M-Banking on African financial revolution

Mobile phones leapfrog the infrastructure barriers in remote and rural areas in Africa. The phone can be the location for a banking account, hold all the financial information, and be used as the primary security measure. People can now buy online, via swipe points in retail outlets, and mobile-to-mobile, using their mobile handsets as payment method, confirmation of identity, and security filter. M-banking presents a wealth of new opportunities for retailers, vendors, and new financial service providers, such as telecommunication companies and airtime merchants. The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and Industry Canada under the framework of ePol-Net and with support from the Canada Fund for Africa, launched a study in Senegal, Kenya, and South Africa to examine m-banking in a more traditional sense, to examine innovative solutions to assist poor people, and to explore emerging m-commerce applications being developed by non-financial companies. The study assesses the status of the infrastructure, the m-services market, collaboration arrangements in the market the regulatory environment, and the trust, confidence, and security environment. The study summarizes case studies of: a conservative approach by a bank, bank alerts as part of an information service, a m-network operator entering the convergence space, a m-network operator introducing an innovative transformative proposition, a microfinance institution adding mobile phone access through 'point of sale', entrepreneurs taking the lead, and a mobile operator cooperating with microfinance.