[UgaBYTES] Re : Fwd: [ciresearchers] Mobile banking the answer for Africa

[Paul BARERA]

Hi Sulah,

Thank you very much for sharing ugabytes visions with us.
This is indeed a good strategy that has potential to promote not only financial
inclusion in rural areas but also has positive financial implications on
Ugabytes and individuals Telecentres. With my 6 years of experience in
Telecentre movement I have learnt that a Telecentre or Network cannot survive
with donor money only. It is time to think beyond donors and come up with
innovations that address both rural development and Telecentre/Networks
sustainability challenges. As the rural areas in Africa are still virgin in almost all
sectors this gives hope to people who have good brain to create succeful social ventures . 

Paul

Paul BARERA

Tel:+2500788352325

skype:pbarera

Po.Box 6 NYAMATA

KIGALI-RWANDA

--- En date de : Mer 25.11.09, Ndaula Sulah <ndaulasula at ugabytes.org> a écrit :

De: Ndaula Sulah <ndaulasula at ugabytes.org>
Objet: [UgaBYTES] Fwd: [ciresearchers] Mobile banking the answer for Africa
À: "ugabytes" <ugabytes at lists.ugabytes.org>, "Tanzania Telecentre Network" <telecentre-tz at dgroups.org>
Date: Mercredi 25 Novembre 2009, 12h34

Might be of interest to know | Sulah

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Smiley <smiley at siyafundactc.org.za>
Date: Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 4:58 AM
Subject: [ciresearchers] Mobile banking the answer for Africa
To: "ci-research-sa at vcn.bc.ca" <ci-research-sa at vcn.bc.ca>, "
ci-researchers at vancouvercommunity.net" <ciresearchers at vancouvercommunity.net
>



Mobile banking the answer for Africa
Wednesday, 25 November 2009, 10:30

Globally, mobile banking will become three times more popular than
traditional banking by 2011 and MXit, the mobile social network and instant
messenger, is poised to offer banks in Africa a safe, seamless transaction
platform that eliminates entry barriers like data costs and safety.

Jaco Hattingh, CEO of MXit Africa, predicts that in Africa, where there are
over 300-million adults with no access to financial services, there will be
a mass move from traditional banking services, that offer savings and cheque
accounts, to those that allow for person-to-person transactions through
mobile devices.
“According to Gartner, 73-million transactions are expected for 2009.
However there is room for further growth if we overcome challenges like
financial literacy in developing countries, as well as trust issues involved
with mobile technology and the related costs of accessing the internet via a
mobile phone,” says Hattingh.
“This is where MXit comes in. The low data costs of operating a mobile
social network and instant messenger allows banks to deliver mobile banking
solutions that cost a fraction of the cost of normal data downloads through
traditional mobile internet platforms.  We have proven that this can work
through the transactional platforms that we’ve provided on MXit for two of
South Africa’s leading banks. We’ve offered First National Bank (FNB) and
Standard Bank clients the ability to do mobile banking solutions via MXit,”
Hattingh adds.
Any FNB account holder can purchase MXit Moola (MXit’s virtual currency) for
friends and family in a cost effective and safe manner via the MXit
platform. Traditionally, Moola could only be purchased by means of a FNB
credit card or a premium rated SMS. The Standard Bank mimoney payment method
is for individuals who would like to transact on a website or mobi-site, but
do not have access to a credit card. mimoney clients can now buy MXit Moola
via mimoney without having to use a credit card.
These products are designed to meet the needs of the mobile-savvy market.
 40% of the South African population, even though it is considered the most
developed banking country in Africa, do not have access to a bank account.
“Mobile phones present an opportunity to provide quality banking solutions
for all. In developing countries like Africa, with a huge unbanked market,
innovative banking and payment services like these could provide the first
step towards breaking out of the poverty trap for low-income individuals.
While in developed markets it simply means convenience for an increasingly
mobile lifestyle,” says Hattingh.
The challenges of increased access to mobile banking are clear - however by
working with platforms such as MXit these challenges can be overcome by
offering clients access to a cost effective mobile banking application that
is available anytime, anyplace.  The mobile banking model is based on
serving all income groups: teenagers, students, business, high net worth
individuals and the informal sector are all able to access financial
services via their mobile phones.
The banking industry’s growth in the African informal market is further
aggravated by the tough anti-money laundering regulations set by governments
which require proof-of-identity documents to be presented at a bank branch.
Presenting these documents, in order to open an account, can often be
prohibitively expensive for low-income customers.
“We believe that our transaction platform is an opportunity for all
developing markets, not only Africa. Currently there are 4-billion mobile
phones, but only 1,6-billion bank accounts. There is an enormous opportunity
to reach the unbanked by means of mobile banking that is driven by MXit’s
transaction platform. Developing countries are short of both physical banks
and internet outlets, so banking from mobile phones is the logical
solution,” Hattingh adds.



-- 
Executive Director
UgaBYTES Initiative
Tel: +256414370163
Mob: +256712314969
Skype: sulah.ndaula
Yahoo: ndaulasula
Email: ndaulasula@
(ugabytes.org,yahoo.co.uk or gmail)
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