HyperWallet Systems Inc. has launched hyperRemit, an international SMS remittance service enabling money transfers from Canada to the Philippines.

HyperRemit lets Canadians send funds to recipients in the Philippines using a variety of secure remittance options, starting from $6.00 (Canadian dollars) per transfer. Through hyperRemit, Canadians can transfer funds via bank deposit, cash pickup and door-to-door delivery or soon via Smart Money transfers and prepaid airtime top-ups.

Transfers can be initiated over the phone or through SMS, and funds are typically available to Philippine recipients within one business day.

With the upcoming Smart Money transfer option, remittances can be sent to any subscriber’s mobile phone and accompanying reloadable Smart Money MasterCard cash card, providing them with access to their funds.

Mobile Commerce Daily’s Dan Butcher interviewed David Evans, marketing and communications manager at hyperWallet Systems, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Here is what he had to say:

What is the current state of mobile remittance, and what is its potential?
Mobile payments, money transfers and remittances are a rapidly growing market for both wireless carriers and financial institutions, particularly in regions like Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Services like M-PESA in Kenya, Smart Money and G-Cash in the Philippines highlight the value these services continue to provide to banked and unbanked demographics in these countries, bringing financial services to previously untapped markets via the mobile handset.

Researchers and analysts have forecast high growth in this market, and there are numerous mobile money transfer initiatives in development or currently being deployed worldwide.

We believe the future for mobile remittances is bright, and will continue to evolve as financial services become increasingly ubiquitous across the mobile handset, particularly in the context of global migration.

What is hyperWallet’s strategy behind the launch the mobile Canada-Philippines remittance service?
The hyperRemit service provides Canadians and Filipinos with a low-cost, quick and convenient way to remit funds to friends and family in the Philippines, using a variety of remittance options via their mobile handset.

The two major advantages of hyperRemit for this demographic are price and convenience.

The $6.00 price point is one of the lowest in the Canadian market, making hyperRemit one of the most cost-effective international remittance services in Canada.

The ability to send cross-border remittances via SMS text message or by calling live telephone agents makes the service extremely convenient—no need to visit remittance locations or offices.

In 2011, we intend to support online money transfers, enabling senders to transfer funds via the Web as well.

Thus, at its core, hyperRemit is a disruptive cross-border mobile remittance service compared to traditional methods, such as visiting a money transfer operator or remittance outlet.

The low price point is designed to save senders money, and provide them the convenience of remitting funds quickly and easily from home or while on the go.

Depending on the remittance option used, funds are typically available to Philippine recipients within one business day.

Filipino Canadians rely on text messaging to stay in touch with loved ones. Now they can use the same mechanism to remit funds back home.

Through hyperRemit, we are introducing a new paperless and agentless model for the remittance industry – a model that strengthens community relationships, rewards loyalty, and dramatically lowers the cost for senders.

What is the target demographic for hyperRemit?
Canadian Filipinos, or Canadians that need to send money to recipients in the Philippines.

HyperRemit is a consumer-facing brand and service. The hyperRemit service is built on hyperWallet’s payments technology platform and existing banking network infrastructure.

HyperRemit leverages these capabilities to enable rapid and low-cost electronic remittances to the Philippines for Canadian consumers.

With hyperRemit, we are providing a true cross-border mobile remittance service from Canada, which we believe will significantly benefit both sender and recipient at both a price-point and ultimately, convenience level.

HyperWallet’s platform enables corporate and business customers to cost-effectively distribute payments 100 percent electronically to global recipients in 40 countries worldwide, in 20 currencies, using multilingual Web and mobile applications in 12-plus languages.

These flexible payment distribution capabilities provide a significant cost and time-savings compared to traditional checks and wire transfers, and enhance the payments experience for the recipient.

HyperWallet’s integration with mobile money transfer services such as Smart Money in the Philippines and M-PESA in Kenya ensure that corporate customers can take advantage of such remittance corridors, through our networks.

In this regard, corporate customers can leverage the same hyperWallet technology behind the hyperRemit service, to solve their global payment challenges.

Final Take
Dan Butcher, associate editor, Mobile Commerce Daily