Mobile Banking Revolutionises Money Transfer in Africa
Mobile phones are revolutionising banking in Africa. In Kenya where many people do not have bank accounts the only way to send money from the cities to the rural areas is to hand it over to bus drivers who will drop it off on the way. Not very efficent or indeed secure. Even if you are lucky enough to have an account, the lack of branches and ATMs hinder access to money.
The dramatic growth of mobile phone use in Africa offers a solution to the banking problem. You can now transfer money by text rather than by bus driver. Orange Money is a pioneering service that lets people deposit cash through Orange’s network of local retailers who can send it to other registered Orange Money customers. It is even possible to withdraw money from your local store. I always knew people who worked for Orange shop were bankers, this is the proof. What is certain however, is that this is a really clever way of utlising current technology to deal with a real problem that affects millions.
Source: The Guardian
Mobile payment systems is going to be one of the biggest hits in africa for operators who truly connect to the everyday reality of the consumers. Me2u airtime sharing service has been elevated to a mobile remittance system among families and friends in most markets in the region.
The obvious next level is to progress this to a full-scale bank-supported, easy-to-use but very secure platform that make this another killer app
The success of MPesa in Kenya is a learning for us all