Chandigarh, June 1 (IANS) Residents of Punjab can now transfer money to another account in any part of the country by just sending an SMS through the central government’s Mobile Money Transfer Service (MMTS).
MMTS was launched in the Punjab and Chandigarh circle by union Minister of State for Home Affairs and Communications Gurudas Kamat here Wednesday.
The first transaction through MMTS was made by Kamat of an amount of Rs.1,000 from Chandigarh to Patna.
The service will be provided by the department of posts through its designated post offices in technological tie up with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
‘MMTS is a step towards the central government’s target of taking the benefit of economic growth of the country to the grassroots level. A connected Indian can enable the nation’s progress towards inclusive growth,’ said Kamat, while talking to reporters.
‘Customers can avail this facility by approaching any of the designated post offices and send the money to another person by simply getting a code. This code will be sent to the receiving post office through SMS and the recipient can get the money in just 10 minutes.’
Kamat said his ministry had planned to have 600 million mobile connections by 2012, but the target had already been exceeded by March 2010. At present, there are 850 million-plus mobile connections in the country, he pointed out.
Radhika Doraiswamy, secretary of the department of posts, said MMTS would be a great help to people working at distant places, particularly the migrant labourers.
‘This will also cut down the cost for transferring money. This service would facilitate money transfer through just sending a SMS. Every year, around nine crore money orders are being sent on postal network in the country and MMTS would certainly speed up the money transfer services,’ she added.
