Reliance Money, the financial products distribution company of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, unveiled the new brand identity for Travelmate Services, which will now be known as Reliance Money Express. Reliance also announced major business plans for its money changing services and full-fledged money transfer business.
Travelmate Services, a part of Kuoni Group, was acquired by Reliance in November 2006 and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital. The company has been in the money transfer Services (MTS) and full-fledged money changing (FFMC) business in the country since 1993.
“This new name and brand identity will bring sharper focus and align the MTS and FFMC business more closely, with the core business of financial distribution being carried out by Reliance Money. Reliance Money Express will significantly benefit from the rapidly expanding footprint of Reliance Money across the country,” said Sudip Bandyopadhyay, director and CEO, Reliance Money, who unveiled the new brand in Bangalore in the presence of Christina Gold, worldwide CEO of Western Union, and her team.
Elaborating on the potential of the MTS business in India, Bandyopadhyay said, “India is the largest recipient of global remittance, at around $27 billion, which is more than 10 per cent of the total global remittance inflow of $240 billion. This is continuously rising due to labour migration and increasing wages. Reliance Money Express is among the largest partners of Western Union in the country, and we will be now aggressively expanding our reach in the non-metro and even tier1 and II cities.”
Currently, Reliance Money Express operates through a network of 3,400 outlets spread over 800 cities and towns across India, and handling close to 100,000 transactions per month, with a daily average inward remittance of USD1.4 million.
Giving details of the FFMC business, Bandyopadhyay said, “The total forex and currency market size in India is around $7 billion, and the same is growing at a CAGR of 20 per cent per annum. We see immense potential in these businesses, considering that availability of these services is very limited in the country.”
“Our business plan will be to compete aggressively with the existing established players in these two businesses and provide cost effective, convenient and secure transactions to our customers. We plan to double our existing market share and volumes in the next few years,” Bandyopadhyay asserted.
Reliance Money Express has plans to take financial products to over 5,000 tehsils across India and is using distribution mechanisms like kiosks and online selling. As many as 10,000 kiosks and a network of 10,000 retail outlets are proposed to be set up by the year-end. The company will also forge alliances with various corporate houses and travel firms.
