An encouraging assessment of m-banking in southern Africa
August 11th, 2007While perusing Balancing Act (Issue #365), I found a link to this story on m-banking in Namibia and Botswana, centered on an interview with First National Bank (FNB) cellphone banking CEO Len Pienaar. Among the quotes:
“In SA, we have a high density of banking options, such as ATMs, card-accepting devices, and even branches. In Namibia, for example, this is much lower and you have a huge rural population,” explains Pienaar.
He says the bank’s approach to cellphone banking has adapted to the needs of different countries, with customers in Namibia and Botswana having to register for mobile banking in-branch so they can be shown exactly how to use the technology.
“Mobile networks are well-established in most of the countries we are in, and the technology, such as SMSes, is well-known,” says Pienaar.
In the space of just a few lines, Pienaar has touched on many of the factors which will influence m-banking’s trajectory in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world: an awareness of what m-banking offers, relative to alternatives, the need for some hand-holding to get new users comfortable with the system, and the relative familiarity that people have with the technology (SMS) already. Sounds like a diffusion of innovations case study, and I mean that in a good way.
September 14th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
You might be interested in the work we have been doing in the Philippines to develop mobile phone banking applications utilizing the G-Cash platform to facilitate banking transactions as well as to promote mobile commerce opportunities for small merchants in the Philippines. Check out our website at www.mobilephonebanking.rbap.org or our videos on You Tube at www.YouTube.com/rbapmabs
July 31st, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Hi
At the risk of contradicting myself, what has really astonished me is the relevance that cellhone banking (in SA, mobile banking normally refers to a bank branch that can be moved around) is having on our traditional urban banking populations.
Yes, I still think cellhone banking are, and will be changing the face of rural Africa for ever, but we ar seeing a mass adoption of the service in the urban areas as well.
For traditional bank with traditional customers this is probable the biggest change since the introduction of the plastic bank card.
We are seeing it extensively being adopted for information retrieval (balances, statements, etc.). Pre Paid services are also becoming the dominant form of commerce in SA, not only in the mobile airtime space but also in utilities like electricity. Here banks are playing a pivotal role in allowing the top up of these accounts, with Cellhone Banking by far the dominant channel for these transactions in my bank.
Where rural take up has been driven by location and distance, time pressures and convenience drives the take up in the modern city. However, for people living in informal settlements in and near cities, banking infrastructure can also be a significant distance from their working and living space, with transport cost being a significant detractor.
In SA we have seen cellphone banking crossing the gender gap, being used by people of all races, perhaps favouring the youth, but gaining in popularity under the aged and being relevant as much in the rural areas than in the city shopping malls and suburbs.