So many people especially from the western world, don’t understand what Mobile money is or even how it works. This video best elaborates What Mobile money is.
Mobile money is Africa’s module of payment. Individuals and companies use USSD to make payments to and from both domestically and internationally.
History of mobile Money.
The technology started in 2007 a year before apples iPhone was launched. The first company that launched it was Safaricom. To show how much it has grown over the years, in 2020 alone Mpesa (the mobile money network owned by safaricom) transacted 4 times Kenya’s GDP.
By 2021, mobile money has become a preferred payment module for many African and Asian countries.
Half of the world’s mobile money services are in Africa
Why has mobile money sprung to life in some countries and failed in others.
There is a correlation between the quality of the banking system and mobile money. In the countries where the banking system is lousy mobile money thrives and The countries with an advanced banking system mobile money dies.
As an example in Uganda there were barely any bank branches in rural areas and transactions took 2-3 days to be executed mobile money thrived and Nigeria where there were instant transactions mobile money failed to pick up.
How does Mobile money work.
Mobile money is centered around the phone and agent network.
What role The agent network plays
The telecoms created several agent points. These agent points could be supermarkets, fuel stations or any shop really.
These act as the equivalents of ATMs. As long as some one wants to withdraw or deposit money they can do so via these points
These agent points in many countries are to the Tune of every 100 meters any direction you move whether in the rural or urban areas.
What role the phone plays.
The phone could be looked at as the persons bank account. Through USSD you can access an entire menu where you can access several financial services. These services include things like transferring money to other people within the network.
- Buying airtime
- Paying for utilities
- Insurance and so much more.