Fast rise in mobile money accounts shows the demand continues among unbanked people

People without bank accounts are showing an increasing appetite for using mobile money services, according to the latest industry figures, as global operators expand their services

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The number of active mobile money users around the world has continued to grow, according to the latest research.


At the end of June 2013 — the latest date for which figures are available — there were 61 million active accounts, compared with 37 million in June 2012. But at the same time, the number of registered mobile money accounts nearly tripled from 71 million in June 2011 to 203 million in June 2013.


The information comes from the GSM Association’s annual report from its Mobile Money for the Unbanked programme.


The third annual Mobile Financial Services State of the Industry Report provides a quantitative assessment of the state of mobile financial services, including mobile money, mobile insurance, mobile credit and savings.


The report draws on the results of the annual MMU global adoption survey, as well as on data from the online MMU deployment tracker and qualitative insights on the performance of mobile financial services from the MMU programme’s engagement with the industry over the last year.


There is clearly still a long way to go. There may have been 219 services in 84 countries at the end of 2013, compared to 179 services in 75 countries at the end of 2012, but 61 million mobile money accounts means that only about one in 100 mobile phone accounts across the world is associated with a mobile money service.

Enormous impact The GSMA’s chief regulatory officer, Tom Phillips, gave a positive reaction to the statistics. “This annual report underscores the enormous impact that mobile money is having in emerging markets, by providing access to increasing numbers of products and services and helping millions of people to manage their daily lives and improve their livelihoods,” he said. More >>>

Telecom’s Role in the Small Business Marketplace

The broad availability of sophisticated technology that was previously only affordable in a corporate environment has leveled the playing field between big and small business. Technology basically makes the size and location of an individual’s operation essentially invisible. Vast amounts of information are accessible at one’s fingertips and the ability to create virtual partnerships provides opportunities for competition based on the quality of work and price. To reach the growing home-based and work-at-home segments, telecoms need to rethink and revamp both their real and virtual retail channel strategies.

In 2000, Insight estimates small businesses will spend $88 billion for telecom products, enhanced services, and Internet access. That figure will increase to $122 billion by 2005, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8 percent. Enhanced services include call answering, call waiting, conference calling, call forwarding, caller ID, 800/900 services, and paging.

Communications companies serving the small business market must understand and appreciate its complexity. Even as the small business markets’ importance increases relative to the general economy, its composition changes, reflecting back our society’s changing appearance. The richness of diversity represented by the small business market will be a significant revenue opportunity for those companies that can meet its needs.  More >>>