Contact:

Jamie Motu’apuaka

Marketing, Digicel Tonga

Mobile: +676 877 1951

Email: Jamie.motuapuaka@digicelgroup.com

Digicel Tonga selected as a finalist for the Global Mobile Money Awards for the BEST Innovative Marketing Campaign

Thursday 6^th October – Nuku’alofa: A groundbreaking low cost international payment service was unveiled today by Digicel Tonga. The service offers an innovative, alternative method for Pacific Islands to send money to their families here inthe Kingdom, Fiji, and Samoa. Offering a market leading flat fee of just NZ$3 the service ensures more money makes it home. From www.digicelmobilemoney.com, family and friends in New Zealand can instantly direct money to any Digicel mobile phone in the three countries.

The innovative service is a safer and more convenient method to transfer money and with no bank account required by recipient. Money on the phone can be used as a mobile wallet to purchase food and household goods, pay bills, buy or send Digicel mobile credit, or withdraw cash. Purchases and cash withdrawals can be made in over 200 participating stores and service agents in Tonga. Recipients are required to verify their personal details by presenting a valid form of ID when withdrawing cash or at the point of registration to be a Mobile Money subscriber.

CEO, Stephen Bannon says: “Our large network, established footprint andproud record for reducing costs, make Digicel uniquely positioned to offer a real alternative to the traditional Store base remittance model.  Currently some money transfer operators are charging a massive 20% per transaction and thereby taking hard earned money / income from Pacific families.”

With over 300 service agents in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji,and having more locations then any bank or money transfer operator, making it easier for Pacific communities to safely receive money from their families living and working in New Zealand.

The new services complements ongoing initiatives to introduce competition and lower remittance fees by New Zealand’s ministry for Pacific Island Affairs and Ministry for Foreign Affairs, as well as AusAid, the World Bank and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Fund.

Tillman Bruett, Financial Inclusion Advisor and Project Manager, Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme says: “International remittances are a major source of financial security for households across the Pacific and a major contributor to the economic activity in many countries. Making remittance cheaper, and more convenient and faster will make a big difference in the lives of Pacific islanders with Digicel and their partners in this effort,”

Digicel Mobile Money international transfers are the result of partnership between Digicel Pacific Limited and KlickEx, a New Zealand-developed online currency exchange platform.

About Digicel

After nine years of operation, Digicel Group Limited has 11 million customers across its 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team.

Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti and Papua New Guinea which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

In 2004, Digicel developed Digicel Rising Stars – an annual talent show to support aspiring young music artists in the Caribbean. The show has spanned the Eastern Caribbean, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago ranking as one of the top-rated shows.

Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its markets comprise: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Nauru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu. Digicel also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barts in the Caribbean.

Visit www.digicelgroup.com  for more information.

ABOUT PFIP

The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP) is a Pacific-wide programme helping to provide sustainable financial services to low income households. It is funded by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and operates from the UNDP Pacific Centre.