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Mobile Money for the Next 2 Billion People
By QUENTIN HARDY | November 23, 2011, 10:41 AM
Mobile phones are probably the most successfully deployed technology in history, effectively reaching more people than computers, electricity or plumbing in less than 15 years. Now they may start taking over money.
Kenyans have been using M-PESA to send funds via phone for years.
I recently spoke with Bill Barhydt, founder and chief executive of m-Via, a service that enables immigrants in the United States to send money overseas. For now, he is marketing the service to Mexican and Haitian immigrants who want to enrich friends and family back home, but there seems no reason why his service could not become more widely available, to different nationalities and in other countries.
“We’re trying to solve a global problem,” Mr. Barhydt says. “The goal is to capture the world’s new middle class, created by migration.”
“Middle” is a relative term here. Mr. Barhydt figures about half of immigrants in the United States do not have checking accounts. Nevertheless, “middle” is probably accurate when measured against the poverty in which much of the world lives. If he can aggregate their demand for better financial services, this large population could create an impressive business.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/1...ion-people/?hp
By QUENTIN HARDY | November 23, 2011, 10:41 AM
Mobile phones are probably the most successfully deployed technology in history, effectively reaching more people than computers, electricity or plumbing in less than 15 years. Now they may start taking over money.
Kenyans have been using M-PESA to send funds via phone for years.
I recently spoke with Bill Barhydt, founder and chief executive of m-Via, a service that enables immigrants in the United States to send money overseas. For now, he is marketing the service to Mexican and Haitian immigrants who want to enrich friends and family back home, but there seems no reason why his service could not become more widely available, to different nationalities and in other countries.
“We’re trying to solve a global problem,” Mr. Barhydt says. “The goal is to capture the world’s new middle class, created by migration.”
“Middle” is a relative term here. Mr. Barhydt figures about half of immigrants in the United States do not have checking accounts. Nevertheless, “middle” is probably accurate when measured against the poverty in which much of the world lives. If he can aggregate their demand for better financial services, this large population could create an impressive business.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/1...ion-people/?hp
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