The expansion services 40,000 agent locations in the United States. This program is following a pilot offered from select California and Hong Kong agent locations to 40 million Philippines Smart Communcations phone users.

“Providing consumer choice is a foundational element of MoneyGram’s core value proposition to our consumers,” said Justin Monk, director of consumer products at MongeyGram Americas, Denver. “Essentially, any way a person wants to send money and any way a person wants to receive money is where we want to be.

“Mobile as an emerging financial payments platform delivers on this promise,”  he said. “For a consumer, the ability to manage their finances on their terms—whenever and wherever they want to, is a valuable asset and one that MoneyGram will support.”

MoneyGram is a provider of money transfer services to help consumers safely send money around the world with funds arriving at available agent locations.

The network is comprised of 190,000 agent locations in more than 190 countries and territories.

Show me the money
MoneyGram is currently in discussions with various wireless carriers to introduce mobile programs in other regions of the world.

The company is aiming to service more agent locations with countries in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.

Here is a screen grab of the agent locator:

“The ability to load funds into a mobile wallet is an important part of this strategy,” Mr. Monk said. “Specifically in the Philippines, our partnership with Smart allows 40 million subscribers the ability to receive MoneyGram remittances directly into the Smart Money accounts.

“This provides a more convenient and safe option for receiving their funds,” he said.

In December MoneyGram joined with Smart to deliver funds from a MoneyGram agent location direct to any Smart Money account.

Mozido, a mobile technology provider, currently supplies the transaction service to link MoneyGram’s services to Smart mobile phones.

“Mobile Payments, as it pertains to remittance, is still in its infancy,” Mr. Monk said. “Providers throughout the value chain are exploring numerous opportunities in search of the right combination of features and services at the right price point for consumers.”

Last year, MoneyGram partnered with Poste Italiane and Poste Mobile’s exclusive technology to introduce mobile money transfers send services in Italy.

This service provides a mobile interface for consumers to transfer funds from their mobile phone to recipients collecting funds at any MoneyGram agent location.

In an effort to continue its ongoing expansion, MoneyGram has targeted several developing countries where agents are difficult to establish and where mobile services are especially helpful.

“We see continued exploration and investment in the market as providers bring new services to the market place,” Mr. Monk said.

“For MoneyGram, we provide a very elemental, but necessary function in the mobile payments space—the ability to easily get cash in and cash out of the mobile ecosystem.

“This is our core business and we view the MoneyGram remittance service as a foundation and component of any mobile financial ecosystem,” he said.