Banorte and Rev Launch MiFon, First Out-of-the-Branch Mobile-Based Financial Services Program Aimed at Millions of Underserved Mexicans

USA - English

• Latin America - español

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Banorte, Mexico's third largest bank, and Rev Worldwide, a payment solutions company, announced the launch of a new financial services program explicitly designed to foster financial inclusion among individuals with limited access to basic financial services, leveraging non-traditional channels of acquisition, proprietary mobile payments technology and a robust debit card program platform.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111109/DA01854LOGO-b)

Banorte's strategic alliance with Rev Worldwide has delivered a unique program that combines a deposit account with the bank linked to a MasterCard debit card, with unique mobile payments functionality open to Mexico's leading carriers, and a nationwide network of bank agents including Telecomm Telegrafos, a government operated retail agent network offering communication and financial services to Mexicans nationwide.

On the launch of this program, Hector Abrego, Senior Vice President of Alternate Channels with Grupo Financiero Banorte, stated, "MiFon will become Banorte's key program to increase the penetration of banking services in our country.  It will allow a large segment of Mexicans who still do not have access to financial services to get close to a bank for the very first time."

Roy Sosa, CEO of Rev Worldwide, added, "MiFon represents our company's mission to empower customers worldwide with the affordable and relevant financial services they need, taking our best practices from around the world and many years of product development in this area."

In addition to enjoying the benefits of MasterCard acceptance across a network of over 30 million merchants and hundreds of thousands of ATMs worldwide, MiFon users will also be able to withdraw funds at any of the more than 6,200 Banorte ATMs, and send money from one account to another one using their mobile phone. Gradually, a variety of new services will be introduced, including mobile top-ups.

All mobile functionalities will be available via SMS text messages given that this technology is widely used by most Mexicans. The first stage of the launch, jointly with Telecomm Telegrafos, will start this month in the State of Oaxaca, and will be rolled out nationally during the first quarter of 2012.

With this new program, Banorte and Rev ratify their commitment to deliver financial services to all Mexicans.

About Banorte
www.banorte.com

About Rev Worldwide

Founded by prepaid debit industry pioneers Roy and Bertrand Sosa, Rev Worldwide is a global payments company dedicated to driving the widespread availability of financial services in underserved markets around the world. Rev helps partners rapidly and effectively access hard-to-reach markets and enables underserved consumers to make affordable, safe and convenient financial transactions. Rev's full range of integrated mobile and prepaid card solutions – including Rev-branded, co-branded and affinity products – are issued by banks, powered by its multi-language, multi-currency processing platform, and delivered by partners and Rev directly to consumers through its growing retail network. Rev is headquartered in Austin, Texas and operates in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, and is a member of the MPOWER Ventures investment portfolio. Learn more at www.revworldwide.com.

SOURCE Rev Worldwide