MER Group Telecom Division Successfully Delivers Mobile Financial Services to Ivory Coast Postal Services

HOLON, Israel, November 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Mobile FinaGate provides La Poste with a complete MFS platform as well as consultancy services to help establish an MFS eco-system

MER Group (C. MER Industries Ltd.), a world leader in digital communication infrastructure for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), today announced that its telecom division has successfully delivered its Mobile FinaGate solution to La Poste, a crown corporation in Côte d'Ivoire that provides traditional post office services with the exception of postal banking services. The solution has been branded locally as m-Poste.

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The Mobile FinaGate will provide La Poste with a complete MFS platform that incorporates a range of functionalities and services that include the creation of m-accounts, deposits and withdrawals, P2P money transfers, m-commerce, bill payments, top-up services, account management function and budget management for government agencies. In addition, the Mobile FinaGate offers several unique features that enable La Poste to effectively enlarge the eco-system of MFS users. These include a variety of access methods for smart phones and features phones as well as web access, multi-language, multi-currency and multi-account functionalities, fully hosted services with a "pay-as-you-grow" approach and embedded security elements.

MER Telecom Division acted as a trusted advisor providing consultancy services to help grow the MFS eco-system and, together with La Poste, successfully negotiated cooperation agreements with local bank and cellular operators. La Poste will enlist two government organizations within the Ministry of Education to implement the Mobile FinaGate Secure Budget Management service and intend to engage the craftsmen organization to adopt m-Poste as their main means of financial transactions.

"Over 90% of the population in Côte d'Ivoire has access to a mobile phone, but only 14% have access to financial services,"says Oz Ovady, CEO of the Telecom Division. "La Poste has recognized the huge potential for mobile financial services in reaching this unbanked population. They have a strong presence nationwide and aim at securing approximately 10% of mobile phone users as MFS users within the next five years."

This number can be significantly higher with the recruitment of government agencies and organizations using Mobile FinaGate's unique Secure Budget Management services. These services offer full transparency and improve fraud prevention though the use of dedicated money and dedicated budget transfer for the correct dispersal of funds.

In addition to Mobile Financial Services (MFS), the division provides a wide range of innovative solutions including telecom infrastructure, M2M enablement and vertical market applications, Cloud Billing, MVNO enablement, Smart City, as well as on/off board and remote/contactless payment solutions for public transport operators.

About MER Group

Established in 1948, the MER Group maintains a diversified portfolio of over a dozen subsidiaries focusing on three main sectors - telecom, security and CleanTech - while investing in other areas including satellite communications, biotechnology and materials science. Publicly traded (TASE: CMER) since 1992, MER Group has a substantial global footprint with approximately 40 offices around the world employing over 1200 people. For more information visit http://www.mer-group.com

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SOURCE MER Group Telecom Division