Ooredoo : Expands Mobile Financial Services across its Footprint

Ooredoo : Expands Mobile Financial Services across its Footprint

01/13/2016 | 07:39am US/Eastern

Launch of AsiaHawala in Iraq Means Customers in Four Countries Now Benefit from Comprehensive Suite of Mobile Financial Services from Ooredoo

Doha, Qatar

Ooredoo is expanding mobile financial services (MFS) across its footprint, following the launch of AsiaHawala exclusively with Asiacell, part of Ooredoo Group, in December 2015.

AsiaHawala is the first-ever mobile money service provider to launch in Iraq, licenced by the Central Bank of Iraq. The service enables Asiacell customers to make a number of Mobile Money transactions on a daily basis, including money transfer, bill payments and airtime top-up.

AsiaHawala is currently available at 1,600 locations throughout all governates of Iraq.

With the launch of AsiaHawala, Ooredoo now offers mobile financial services in four markets - Qatar, Indonesia, Tunisia and Iraq - delivering daily services to nearly five million customers.

H.E. Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: 'Smart financial services have the potential to change people's lives, by offering access for the under-banked and providing customers with greater control over their money. Ooredoo is deploying a full range of innovative solutions to extend the range of mobile financial services across our footprint, and we're very proud that Asiacell has launched the first mobile money service licenced by the Central Bank of Iraq.'

Ooredoo is pursuing a targeted strategy of enhancing the range of mobile financial and mobile commerce solutions for consumers and for business customers across its markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, recognising the strong demand.

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About Ooredoo

Ooredoo is a leading international communications company delivering mobile, fixed, broadband internet and corporate managed services tailored to the needs of consumers and businesses across markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. As a community-focused company, Ooredoo is guided by its vision of enriching people's lives and its belief that it can stimulate human growth by leveraging communications to help people achieve their full potential. Ooredoo has a presence in markets such as Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Palestine, the Maldives, Myanmar and Indonesia. The company was named 'Most Innovative Company of the Year - MEA Region' at the 2015 International Business Awards.

The company reported revenues of US$ 9.1 billion in 2014 and had a consolidated global customer base of 114.9 million customers as of 30 September 2015. Ooredoo's shares are listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.