LONDON, March 4, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile Union Ltd announces the launch of its new online remittance service (http://www.mtxpress.com), mtxpress, which uses a secure SMS platform to provide a low-cost and convenient solution for people in the UK to send money to friends and family abroad.

According to the most recent DFID UK Remittance Market Report, the UK is one the top 10 remittance-originating countries worldwide, with approximately GBP2.4 billion recorded outward remittances annually from the UK to the developing world. Mobile Union is taking a new approach to remittance by focusing on a massive under-served market segment: people who want to send smaller amounts of money without being penalised with high fees. Mobile Union's service enables people to send money safely and securely from their home or workplace without the need to visit a retail location; immediately stripping out the costs in time and money associated with a retail infrastructure and passing on these savings to customers. After registration online, with a user-friendly, simple and easy interface, customers can then send money securely using their debit card. Within seconds, the recipient is notified by SMS message that money is available for collection, leveraging the ubiquitous reach of mobile phones throughout the developing world.

Steven Faulkner founder and Commercial Director of Mobile Union commented:mtxpress makes sending money home fast and convenient (http://www.mtxpress.com). A combination of simple pricing and exchange rates directly linked to the Central Bank rate makes it easy to understand the true cost of sending money home.

Security is of paramount importance to Mobile Union and there are multiple bank-grade security checkpoints for both the sender and recipient of the remittance, enabling customers to have certainty throughout the transaction lifecycle leading to complete peace of mind. In addition, Barclays Bank is providing the day-to-day banking and merchant services and Cybersource, the world's first online payment management company, processing debit card transactions.

This week's launch focuses on the UK to Bangladesh market, where Mobile Union has collaborated with BRAC Bank, one of the leading banks in Bangladesh. This partnership will enable recipients, without the requirement of a bank account, to utilise the bank's extensive network of locations across the country to receive money. However, it is also possible to credit accounts maintained at BRAC Bank.

This template is one that Mobile Union will continue to use as it rolls out its service to other parts of South East Asia and West Africa later this year, providing an accessible service to the underserved.

Speaking about the launch of the service, Randall Harper, CEO for Mobile Union said: The UK's remittance market continues to grow, but little attention has been given to people who want to send smaller amounts of money without incurring the high fees. Through our mtxpress service and its secure SMS platform, we are able to provide this under-served segment of the market with a world-class service that is convenient, instant and great value-for-money.

Notes to Editors:

About Mobile Union

- Mobile Union Ltd's service, mtxpress, is an online peer-to-peer remittance service and more information about the service can be viewed here: http://www.mtxpress.com - Transaction fees are all inclusive starting at GBP2 rising to a maximum of GBP6, - Foreign Exchange rates for the service to Bangladesh are linked directly to the official exchange rate set by the Central Bank in Bangladesh. - The mtxpress service is licensed by HMRC and registered with the FSA in the UK. mtxpress is approved by the Central Bank in Bangladesh, - mtxpress is reliable, safe and secure featuring bank grade security across the technology platform. Each remittance can be tracked online and money is only released to the recipient once identity verification and transaction authentication has taken place. - Confirmation is automatically emailed to the sender on collection of funds. - The mtxpress service is available on any mobile phone network and handset. - Bangladesh is one of the top ten mobile phone growth markets in the Asia-Pacific region. - A report released by Juniper Research indicates that consumer demand for mobile money transfer services will see users exceed 500 million globally by 2014, principally in developing countries. - Other sending countries will be added during 2010.

About BRAC Bank

- BRAC Bank Limited, with institutional shareholdings by BRAC, ShoreCap International and International Finance Corporation (IFC) has been the fastest growing bank in Bangladesh. It is the youngest bank in the country that started journey in 2001 and in just over 8 years has become the sixth largest Bank in Bangladesh. - The Bank operates under a double bottom line agenda where profit and social responsibility go hand in hand as it strives towards a poverty-free, enlightened Bangladesh. - A universal bank, BRAC Bank Ltd focuses on pursuing unexplored market niches in the Small and Medium Enterprise Business seector that hitherto has remained largely untapped within the country. The Bank is the largest SME Financier in Bangladesh, disbursing over BDT 100 billion to date to nearly 265,000 small and medium entrepreneurs. - BRAC Bank also has the largest online distribution network among private commercial banks in the country with 69 branches, 59 SME Service Centres, 179 ATMs, 429 SME unit offices and over 1,900 Remittance delivery points across the country serving over 800,000 customers. - BRAC Bank operation now cuts across all segments and services in financial industry and continues to broaden its horizon into Retail, Corporate, SME, Remittance and other arenas.

The mtxpress fee structure

mtxpress fee structure is simple to understand, fixed cost and all transaction fees are paid by the sender. No additional charges are made by Brac Bank.

- Sending GBP20 costs GBP2 - Sending GBP21 - GBP100 costs GBP3 - Sending GBP101 - GBP200 costs GBP5 - Sending GBP201 - GBP300 costs GBP6

SOURCE: Mobile Union Ltd

CONTACT: For more information, please contact: Bieneosa Ebite, Bright StarPublic Relations, Tel: +44-(0)203-212-2152, Mob: +44-(0)7958-044-321, Emailbieneosa.ebite@brightstarpr.net