that money will come in smaller increments, and it will take a creative combination of money-making strategies. But it'll happen; only question is who will get the proportions right first.
FOREX-Euro hits 2-year low on Spain worries, Aussie weak - Reuters
* Euro hits 2-year low vs dollar
* Aussie hits 8-mth low as China official PMI disappoints
* Yen off highs, market becoming wary of intervention
* Japan finmin Azumi threatens action vs yen rise
SINGAPORE, June 1 (Reuters) - The euro hit a two-year low versus the dollar on Friday and could fall further in coming weeks, dogged by worries that Spain may need external aid to shore up its struggling banking sector and fix its public finances.
The euro's sell-off has gained steam this week as Spain's borrowing costs surged on worries it may need to issue more debt to recapitalise its banks, adding stress to markets already frayed by anxiety that Greece may exit the euro zone.
The heightened worries about Spain have been highlighted by a widening in the yield spread between Spanish 10-year government bonds and German Bunds to euro-era highs this week, and the euro has fallen almost in lock step with that move.
The euro fell to as low as $1.2324 on trading platform EBS at one point, its lowest level since July 2010. It later trimmed its losses and last fetched $1.2358, down 0.1 percent from late U.S. trade on Thursday.
"We're looking for $1.18 by the end of Q3, and at this rate, it could happen before that," said Callum Henderson, global head of FX research for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
"During this risk-off environment, the U.S. dollar is the only place to be," he added.
Earlier, both the euro and the Australian dollar dipped against the U.S. currency after data provided fresh evidence of a slowdown in China's economy.
The Australian dollar fell 0.3 percent to $0.9697. It touched an eight-month low of $0.9648 after China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 50.4 in May. That was the weakest reading this year and was also below the market's expectations.
Risk aversion on the worries about Europe, coupled with concerns about a slowdown in China - Australia's main export market - have weighed on the Australian dollar over the past month.
YEN OFF HIGHS
On Thursday, the euro gained a brief lift after The Wall Street Journal said the International Monetary Fund was discussing a contingency plan for a rescue loan to bail out Spain's third largest bank.
The report, however, was specifically refuted by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
The euro may not get much respite even if Spain gets an international bailout, said Standard Chartered's Henderson.
"If Spain had to be bailed out, the market would instantly focus its attention on Italy. Current European Union and IMF resources cannot fund bailouts of both Spain and Italy," he said.
The euro edged up 0.2 percent against the yen to 96.97 yen , staying above an 11-1/2-year low of 96.48 yen struck the previous day.
Weighing on the yen were comments by Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi, who said Japan would act decisively against the yen's rise if excessive market moves continue.
The yen's broad surge this week including its rise to a 3-1/2-month high versus the dollar, are making market players wary about the potential for Japanese yen-selling intervention, traders say.
The dollar edged up 0.2 percent to 78.46 yen but still remained close to Thursday's low of 78.21 yen, the dollar's lowest level against the yen since mid-February.
A fall in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to a record low this week has cut the yield advantage of Treasuries over Japanese government bonds, and has helped drag the dollar lower against the yen.
Traders say the dollar could come under renewed pressure against the yen if U.S. jobs data due on Friday comes in weak. The data is expected to show U.S. employers created 150,000 jobs in May.
Friday also marks the start of direct trading in the Chinese yuan against the yen, a baby step toward raising the yuan's international role.
While banks have previously conducted direct trading in the yuan versus the yen with their customers, the initiative will allow banks to conduct direct yuan/yen trading with each other without having to go through the dollar, market players say.
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