International Mobile Banking Updates - Sept 25

Over 200 Attendees and 20 Speakers Confirmed for the 4th Annual Mobile Money Canada Conference
"The 4th Annual Mobile Money Canada Conference is this year‘s must attend event for mobile and financial sector professionals interested in learning from and networking with the leading mobile banking, mobile payments, and mobile money transfer pioneers from Canada and around the word. Mobile Money Canada 2012 is Canada‘s largest conference focused exclusively on showcasing and fostering the growth of the Mobile Money industry in Canada. The conference is almost sold out and occurs on September 25th, 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre."

Banks develop more services for mobile market
"Banks in Viet Nam are vying with each other to diversify their internet banking services in order to take advantage of people's increasing reliance on mobile electronic devices. According to data collected in a survey on internet usage in Viet Nam made in 2011 by Cimigo Viet Nam, which specialises in marketing and brand research, 60 per cent of the 5,800 people polled used mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablet PCs to connect to the Internet."

Mobile Banking And Payment Innovation In France
"France has been quick to embrace mobile banking. Banks like BNP Paribas and Société Générale were among the pioneers of mobile banking in Europe and since 2009, all of the big French banks have launched iPhone mobile banking apps, so most French banks now offer several forms of mobile banking. The first wave of mobile banking was about getting the basics down and offering customers functionality like balances, transaction histories and SMS alerts. The second wave now focuses on money transfers and payments."

Indigenous and ingenious: The roots of mobile banking in Africa
"In Ghana, it’s popularly known as susu. In Cameroon, tontines or chilembe. And in South Africa, stokfel. Today, you’d most likely call it plain-old microfinance, the nearest term we have for it. Age-old indigenous credit schemes have run perfectly well without much outside intervention for generations. Although, in our excitement to implement new technologies and solutions, we sometimes fail to recognise them. Innovations such as mobile banking – great as they may be – are hailed as revolutionary without much consideration for what may have come before, or who the original innovators may have been."

Now, you can buy gold, silver on mobile phone
"After enabling purchase of books and clothes among items, as well as internet banking and share market dealings, new mobile applications have been developed to allow consumers buy precious metals like gold and silver. With nearly 15 million mobile subscribers being added every month in the country, the mobile application market has emerged as a major growth area for developers and there are estimated to be about 2.5 lakh app developers in India alone."

RBI’s Dep Governor: Mobile Banking Has Great Potential, India is Moving Towards ‘Less-Cash’ Society
"Technology has played in important role in the evolution of banking in India. First there was ATMs then internet banking thus noting that local geographical bank branches are not as important when it comes to doing transactions. The question right now for banks is not about whether mobile banking is good for business but how to take advantage of this new trend in the banking industry. It is going to be about the evolution of better customer service, expanded product range, reducing operating expenses while enhancing revenue through mobile banking."

Celpay to invest $10mn in Africa
"Mobile banking and payment solution service provider, Celpay, plans to invest $10 million over the next five years to expand its operations in the southern African region. The company, which already has operations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the investment would increase its footprint in the fastest growing economies in southern Africa."

Mobile Remittances May Boost World’s CUs
"A new partnership between the World Council of Credit Unions and Boom Financial, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company that provides mobile banking and money transfer services to immigrant and unbanked families, could pump new life into credit unions in developing countries. Founded four years ago, Boom gives underbanked and unbanked consumers the ability to activate a Boom bank account, receive a prepaid card and transfer money to anyone in the world via a mobile transaction."

Jobs boom for mobile banking
"New jobs in mobile banking are expected to overtake those in internet banking for the first time this year, according to research from specialist financial services recruitment company BrightPool. In addition, the biggest growth in new jobs is expected to come in retail banking."

Mobile Phones Can Alleviate Global Poverty, But it Will Not Be Easy
"Despite the proven effectiveness of mobile banking in integrating significant portions of populations in developing countries to the financial system, two New America Foundation partners, Sascha Meinrath and Jamie M. Zimmerman, argue that this strategy is still an imperfect solution to financially include the poorest of the poor. M-PESA in Kenya, for example, has been heralded as an immense success with nearly 70% of the adult population using its e-transaction services, which has lead to positive results in related income generation."

The M-Banking Leader
"Would you believe a public sector bank is the leader in mobile banking? FY12 saw 25 million mobile transactions valued at over Rs 1,820 crore. Of these, State Bank of India (SBI) accounted for 81% by volume and 50% by value, while private sector ICICI Bank was a distant second accounting for 8.4% by volume and 33% by value. The balance, however, is proof of the wide gulf between private and public sector banks. There’s Central Bank of India with just 42 m-banking transactions, Dena Bank’s 481 and Allahabad Bank’s 782. In contrast, Citibank, HDFC and Axis Bank all clocked over 220,000 transactions."

For Text-Savvy Filipinos, Mobile Banking Is a Crucial Bridge
"For a long time, Lolita Singahan greeted paydays with a mix of relief and anxiety—relief, because it meant receiving money to cover her family’s expenses, and anxiety, because it meant she would need to spend an entire day traveling to the bank to get her paycheck. Although she makes about $800 a month, which is way above the minimum pay in the Zamboanga Peninsula region in Mindanao, Singahan still needs additional funds to support her children’s education. She has found refuge in the loan program of 1st Valley Bank for almost six years now."