MasterCard and Indosat Give 60M Indonesians Access To Electronic Payments

Indonesian mobile operator Indosat is making it easier and more secure for Indonesians working abroad to send money back home to family and friends by adding the MasterCard-backed HomeSend service to its offerings, the telco said this week.

The international remittance service will simplify transferring money among Indosat’s 60 million subscribers, according to an Indosat press release.

The World Bank estimates that Indonesians abroad will send a total of $7.5 billion back to Indonesia in 2014. In a separate estimate, the International Fund of Agricultural Development, a United Nations agency, predicts that 6.5 million Indonesians will make remittance payments this year.

Indosat will offer the service through its Dompetku Mobile Money Platform, Indonesia’s largest mobile money network, which is available at 24,000 locations throughout Indonesia.

HomeSend, a joint venture between MasterCard, eServGlobal and BICS, lets consumers transfer money to and from mobile money accounts, payment cards, bank accounts or cash outlets, regardless of their location or that of the recipient. The service is specifically designed for cross-border and cross-network remittances.