Idea cellular join hands with Tata Comm, Etisalat, HSBC

Mumbai: Idea Cellular Ltd has joined hands with Tata Communications, Etisalat and HSBC India for a pilot project that will enable UAE-based NRIs to transfer money using mobile phones to Kerala.

In the first phase, the pilot will cover over 27 lakh Idea Cellular subscribers in Kerala, said Mr Pradeep Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular.

The service will enable the Indian population in the UAE, to transfer money from their bank accounts in the UAE using their mobile phones directly into any designated bank account of an Idea subscriber in Kerala,pilot project .

Criteria:

For accessing the services, the money sender should have an Etisalat mobile connection and a bank account with Mashreq bank in the UAE.

Tata Communications will serve as the central communication hub for the venture and it will generate an SMS for Idea subscribers as soon as the funds are received in the subscriber’s bank account.

Though the companies refused to disclose the pricing strategy for this venture, Mr Shrivastava said the company is committed to offer the service at a cost lesser than other exchange and remittance services. On an all India basis, remittance to India in 2006-07 were about $27 billion, up by about 12.5 per cent from the year before.

The remittance to Kerala alone is about invest $2 billion.

Tata Communications scrip was up by 0.26 per cent to Rs 491, while Idea Cellular rose by 0.58 per cent to Rs 103.90 on the BSE on Wednesday.