Mobile money shifting scheme announced

The mobile industry is clubbing together to launch its very own mobile remittance service, which promises to allow migrant workers to send money from one country to another at the same speed as a text message.

The first trial will see MasterCard and the GSM Association (GSMA) team up to test the service for six months next year.

The service is aimed at migrant workers remitting money to low-spending mobile users in rural areas without access to traditional banking, a market the GSMA believes will hit 1.6 billion users in the coming years.

Users sending money will be informed by text message when their money has been sent and has been received, while the recipients will be able to get hold of the cash via prepaid or debit MasterCard products.

Trials are scheduled to take place on two continents, Europe and Asia, with a view to an eventual worldwide launch. Several operators including Telenor and Vodafone are planning to take part.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, head of the Bharti Enteprises Group which owns the Indian operator Airtel, said: "This is available, this is doable and it must be done... After SMS, this will be the next big thing."

The mobile industry may be hoping to take a slice of a market thought to be worth more than $250bn in 2005 - but operators are stressing they are not aiming to enter the world of financial services.

Rob Conway, chairman of the GSMA, said: "We are not in conflict with the banks."