Monthly Archive for October, 2010

Is it a sign of economic recovery that people at Sibos 2010 have such a good sense of humour?

Like this speaker at the Mobile Keynote who stated that “mobile banking is about small screen real estate”. Hilarious!

In case you didn’t know yet, mobile is not just a new channel and should certainly not be considered as one. Don’t think that it’s just about taking your products and making them available via the mobile channel just like you did with the Internet channel. No, there are many more opportunities than that.
Mobile is ubiquitous, convenient, location based, highly personal and it is always on. For years we have wanted to know our customers, well now we can. Not only can you access and interact with your customers, you even know where they are.

Mobile is possibly the most disruptive technology since the Gutenberg press and the Internet. Tapping mobile banking provides the opportunity to close the gap between customer behaviour and banking innovation.

So what are we waiting for? Mobile operators have grasped the opportunity to introduce mobile money and mobile payments. Although it’s not their core business, offering payment and banking services reduces churn and is a good way to collect prepaid money. And if it costs $20 million to launch the service, well that’s a business case easily made. The fact that mobile operators already have a billing relationship with their customers obviously helps.

Over the past 60 years the U.S. has been involved in more than 10 wars and invasions. These have included World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Bush Wars (in Iraq), and Obama’s war in Afghanistan. By ignoring the Powell Doctrine* in both Iraq and Afghanistan we have engaged our massive military industrial complex in a seemingly “endless war.” However, Mobile Money, a rapidly emerging disruptive technology, could put an end to war itself.

Today’s high tech warfare engages American soldiers to guide airborne drones to their remote target. Our military satellites keep watch 24/7. However, Mobile Money linked to cell phone technology could be deployed in war zones to change civilian behavior on the ground.

The idea of setting up cell phone networks in war zones – and then paying people to maintain the peace – comes from 20-year-old University of London (UCL) student Bianca Griffith. Her vision: use Mobile Money to “buy” peaceful behavior until it becomes a habit and the local economy is stabilized.

As she describes it, each family in a village would be given a cell phone. They would be able to use their phone to send and receive calls. Their cell phones would also include a Mobile Money system. Each day they would be asked to help maintain peace in their community (monitored by satellite, and on-the-ground reporting). For each day of peace, they would receive $5 US in their cell phone’s Mobile Money account, translated into the local currency.