Asiacell partners with Amwal for financial services

Iraqi telecom company Asiacell yesterday announced a strategic partnership with Amwal, a consortium of banks in the country. Under the partnership, prepaid users of Asiacell will be able to access commercial banking transactions through their mobile phones, an official statement said.

By deploying a mobile banking system in co-operation with Amwal, Asiacell will enable its prepaid customers to use their handsets to directly purchase airtime, buy goods and services from registered merchants, check their bank account balances, and make mobile-to-mobile and bank account-to-bank account money transfers.

All transactions will be linked directly with subscribers' bank accounts at Amwal member banks, using a highly secure and reliable transaction system.

Commenting on this pioneering step, Dr Diar Ahmed, CEO, Asiacell, said: "Our ultimate goal is to provide all Iraqis with access to affordable banking services by leveraging Asiacell's extensive national network."

He described the partnership as "Asiacell's and Amwal's combined efforts towards bridging the information gap and one that constitutes a major leap in developing Iraq's technological capacity and corresponds with our national goals of helping advance the telecom sector in the country."

Atheer Al Qadhi, CEO, Amwal, said: "Banks across the globe are seeking new solutions to reach emerging markets and shift market share from cash to electronic transactions. This is a step in the same direction."

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