Consumers outside the United States for years have relied on mobile phones to conduct crucial financial transactions such as collecting funds sent through remittances. M-Pesa in particular has helped millions of consumers in Africa to receive funds-transfers through a branchless mobile-banking service.
Companies globally that provide such services will see some $55 billion in international remittances made through mobile devices by 2016, according to a December report from Juniper Research. The United Kingdom-based firm estimates some $12 billion in mobile remittances occurred in 2011.
Western Europe should experience the most growth because of substantial interregional and intraregional activity involving various countries and their citizens, according to Juniper. The firm does not provide full reports to the media.
Mobile-remittance growth also should occur in established migration corridors such as between the U.S. and Mexico and among intraregional transfers across Africa and the Middle East, according to Juniper. Migrant workers account for the majority of such transfers because many send funds home from foreign countries.
Smartphone innovations also should help spur more mobile remittances as the devices add more features and become easier to use, Juniper wrote in the report.
“In markets with low literacy levels, money-transfer applications on the handset based around easily recognizable icons may gain a wider usage than services based around text-based menus,” Windsor Holden wrote in the report.
Juniper analysts were not immediately available for additional comment.
Partnerships between mobile-network operators and third partiers also should increase mobile remittances in the next five years, Juniper says.
Western Union Co. in December signed a deal that will enable M-Pesa customers to wire funds abroad using Western Union’s infrastructure (
Some 14 million consumers have signed up to use M-Pesa since it launched in 2007.
Western Union also plans to launch its mobile funds-transfer service in other countries in Africa and in Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America.
“There is some momentum gathering as more wallet systems are launched and gain steam,” Gregg Marshall, Western Union global head of mobile services, told PaymentsSource in December.
Juniper goes on to note that funds transfers will be a small part of the $670 billion in mobile transactions by 2015 (
“Our analysis shows that emerging segments such as physical-goods payments, [Near Field Communication] and money transfers will fuel market growth by 2015,” David Snow, a Juniper senior analyst, noted in the remittance report.
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