International Mobile Banking Updates - May 1

Mobile Banking Outpaces Traditional Banking in Kenya
"Kenya’s mobile networks last year collectively held more in deposits than the country’s largest bank. The telecoms regulator CCK reported the mobile networks held Sh226 billion ($2.70 billion) in deposits at the end of last year while the largest commercial bank held Sh223 billion ($2.66 billion). The report said the number of mobile money transfer subscribers grew to 21.1 million from 19.3 million in the previous period, a growth of 9.4 percent."

Absa banking app sees impressive uptake
"Absa‘s banking app, which launched on 10 April 2013, has already been downloaded over 50,000 times, the bank has announced. The bank’s app is the last to market out of SA’s big four banks, though according to Absa, it is the first native financial services app for smartphones and tablets in South Africa that is available for both retail and business customers alike. Customers can link multiple devices to a single account or conversely multiple accounts can be linked to a single device."

Mobile commerce is at an inflection point: Bipin P Singh, CEO, Mobikwik
"What kind of services does Mobikwik offer? Mobikwik is a digital (mobile/web) closed wallet services provider. Adding money to the wallet allows users to make payments for products/services in one click via the mobile app, via the website or via a SMS or by dialing a number. Mobikwik can helps to make payments for things like recharging mobiles and pay bills in India across - prepaid and post-paid mobiles, television and DTH, data cards, broadband/landline phones, electricity, gas and insurance. A vast majority of our wallet users use the mobile (SMS, IVR or Android App) for making their payments. Mobikwik currently boasts of about two million customers and adding nearly 200,000 users every month and and do 30,000 transactions per day, most of them via the mobile."

Mukuru launches mobile prepaid debit card in South Africa
"Mukuru.com has just announced the launch of a new cellphone based debit card in South Africa. It is something like mobile banking services locally, except this is optimised for existing Mukuru services in addition to using the card for regular banking and point of sale. The new card is backed by Standard Bank. According to a video posted on YouTube, the new product addresses the need by migrants to have regular bank accounts in South Africa. Migrants, apparently, find it hard to ‘open’ a bank account in SA, which then makes it difficult to transfer money securely to relatives in the greater Southern Africa region."

Mobile Banking Lessons from the Developing World
"Mobile banking adoption is growing far more rapidly in developing parts of the world, such as Africa, than it is in the US. What can US banks learn from mobile banking usage in the developing world? Plenty, according to Steven Lewis, director of banking and capital markets at Ernst & Young. Mobile banking is offering many convenience to US customers, including remote deposit of checks (even if it’s not free) from the comfort of home. But saving US customers that 10-minute drive to the branch pales in comparison to the effect mobile banking is having on customers that didn’t have bank accounts before mobile phones existed. Kenya, for example, has a very limited branch network that was not useful to most customers."

Banks in a rush for mobile apps
"IT WILL limit cash heists and save money — but cut margins from fees. Banks have had a busy April, with some taking their first plunge into the increasingly crowded pool of mobile banking applications. Already, more than 13% of South Africans access banking services on their phones and tablets, according to research company FinScope — something that is both good and bad for the banks."

Apps disappoint despite vast tech spend
"The problems consumers have encountered with mobile banking applications may inform the financial services industry as it looks to produce its own investment and superannuation apps. According to BanterMob director of mobile marketing and strategy Kelly Slessor, the wealth creation sector is not as advanced as the transactional banking sector. 'Most of the apps are superannuation calculators and they don't offer a great user experience, because they are not going to be used very regularly,' she said. A new report by mobile marketing specialist BanterMob revealed that banking apps are falling short of consumer expectations."

Beware the sting in smartphone banking
"If you've recently discovered the convenience of paying bills on a smartphone, you're not alone. Australians are embracing mobile banking at a cracking pace. About 6 million people manage their finances through a mobile telephone, according to a recent report from the Market Intelligence Strategy Centre. For all the time saved by banking through digital channels, however, this boom comes with some costs. You may notice this most if you're someone who does a lot of their banking at a branch or through automatic teller machines. As this week's graph shows, the value of online transactions with the country's biggest bank, the Commonwealth, has surged almost tenfold in the past decade. The other major banks experienced a similar trend."

Standard Bank completes migration of another 3.5m South Africans onto SAP banking system
"Standard Bank in South Africa has just completed moving 3.5 million customers onto a mobile-enabled banking system that now allows a total of 7 million people to quickly bank. The AccessPoint system allows anyone to register for a Standard Bank account in about ten minutes through street agents in poor townships, malls and other places. Standard Bank pays AccessAgents a basic wage plus a commission for each customer they sign up."

Google Testing Replica of M-Pesa, Kenya's Mobile Banking Solution
"How is a third world tech country paving the way when it comes to the future of mobile banking? 90 percent of Kenyans use their phones to access the internet and M-Pesa is bringing mobile banking to the nation. Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman explains."

The World's Largest Mobile Pay Network Is ... in Kenya?
"When it comes to mobile banking, Kenyans are the early adopters. About 90 percent of the people in the developing nation access the Internet using mobile phones. Combine that with the popularity of mobile banking service M-Pesa, and Kenya is leading the way. Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman reports."