AsiaHawala powered by Mahindra Comviva wins ‘Best mPayment Innovation’ award at the Smart Card & Payments Awards 2016


Friday, June 10, 2016 by Mahindra Comviva

AsiaHawala, Iraq's first mobile money service powered by Mahindra Comviva have been declared the 'Best mPayment Innovation' at the Smart Card & Payments awards 2016 ceremony, held recently in Dubai.

AsiaHawala, powered by Mahindra Comviva's mobiquity® Money, is the first mobile commerce service launched in Iraq. In war torn Iraq, rampant corruption in both the private and public sector banks have combined with the prevailing rudimentary banking infrastructure to leave huge segments of the population without any access to any banking facilities. AsiaHawala fills this gap by leveraging the ubiquity of the mobile to provide "remote payments" facility to the unbanked as well as the underbanked. Besides providing transactional security for a wide range of payment activities like bill payments, money transfers, merchant payments, salary disbursements and e-wallets, AsiaHawala has provided employment opportunities to small merchants by making them their agents, thus contributing to the GDP of Iraq.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Zring Faruk, CEO, AsiaHawala, said: "We're delighted to receive this award. AsiaHawala is filling the gaping hole left by the non- existing banking infrastructure in Iraq. By leveraging the near ubiquitous penetration of the mobile phones, we are providing ordinary citizens with mobile commerce facilities from the comfort of their homes. Recognition of this service at the prestigious Cards & Payments Conference means a lot to us. We will continue to provide superior and innovative services to the people of Iraq."

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kaustubh Kashyap, Vice President - Middle-East and North Africa, Mahindra Comviva, said: "We're delighted that AsiaHawala has received this award against the stiff competition from the other international wallet service providers. It reaffirms our strong leadership position in the industry when it comes to driving technological and functional innovations. It also validates our ability to cater to localized market needs and requirements with robust solutions. We will continue to invest in such technologies and deliver solutions to serve all the segments of the society - banked, under-banked and the unbanked. "

mobiquity® Money delivers a host of mobile commerce services that transforms the way consumers save, borrow, transfer and spend money. It is designed to seamlessly integrate consumer touch points with a wide ecosystem of banks, billers, merchants and third-party payment systems, creating a convergence powered by interoperability. Apart from delivering convenience to consumers, the solution enables service providers to acquire new customers, create long-term loyalty with existing ones, and seize new revenue opportunities to increase their footprint in the market. mobiquity® Money has clocked over 65 deployments in more than 45 countries with excess of 40 Million mobile wallet accounts (prepaid wallets/ stored value accounts) processing 200 million transactions valuing $4 billion per month.

Cards & Payments Middle East Conference is where the smart card, payments and identification experts from the Arab nations, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and across the globe meet. With 10,000+ attendees, including more than 1,000 CxOs, from 1,200 companies and 75 countries, Cards & Payments Middle East brings together the biggest global innovators, trailblazers and gurus that have exploded onto the payments landscape in recent years. Now in its 17th year, it is the largest and one of the most prestigious events in the Middle East.