Mobile Finance Goes International?
Wizzit and First National Bank in South Africa are developing banking accounts that rely on mobile phones as a way to reach the unbanked population, and clients who just want the convenience of making payment without a trek to the bank. The technology still has a ways to go, and traditional banks need to re-examine their fee structures to make phone finance more attractive, suggests the magazine. But it sees great potential."If the transfer of money by mobile phone -- between countries as well as within them -- takes off, it could have implications far beyond the salons of Soweto. In 2005, according to the UNited Nations, global migrants remitted $232 billion, if which 20 percent was lost on the way, mostly in bank charges or fraud. If ceullular transfers could slash that figure mobile banking would prove a good call." Hmm, bank charges and fraud in the same sentence as major causes of loss.
