Singtel and Telkomsel launch real-time mobile remittance for Indonesian migrants

remittance
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Singtel and Telkomsel have launched a real-time mobile remittance service to Indonesia offered by SingCash under the Singtel Dash brand.

The new service allows customers in Singapore to send money to PT Pos Indonesia’s 4,500 cash-out points (i.e. Kantor post office branches) across the country via Pos Indonesia’s remittance product, Weselpos Instan.

Singtel says this is an enhancement to the current facility that lets customers send money to Indonesian bank accounts.

The service marks the first time that Singtel and Telkomsel have collaborated on mobile money initiatives to drive innovation in their respective markets.

According to the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Singapore, there are 200,000 Indonesians living and working in Singapore. Outward remittance from Singapore to Indonesia totals more than $409 million a year, according to 2015 World Bank figures on bilateral remittances.

“Indonesia is one of our main remittance corridors,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO of Consumer Singapore, Singtel.

Telkomsel CEO Ririek Adriansyah said that Telkomsel’s partnership in Singtel’s remittance service is one effort to support the Indonesian government in promoting financial inclusion for its people, especially the unbanked segment.

“Foreign remittance enables them to improve their quality of life as well as provide an opportunity to begin saving for the future,” he said. “We believe every little effort to promote financial inclusion will also accelerate the growth of Indonesia’s economy.”

Singtel and Telkomsel also announced future plans to offer mobile remittance to Telkomsel’s TCash, offering a complete mobile wallet-to-mobile wallet experience. They also plan to expand the number of cash pick-up points to GraPari Telkomsel service centers, as well as PT Bank BRI branches in the second half of this year.

Singtel said that since re-launching Singtel Dash in May 2016, the number of customers has grown to almost 500,000, while the volume of monthly transactions has also doubled over the last six months.

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