MoneyText is the cross-border service brand of leading independent telecoms provider Pal Telecom. It gives people living in the developed world a secure, convenient reliable and fast method of transferring funds to family and friends in the developing world.
In late 2006, UK based Pal took the strategic decision to aggressively build its presence and become a leader in crossborder services delivery. And specifically to do so with an innovative, next-generation mobile approach. After an exhaustive selection process Macalla was selected as the MoneyText partner.
Live in 2007, MoneyText has already proven to bring unrivalled value, innovation and efficiency to all participants including donors, recipients, operators, banks and the service provider. The first phase MoneyText service allows UK resident Ghanaians to top-up mobile phones of people in Ghana, West Africa.
The process is fully real-time and automated, typically directly from mobile phone to mobile phone. Transactions are completed within a matter of seconds. MoneyText transfers are initiated by donors or by recipient request and can be time-scheduled. Donors pay via reverse billing, debit/credit card or cash through a network of mobile agents.
Most UK based users are recharging the phones of 2 family members or friends. Transactions are mainly carried out between 10 am and 10pm and the busiest days are Monday and Friday.
Enabling technology
MoneyText uses the Macalla Platform and agreements and connectivity between it and participating Ghanaian mobile operators (Onetouch, MTN and Tigo), a payment service provider and an SMS aggregator. The service is hosted by Macalla in Ireland.
MoneyText solutions contracted and for imminent deployment include cross-border cash remittance, bill payment and adding more donor (eg Germany, USA) and recipient (eg Nigeria, southern Africa) countries.
