Terra launches Pulse to improve quality of remittance reporting

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• –  Assists financial authorities gain more accurate and deeper insights into remittance flows and design appropriate policies to drive industry growth
  
• –  Single source of transactions lowers reporting overheads for smaller remittance service providers on the Terra network
  Lagos, Nigeria – February 03, 2016: Terra, a mobile-first international payment network, incubated by Mahindra Comviva, today, announced the launch of Terra Pulse to help financial authorities and regulators accurately measure mobile-powered international remittances.
  In developing countries, migrant remittances equal US$440 billioni, a figure three times higher than the volume of official aid flows. From a macro-perspective, cross-border transfers are vital in terms of economic stability generated by the receipt of large capital inflows as well as in terms of overall development potential.
  According to the World Bank, less than two-thirds of African countries, however, report data on remittances. For regulators, the ability to reliably track, monitor and measure remittance flows is essential to obtain meaningful insights on market trends and define appropriate growth-oriented policies for the industry. Most economies encounter several challenges in capturing and reporting remittance data, making it less reliable than other line constituents in the balance of payment accounts. Remittance data is fragmented and needs to be federated from multiple service providers, corridors and touch points. The complexity is compounded by the existence of disparate data sources, the use of proprietary data formats, the lack of standardized compilation models as well as varying levels of reporting granularity.
  Terra provides the rails for international transfers by interconnecting digital wallet service providers, foreign exchange houses and remittance companies. As a regulated entity, Terra maintains an audit trail of all inbound and outbound transactions processed by its network. Central regulators and financial reporting agencies benefit from a single view of transactions originating or leaving their respective countries, with an option to obtain a drill down view at a per corridor, partner and customer level. The reporting frequency and range of reports can be customized, based on each country’s requirements.
  Commenting on Terra Pulse, Ambar Sur, Founder and CEO Terra, said, “In the next three years, the mobile would emerge as the dominant channel for cross-border transfers. Terra is defining the standards for mobile-powered international payments. The problem associated with data compilation is real, and no country has found a perfect solution. Terra addresses the need for a reliable data source by enforcing network-wide standards for counting, data compilation and reporting. This would go a long way towards understanding the nature and quantity of flows and maximizing the developmental impact of remittances.”
  Terra Pulse, additionally, exposes APIs to enable partners, in particular smaller, local remittance companies, comply with in-country reporting regulations as well as understand performance trends,
• without the need for additional investments in expensive reporting and analytic tools. Terra Pulse can scale to handle high volumes of transactions whilst maintaining data integrity.
  About Terra
  Terra, a mobile-first international payment network, has been founded with the vision to send money to any mobile.
  Terra interconnects financial services providers -- mobile wallet service providers, money transfer operators, banks and payment platforms – to create a “one network” for secure and seamless transnational movement of funds. The network facilitates a broad transaction set including interpersonal transfers, e-payments and government disbursements.
  Terra is platform agnostic and supports standard open APIs for integration with any mobile wallet provider. Through a single connection, partners gain access to a global payment network enabling rapid services up-scaling whilst minimizing Opex and Capex investments. As a fully regulated financial intermediary services network, Terra offers services beyond principal core transaction, routing and processing functions and assumes end-to-end responsibility for, regulatory compliance foreign exchange management and funds settlement.
  For more details visit www.terrapay.com Media Contact
  Sundeep Mehta
  Global PR Manager Contact: +91 124 481 9000
  
  i World Bank; Migration and Remittance Facebook; 2015. 
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Tempo Money Transfer launches bill payments in Philippines

The France-based, international remittance provider, Tempo Money Transfer has launched bills payment services in the Philippines. Together with Pagis-headquartered company Ventaja International, Tempo has implemented an innovative option, enabling clients to settle their utility bills in the Philippines, from its locations in France and Germany.

Tempo Money Transfer has a pan-European license for remittances and operates over 70 agent locations in these EU-countries and has a specialized store in one of the busiest districts of Paris.

The spectrum of bills that clients can settle from Tempo’s locations in Europe, includes electricity, water, internet, mobile services, cable TV, insurance and health.

It is the second project this year, within the e-payment sphere.

In collaboration with global electronic payment network iSend, Tempo Money Transfer has recently enabled clients to top up their mobile phones globally, at service locations. Money paid in Tempo Money Transfer locations can recharge cell phone credit in 80 countries throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including India and Oceania. 

The company whose core business is remittances, believe that widening the product range is one of the key elements in success, given how fast the money transfers field integrates itself into the e-payment global segment.

“By introducing this new option, we give our clients yet another important degree of freedom and convenience. It is very useful for Philippine nationals who live and work in Europe, to be able to settle various bills of families and loved ones who stay in their home country,” said the President for Tempo Money Transfer, Jeffrey Phaneuf.

He also said that the Philippines is one of the Asian countries where Tempo has been intensively building up its activity.

Tempo Money Transfer’s services are available in nearly 12,000 locations across the country.

Tempo Money Transfer has been very active in the Asian region. Tempo customers have an option of obtaining cash in over 400 ATM locations in 25 regional districts and 9 provinces in Sri Lanka. It also has 7,000 locations in India, nearly 2,000 in Pakistan, and close to 6,000 locations in the Philippines. The number of locations in Nepal exceeds 1,800.

A recently completed project in China, increased the number of locations by 17,000.

"The company has ambitious plans in Asia. It is dedicated to reaching extensive location coverage, a broad spectrum of options and excellent quality of service", Mr. Phaneuf said.

He also added that the services make for an effective decrease in the black market and brings transactions into the open, regulated sphere. “This benefits the host country's economies and customers, giving new space for services at affordable rates.”

Tempo Money Transfer published 2015 results. Over 180,000 in 100 countries

The international money transfer service provider, Tempo Money Transfer, has issued the results of its activity in 2015. The France-based company said, "the year was a very intensive period for the company, that started its operations in the market, in 2014".

The president for the Paris-headquartered remittances operator, Mr. Jeffrey Phaneuf said that in 2015, the company management work priority, was to build up its operational infrastructure in various regions of the world for development of the corridors with outbound transactions in France and Germany (the two leading donor countries for money transfer remittances.

Mr. Phaneuf said that over 20 integration projects have taken flight, in various world regions, including; Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.

Which has brought operational networks to over 180 000 locations, whereby clients can pick up cash sent from more than 70 agent locations in Germany and France.

In France, the Banque du France -licensed company opened a money transfer store, successfully operating in one of the busiest districts in Paris.

New projects were launched in Asia (China, India, Bangladesh and Nepal), in Africa (Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania and Sierra Leone).

Mr. Phaneuf said that in all projects without exception, the company managed to reach the targeted operational levels, both operationally and in standards of quality.

“Being an EU-licensed company, we strive to bring the services to European standards in all aspects including quality, reliability and in number of options,” he said.

The services include SMS and phone notifications.

In 2015, the company made drastic efforts to increase its product line.

Money paid in Tempo Money Transfer locations can recharge cell phone credit in 80 countries, throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including India and Oceania. 

Mr. Phaneuf also noted that in 2015, Tempo Money Transfer started playing an important social role.

“In our work, we make accent on low transaction costs for wires. This makes for an effective decrease in the black market and brings transactions into the open, regulated sphere. This benefits the host country's economy and our customers,” the Tempo president said.

Mr. Phaneuf also revealed Tempo's plans for 2016.

“I expect 2016 to be a very busy year for the company. Now we have all operational component created, we are looking at increasing financial indicators and closely working with our partners internationally, to follow the main trends and clients’ growing demand for quality and affordable services.”

The Tempo president said also that the company is very close to launching online remittances, which is going to give yet another option to Tempo clients.