Last week MasterCard announced an interesting new idea for mobile money. Designed to bring financial services the underbanked, this initiative is all about speeding up the development of mobile solutions.
Called the MasterCard ‘Mobile Money Partnership Program’, this concept is based on a joint venture between the payment giant and Comviva, Utiba and Sybase 365, all mobile service providers.
We told you earlier this month about Airtel Money. This latest program will work along the same lines, with the intention being that unbanked and underbanked customers can purchase goods and services using just their mobile phones. It looks like they’ll also gain the ability to pay bills, organize remittances and transfer funds.
This initiative is a global one – MasterCard aims to reach more than a billion consumers, through over 200 banks and operators worldwide.
Clearly, mobile payments are a key focus for financial institutions and mobile operators. With so many potential customers to reach, who have a phone but no access to a bank, it makes sense to explore all the possibilities of the platform.
Consider a recent report from Juniper Research, which found that by 2013 the global market for mobile payments will sit at around USD 600 billion. That’s double what it is right now. According to a MasterCard statement at the launch of its new program, the world has around five billion mobile users.
Taking a closer look at the MasterCard scheme, the options it will support include virtual accounts, person to person payments (possible even between different mobile services), and even e-commerce access.
Will mobile money transform financial services, and extend them to that incredibly large underbanked customer base? Introducing the partnership, Utiba spoke about welcoming these consumers into the global economy, and how the intersection of mobile networks and a payment network as large as MasterCard’s will impact the financial world.
Called the MasterCard ‘Mobile Money Partnership Program’, this concept is based on a joint venture between the payment giant and Comviva, Utiba and Sybase 365, all mobile service providers.
We told you earlier this month about Airtel Money. This latest program will work along the same lines, with the intention being that unbanked and underbanked customers can purchase goods and services using just their mobile phones. It looks like they’ll also gain the ability to pay bills, organize remittances and transfer funds.
This initiative is a global one – MasterCard aims to reach more than a billion consumers, through over 200 banks and operators worldwide.
Clearly, mobile payments are a key focus for financial institutions and mobile operators. With so many potential customers to reach, who have a phone but no access to a bank, it makes sense to explore all the possibilities of the platform.
Consider a recent report from Juniper Research, which found that by 2013 the global market for mobile payments will sit at around USD 600 billion. That’s double what it is right now. According to a MasterCard statement at the launch of its new program, the world has around five billion mobile users.
Taking a closer look at the MasterCard scheme, the options it will support include virtual accounts, person to person payments (possible even between different mobile services), and even e-commerce access.
Will mobile money transform financial services, and extend them to that incredibly large underbanked customer base? Introducing the partnership, Utiba spoke about welcoming these consumers into the global economy, and how the intersection of mobile networks and a payment network as large as MasterCard’s will impact the financial world.
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