According to a study published by the World Bank Development Research Group, more than half of the world’s population is unbanked. The majority of them live in developing countries such as Africa, where 80 percent of residents do not have a bank account.
In addition, if you review the Economic Commission for Africa you will notice that while 6 percent of Africans have a mobile phone, while only 0.03% own bank accounts. This is a clear indicator that this region is ready to embrace mobile banking with or without the need for credit cards.
In a recent news article, Mobile Payments Today reports that many organizations are trying to provide the unbanked with financial services thorough kiosks where they can cash checks, pay bills and transfer money in addition to offering mobile banking services that allow consumers to transfer money via smartphones.
This environment has allowed for Europe-based Genkiosk with its bill pay kiosks to expand in developing economies, or in any place where the recession is forcing consumers to pay bills at the last minute” said James Oladujoye, CEO of GWD Media, the makers of Genkiosk, to Mobile Payments Today.
Orange is another company targeting developing economies as it has recently announced that more than 4 million customers are now using Orange Money. Orange Money provides the unbanked with access to basic financial services via mobile devices.
Read the full story here.
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