The functionality, offered by CPNI's person to person mobile payment solution PATsend, enables Financial Institutions to attract new customers with an entirely new service.  PATsend is complemented by CPNI's family of bank-centric mobile commerce solutions, including PATbuy which enables mobile purchases from merchants and PATbank which provides a full suite of mobile banking services.

The ability to bring a unique payment service to millions of mobile phone users currently without banking access or who have not yet established any form of banking relationship, presents the opportunity for Financial Institutions to acquire new customers and the lucrative fees from cross selling they bring.  Recipients who have bank accounts but who are not yet registered users of the PAT system can also receive money, further promoting the viral growth of the service.

To send money to an unbanked person, the sender simply enters the recipient's mobile phone number on their own mobile phone.  One time passcodes are supplied to both the sender and recipient. When the recipient presents these passcodes to any agent in the network, along with their mobile phone number, the agent can identify the sending institution and the specific transaction involved. Networked agents can be grocery stores, convenience stores, department stores or ATMs configured for cardless cash withdrawals. Through a web interface provided by their bank, the agent provides the recipient's credentials to the sending institution and once validated, receives real time confirmation that funds are being transferred to their account.  Funds are disbursed to the recipient by the agent.

The power to send money to unregistered recipients, people who have not yet registered for the service or people whose Financial Institution does not yet offer the service, also enables Financial Institutions to draw potential customers into the branch.

PATsend is compatible with open standards such as the SEPA ISO 20022 messages format.

"PATsend's international reach, combined with the cost efficiencies and ubiquity of mobile technologies, delivers the kind of services Financial Institutions and migrant workers are looking for," said Patrick Bird, CPNI President and CEO. "There is a tremendous opportunity in this market. The World Bank forecast for global remittances in 2008 is $375 billion USD and the GSMA estimates the global remittance market to grow to more than $1 trillion USD by 2012."