Mobile phone banking channels have tremendous potential to expand access to financial services for people who are poor, which would serve to relieve poverty and increase economic development and opportunity. In South Africa, Kenya, the Philippines, and other countries, banks and telecommunication companies are using mobile phones to open basic transaction banking accounts for many previously unbanked customers.

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) seeks to better understand this topic and therefore created a partnership between CGAP, the Vodafone Group Foundation and the United Nations Foundation to initiate a pilot survey.

The study findings was launched on 15 March 2007 (see document section) whilst the report that was completed is available here: Mobile phone banking and low-income customers report.

Free access to the dataset is available on the Eighty20 CC website: http://www.eighty20.co.za/databases/index.cgi

Further research completed by FinMark Trust on technology and mobile banking are available via the theme area web page on transaction banking and payment transmission.

:: Documents

• Just how transformational is mobile banking? (D Porteous used FinScope SA 2004 and 2006 to assess the potention of m-banking) (128KB, Zipped)

• Pilot Survey Highlights :: presentation by Kate Moran (688KB, Zipped)

• Launch of FinScope Mobile Banking pilot :: presentation by Jeremy Leach (616KB, PDF)

• CGAP Extending access to financial services :: presentation by Mark Pickens (374KB, Zipped)

• Mobile banking brochure (578KB, PDF)

• Press release :: Cellphone banking transfers the unbanked into banked (57KB, PDF)

:: Enquiries

• Irma Grundling, FinMark Trust: irmag@finmark.org.za or +27 11 315 9197

• Doubell Chamberlain, Cenfri: doubell@cenfri.org or +27 21 918 4390