[kictanet] [Fwd: [DigAfrica] Kenya sets world first with money transfers by mobile]

Tue Mar 20 18:12:16 EAT 2007

We are the world's first. Kudos to Safaricom

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[DigAfrica] Kenya sets world first with money transfers by mobile
Date: 	Tue, 20 Mar 2007 11:28:50 -0000
From: 	Chifu <chifu2222 at gmail.com>
Reply-To: 	DigAfrica at yahoogroups.com
To: 	DigAfrica at yahoogroups.com

Kenya sets world first with money transfers by mobile
Xan Rice in Nairobi
Tuesday March 20, 2007
The Guardian

The ping of a text message has never sounded so sweet. In what is
being touted as a world first, Kenya's biggest mobile operator is
allowing subscribers to send cash to other phone users by SMS.
Known as M-Pesa, or mobile money, the service is expected to
revolutionise banking in a country where more than 80% of people are
excluded from the formal financial sector.

Apart from transferring cash - a service much in demand among urban
Kenyans supporting relatives in rural areas - customers of the
Safaricom network will be able to keep up to 50,000 shillings (£370)
in a "virtual account" on their handsets.

Developed by Vodafone, which holds a 35% share in Safaricom, M-Pesa
was formally launched in Kenya two weeks ago. More than 10,000 people
have signed up for the service, with around 8m shillings transferred
so far, mostly in tiny denominations.
Safaricom's executives are confident that growth will be strong in
Kenya, and later across Africa. "We are effectively giving people ATM
cards without them ever having to open a real bank account," said
Michael Joseph, chief executive of Safaricom, who called the money
transfer concept the "next big thing" in mobile telephony.

M-Pesa's is simple. There is no need for a new handset or SIM card.
To send money you hand over the cash to a registered agent -
typically a retailer - who credits your virtual account.

You then send between 100 shillings (74p) and 35,000 shillings (£259)
via text message to the desired recipient - even someone on a
different mobile network - who cashes it at an agent by entering a
secret code and showing ID.

A commission of up to 170 shillings (£1.25) is paid by the recipient
but it compares favourably with fees levied by the major banks, whose
services are too expensive for most of the population.

Mobile phone growth in Kenya, as in most of Africa, has been
remarkable, even among the rural poor. In June 1999 Kenya had 15,000
mobile subscribers. Today it has nearly 8 million out of a population
of 35 million, and the two operators' networks are as extensive as
the access to banks is limited.

Safaricom says it is not so much competing with financial services
companies as filling a void.

In time, M-Pesa will allow people to borrow and repay money, and make
purchases. Companies will be able to pay salaries directly into
workers' phones - something that has already attracted the interest
of larger employers, such as the tea companies, whose workers often
have to be paid in cash as they do not have bank accounts.

There are concerns about security, but Safaricom insists that even if
someone's phone is stolen the PIN system prevents unauthorised
withdrawals. Mr Joseph said the only danger is sending cash to the
wrong mobile number and the recipient redeeming it straight away.

The project is being watched closely by mobile operators around the
world as a way of targeting the multibillion pound international cash
transfer industry long dominated by companies such as Western Union
and Moneygram. Remittances sent from nearly 200 million migrant
workers to developing countries totalled £102bn last year, according
to the World Bank.

The GSM Association, which represents more than 700 mobile operators
worldwide, believes this could quadruple by 2012 if transfers by SMS
become the norm. Vodafone has entered a partnership with Citigroup
that would soon allow Kenyans in the UK to send money home via text
message. The charge for sending £50 is expected to be about £3, less
than a third of what some traditional services charge.

Cheques and texts

19% Adult Kenyans with bank accounts

54% Adult Kenyans with a mobile phone or access to one

58% Most popular way to transfer money in Kenya: send it with a
family member or friend

(Source: FSD Kenya)

22p Cost of sending £260 via text message in Kenya

£1.25 Cost for recipient to cash it in

(Source: Safaricom)

£102bn Money sent home to developing countries by migrant workers in
2006

(Source: World Bank)

3 billion People in world with mobile phones

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2038302,00.html 
<http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2038302,00.html>

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