Saturday, December 15, 2012

National Geographic — The Invisible Bank: How Kenya Has Beaten the World in Mobile Money

Click a few keys, exchange a few numbers, and it’s done. With just a mobile phone and a registration with Safaricom, Kenya’s mobile service giant, you can pay for anything in seconds – no cash, no long journeys to towns to reach a bank, and no long lines when you get there. This is m-Pesa, the revolutionary approach to banking which is changing economies across Africa. The service allows customers and businesses to pay for anything without needing cash, a bank account, or even a permanent address. In today’s Digital Diversity, in honour of its recent fifth birthday, we present a beginner’s guide to m-Pesa and examine its implications for financial access in developing economies.
National Geographic New Watch
The Invisible Bank: How Kenya Has Beaten the World in Mobile Money
Olivia O’Sullivan of kiwanja.net/FrontlineSMS and Ken Banks of National Geographic Emerging Explorer
(h/t Michael Bauwens via Twitter)


1 comment:

Dan Lynch said...

Not surprised. I do 90% of my financial transactions through Paypal.

The problem with Paypal is that they are a monopoly and charge too much. Otherwise, it's a super convenient form of money.