12 days of Xmas: 5 cell phone rings
by Catherine LaineDecember 30th, 2007
We’re doing the 12 days of Christmas appropriate technology style.
Day 5: 5 cell phone rings
10 great things people across the world are doing with their cell phones
1. Organizing protests
2. Blogging
3. Practicing medicine
4. Managing your life
5. Changing how humanitarian relief work is done
6. Finding Biodiesel
7. Mobile banking
A shortlist of mobile banking services in Asia and Africa from PSD Blog
- the Philippines: G-Cash and Smart Money
- South Africa: WIZZIT (whose CEO Brian Richardson gave an energetic presentation)
- Kenya: M-Pesa
- Zambia and the DRC: Celpay (site in French)
- southern Africa: MTN Mobile Money
According to FP Passport
Remittances is where m-banking will really be world-changing. In Latin America, for instance, fewer than 10 percent of remittance recipients have bank accounts. That means they’re hiking to Western Union to pick up their money, which cost somebody a 15 percent commission to send. In the Philippines, SMART’s customers are already sending an estimated $50 million in remittances each month via their mobile phones, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. In most of the world, remittances account for more financial flows than foreign direct investment or foreign aid combined. Lowering transaction costs even one percent would mean over one billion extra dollars would directly reach the poor each year, and that’s not chump change.
8. Paying Bills
In Japan: now. In the rest of the world: in 10 years or so.
A new technology standard called “near-field communications,” or NFC, will turn cell phones into credit or debit cards. A chip is embedded in a phone that allows you to make a payment by using a touch-sensitive interface or by bringing the phone within a few centimeters of an NFC reader. Your credit card account or bank account is charged accordingly.
Unlike RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, which also can be used to make wireless payments, NFC technology allows for two-way communication, making it more secure. For example, an NFC-enabled handset could demand that a password or personal identification number be entered to complete the transaction.
Other cool cell phone services in Japan, that we won’t get for a dog’s year.
9 and 10.Saving time and money/fighting poverty
Upwardly Mobile in Africa from Business Week
How basic cell phones are sparking economic hope and growth in emerging—and even non-emerging—nations
Video about Grameen Phone and the book “Can you hear me now”
Duration: 4min 14sec
December 30th, 2007 at 11:16 am
These are very exciting and have become basic to my cell phone usage.
January 1st, 2008 at 4:46 am
Eko India Financial Services Private Limited (www.eko.co.in) - startup company based in Delhi, India is looking to extend banking facilities in these untapped/un-banked areas through the use of mobile phone as a channel (currently there are over 200 million mobile phone subscribers (GSM & CDMA). Eko is looking to ensure greater financial inclusion and increase the outreach of the banking sector as envisaged by RBI – the Indian Federal Bank through the use of Business Correspondent Model.
Eko’s unified approach to financial services will address two key challenges - ubiquity and comprehensiveness of range of financial services. Often financial services with the focus for financial inclusion have resulted in high transaction & servicing costs, inadequate collection & use of customer information, and a focus on credit based services leading to the exclusion of more needed services including Savings.
We are integrating an infrastructure for widespread distribution of “No Frills Savings Account” (NFSA). Eko Cash Points (ECP) are retails points who have existing “Prepaid Recharge” business. 24×7 pharmacies will be ECPs providing 24 hr services. Eko Relationship Officers (ERO) are individuals who have full KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance and minimum 1 year of “good” banking record. Such individual would be “introducers” to customers who have limited or no KYC. This is a mandatory requirement defined by RBI regulations for customers with limited KYC to open “No Frills Savings Account”. ECPs and EROs are not working full time for Eko. It is an added source of revenue for them. This model has been inspired by various “agent models” deployed across the globe. Every customer is registered with a particular ERO while they can transact at any ECP.
Eko issues Signature Booklets (filed for patent) to every account holder. The Signature Booklet is used to secure the transactions and ensures more than ATM like security for the transactions. Eko also issues a comic for easy communication to the customers.
Eventually, multiple value added services would be offered to the members, including more credit and savings product apart from transactional services.
Eko has initiated a pilot on 17th December in partnership with Centurion Bank of Punjab at Uttam Nagar, in west Delhi (INDIA).
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Check out how rural banks are now using the GCash platform in the Philippines to offer their own unique mobile phone banking services to allow clients to deposit, withdraw, receive or pay loans or bills, receive salaries and even to buy and sell goods via their mobile wallets: www.mobilephonebanking.rbap.org