NatWest launch international money transfers via mobile phone

As the festive season gets into full swing, NatWest announced that it is making it even easier for its Polish Welcome Account customers to send money home to spend over the Christmas period.
The introduction of commission-free international mobile phone payment transfers between customers' current accounts in the UK and their PKO BP accounts in Poland is a first for a UK Bank. This means that Welcome Account customers can now benefit from money transfers with the added convenience of making them from their mobile phone.

Although the service will initially only be for NatWest Welcome Account customers, NatWest expects to extend the service to other countries, allowing NatWest customers to transfer money back to their home country whenever and wherever they wish.

To make a money transfer, customers simply use the NatWest Mobile Phone Banking service on their mobile phone. Customers can sign up for the service using a secure website and the international money transfer service is automatically available once the customer has completed the enrolment and security process.

Roy Vella, Group Director of Mobile comments: "Mobile phone banking is the fastest growing banking channel in the world, and NatWest is committed to being at the forefront of this exciting phenomenon.

Our research shows that the Polish community in the UK sends home a staggering £1 billion each year. We recognise that our customers want to move this money as cost effectively, securely and conveniently as possible, and often when they are on the move. With this in mind, we think they will really benefit from this innovative new service, especially at a time when they will want to access their finances back home at Christmas.

Whilst this service will initially only be available to our NatWest Welcome Account customers, we will be looking to develop the mobile phone payment service for our other customers in due course."

The service is provided in association with Monilink, the mobile money people that provide mobile banking services to customers in partnership with NatWest.

John Milliken, managing director of Monilink added: "The mobile phone is the ideal way to control personal transactions such as money transfers to friends and family overseas. By being the first to bring this level of control to their Polish customers, NatWest has once again demonstrated its commitment to providing customers with even more control over their money, wherever and whenever they require."