Vodafone M-Pesa to Facilitate Monthly Remittances to Pensioners in Haryana

• Government of Haryana ties up with Vodafone M-Pesa to ensure timely and transparent digital transfer of monthly disbursement to pensioners

• Pilot project for disbursement on in 5 villages

• Total pension of Rs. 10,29,000 was provided to the beneficiaries in the pilot districts

Vodafone India, one of India's leading telecommunication service providers, today announced its partnership with the Government of Haryana to facilitate mobile-based disbursement of monthly social security pension. The initiative, activated through Vodafone M-Pesa, Vodafone's mobile money transfer and payment service has been carried out as a pilot initiative, covering 868 beneficiaries at five villages in Karnal and Mahendragarh districts in Haryana.

Operated under the Government of India's pension scheme, Vodafone India's M-Pesa has been identified as the most suitable partner to facilitate digital transfer of financial disbursements to pensioners in Haryana, offering a safe and secure mechanism to transfer funds.

Earlier government used to disburse the pension via Sarpanch of village. He used to share the list of all beneficiaries in his village with the government officials. Accordingly, the total amount for all these beneficiaries used to get transferred in to his account and then was disburse to concerned people.

Vodafone M-Pesa has now added ease to the life of beneficiaries and proved to be a more convenient and authentic mode of transferring pension.

With the induction of Vodafone M-Pesa, beneficiaries with any active mobile number can directly receive payment of the pension. They get intimated via SMS, mentioning the amount of the pension, the withdrawal code and the withdrawal procedure. They can then withdraw the amount by simply authorizing the transaction with the withdrawal code at a nearby Vodafone M-Pesa retail outlet.

Expressing satisfaction at the successful implementation of the pilot social security pension disbursement project in Haryana, Suresh Sethi, Business Head - M-Pesa, Vodafone India said, "With the presence of 2894 outlets in Haryana, especially in small towns and villages, Vodafone M-Pesa is well on its way to being the partner of choice to the Government in its financial inclusion projects ‎and disbursal of remittances for key government programmes. For Government transfers, Vodafone M Pesa is a speedy and transparent mechanism with no leakages. We are delighted to partner with the Govt. of Haryana for monthly pension disbursement, significantly adding to the ease and convenience of pensioners in unbanked areas. As a part of our commitment to partner the Government's agenda to promote progress in the state and we would like to scale up this initiative to cover more and more towns and villages in the state, over the coming months.''

Added, Tejinder Khurana, Business Head- Haryana, Vodafone India, "It has been our constant endeavor to deliver and bring world class service experiences to the citizens of Haryana. The Vodafone M-Pesa partnership with the state Government is one such initiative which will fulfill the need for a simple, timely, cashless money transfer system to beneficiaries, by bridging the gap between pensioners and the bank."

Vodafone M-Pesa is an innovative, safe and secure mobile wallet which enables complete suite of services like money transfer, bill payments, and recharge on the move from the mobile. It caters to all segments of the society, from the unbanked to the under banked and to the net-savvy and evolved customers. Today, with a pan-India distribution of over 90,000 agents and more than 3 million customers, Vodafone M-Pesa is the largest banking correspondent in the country and is playing a vital role in enabling financial inclusion and m-commerce.

About Vodafone India:

Vodafone India is a fully owned subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc., which is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies. Making its entry into India in 2007, Vodafone today has built an ever growing, robust business in highly price sensitive and competitive market. Serving over 185 million customers, Vodafone provides innovative, customer friendly and differentiated products and services through a wide scale distribution and exclusive retail footprint - backed up with a modern, technologically advanced network for both voice and data.

Vodafone Business Services, the enterprise arm of Vodafone, provides total telecommunications solutions across both mobility and wireline platforms and enables Global Enterprises, National Corporates, SME's and Government segments to communicate, collaborate and connect. With the advantage of its global expertise and knowledge of local markets, Vodafone India is well poised to significantly expand the Governments capacity to deliver benefits and outcomes for citizens, governments and businesses. Vodafone endeavours to be a steadfast partner in the Government's efforts towards Digital India.

Vodafone India provides customers with a new currency in the form of M-Pesa, the world renowned mobile wallet and money transfer service. Vodafone M-Pesa is an innovative, safe and secure mobile wallet that enables complete suite of services like money transfer, bill payments, and recharge on the move from the mobile. It caters to all segments of the society, from the unbanked to the under banked and to the net-savvy and evolved customers. Today, with a pan-India distribution of over 90,000 agents and more than 3 million customers, Vodafone M-Pesa is the largest banking correspondent in the country and is playing a vital role in enabling financial inclusion and m-commerce.

A value based organization; Vodafone is committed to achieving the highest standards of Health, Safety and Well-being for its employees and business partners. As a responsible corporate, Vodafone India has been working with several partners from the social sector to address some of India's most pressing challenges over the years. Sustainability for us is an ongoing journey as we firmly believe that what is good for the society is good for business. The Vodafone Foundation too is actively engaged in CSR by harnessing the potential of mobile services and technology to maximise impact within communities, especially in the domains of m-Women, m-Agriculture, m-Education and Disaster Relief.

Vodafone is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 55 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 30 June 2015, Vodafone had 449 million mobile customers and 12 million fixed broadband customers. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com.

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For Further Information, please contact:

Vodafone India | [email protected]

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