Mobile phone banking has taken off in a number of African nations and mobile financial services in the developing world could be worth 5 billion US dollar by 2012, say analysts according to BBC online Monday.
CGAP – a consortium that works to expand financial services in developing countries – said the growth in mobile coverage was helping to fuel growth. More than one billion people in the developing world have access to a mobile phone, but no bank account.
In February 2009, Bill Gates pledged 12,5 million dollar to help the worlds poor access banking services. The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) estimates that the number of people with access to a mobile phone, but no bank account, would to rise to 1,7 billion in 2012.
Mark Pickens, microfinance analyst at CGAP said that mobile operators were ideally placed to launch mobile banking services in the developing world as banks were unlikely to put in the huge investment required to set up branches across a country.
One of Africas first mobile banking system, M-Pesa, was launched in Kenya in March 2007. A network of more than 7.000 agents – mostly shopkeepers – was set up to take deposits and issue cash, with users authorising payments on their mobile phone using a Pin code.
