Mobile Remittances: $55 Billion in 2016, or More?

Nearly $55 billion in international remittances will be sent using or received on mobile devices in 2016, up from less than $12 billion this year, Juniper Research now predicts.


Growth is currently being led by mobile remittances sent across established migration corridors such as the United States and Mexico, as well as intra-regional transfers across Africa and the Middle East, as migrant workers send money back home from foreign countries.

Mobile remittance forecast by Celent

However, substantial inter-regional and intra-regional activity from and within Western Europe will see this region account for the largest remittance volumes by the end of the forecast period. $55 billion in mobile remittances by 2016


In 2008, Celent estimated that remittances were sent by some 150 million people on a regular basis. By 2050, the number of immigrants worldwide is expected to increase to 280 million, leading to greater remittance volumes and transactions.

In 2006, formal and informal remittances were estimated to be around $450 billion, Celent estimated at the time. Big remittance market 

One of the big issues is how much share mobile remittances can take of the total remittance market. 

Mobile Wallet or Mobile Payment: What Wins in South Africa?

Sparring between contestants in competitive markets is not unusual. Neither are arguments that one or another approaches will not work, or that some approaches are "better." So it isn't unusual that a provider of one method argues the other methods "won't work" in a particular market


Standard Bank operates its own virtual currency "mimoney," which consists of a voucher number delivered to the recipient's cell phone using a text message. SMS. The bank has also teamed up with retailer Spar on a peer-to-peer money transfer service, in which SMS vouchers are redeemed at Spar stores throughout the country. 

Explosive growth in pre-paid money vouchers in South Africa has killed the mobile wallet as a viable payment instrument, says Herman Singh, CEO of Beyond Payments, a unit of Standard Bank.


Singh says that over R100 billion is generated in sales of prepaid airtime and electricity annually, while over 2.5 million money vouchers valued at over R4050 each, are created and redeemed every month in South Africa.

There are a couple of noteworthy angles here, including the use of a virtual currency mechanism and simple text messaging for communications, as well as the prepaid method of payment.

There is, to be sure, a clear argument that the leading developments in developed markets now are different than in developing markets. Mobile wallets and retail payments are bigger in developed markets because "banking and payments" are not "problems," while in developing markets these are key issues.

Likewise, the preferred communication technologies in developed markets are different from developing markets. Text messaging is ubiquitous for users of feature phones that are typical in developing markets. Other technologies are feasible in developed markets where smart phones rapidly are becoming the norm.

As a rule, mobile commerce, including both mobile payments and mobile wallet components, is a bigger issue in developed regions, while mobile banking--in particular remote payment--is a bigger opportunity in developing regions.

Pre-paid vouchers displace mobile wallet demand in South Africa