Brazil tasks Central Bank with regulating mobile payments

Comments "The regulation will not for interoperability but set it as a goal for later. non bank m-payment entities will also be allowed to issue e-money , as in EU. A good sign for the financial inclusion ?"

Extract "The Brazilian government announced that Banco Central do Brasil will be responsible for regulating the nation's payments industry, including m-payments providers. By setting m-payments regulations in place while that market remains embryonic, the South American nation's stance contrasts with U.S. authorities' wait-and-see approach."
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PayPal re-imagines the mobile wallet

Comment "Will Paypal be able to replace all what we have in our wallet ? Not easy at worlwide level as esch country has its own habits, but lets try already for the US. To be followed"

Extract "PayPal's quest to replace the leather wallet with a mobile handset has moved closer to fruition with the release of a bundled app incorporating bank and card payments, loyalty redemption, credit lines, P2P money transfer and high street shopping"

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Apple ne veut pas de NFC mais lance iBeacon

Commentaire "Est il surprenant qu'Apple ne se range pas du coté du NFC alors que le business model si cher à la pomme n'a pas encore trouvé son modèle justement ? Non bien évidemment. Apple n'a pas encore tout révélé de l'usage de iBeacon dans le cadre des paiements mais une chose est sure, le NFC sans les iphone est la mort programmé des solutions secure element et autres. Restera les cartes..."

Extrait "Coup dur pour l'industrie du NFC ; au lieu d’utiliser la technologie NFC dans son nouvel iPhone, Apple lance sa propre technologie pour le paiement mobile: iBeacon.
Comme souvent chez Apple l’absence d’une technologie ne signifie pas forcément l’absence des fonctions que cette technologie est censée promouvoir. Le NFC a été à nouveau écarté de la liste de specs des nouveaux iPhone, et pourtant les analystes se sont sans doute emballés un peu vite en considérant qu’Apple se coupait ainsi de tout un pan des évolutions technologiques basées sur les communications à courtes distances."

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Tax collection between Vodacom and TRA

Comment "Interesting use case around tax collection and cooperation with authorities”

Extract "Vodacom Tanzania and the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) have partnered to collect road licence fees through M-Pesa, collecting TZN2 billion (US$1.2 million) out of the total TZN4.7 billion (US$2.9 million) in the first three weeks."

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The big payoff: Getting customers active at registration

Comment "Everyone who as roll out a mobile money program in an emerging country knows that customer activation is one of the key success. Very good study from Philip Levin (GSMA) on this challenge"

Extract "Low customer activity rates have been a persistent challenge across the mobile money industry. As of June 2012, industry-wide active rates stood at 22%.  The question every operator is asking: How can one increase customer activity and therefore mobile money ARPUs?"

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Uganda Cashless

Comment "Uganda mobile money market is dynamic and the competition is though. Is it enough for a cashless country one day ?"

Extract "A cashless economy is one in which the purchase of goods and services and the payment of debts and remittances are done through electronic money media, either through credit and debit cards, direct transfers from one account to another, smart cards, mobile payment systems, and other technologies."

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Testing Mobile Phone-based Sales to Increase Use of Safe Water Filters in Kenya

Comments "Again in Kenya. Very interresting use case for mobile money and very usefull. This needs to be widespread !"

Extract "Contaminated drinking water contributes to the deaths of some 750,000 children under the age of five every year due to diarrheal disease. As a result, there is a pressing need in the developing world for ways to make water safe to drink that are affordable and widely used."

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Aldi and Lidl introduce contactless payments

Comments "It is somehow strange that discounters take their chance on contacless payment, but why not. Who know ... ?"

Extract "Contactless payments have arrived at the discounters, with Lidl recently completing a rollout of the technology…"

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Facebook in plans to test mobile payments feature

Comments "This is a small move and may be not a big innovation, but big players like Facebook and Paypal can change a lot of things if they work together"

extract "In a bid to tap into the growing mobile payments market, social media giant, Facebook, has announced it is in discussions with PayPal to launch a new mobile payment feature. When making purchases on mobile applications, Facebook users will be able to use payment details added to their Facebook accounts to automatically fill in forms."
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Kenya:Phones moved Sh1.5 trillion last year

Comment "Thanks to M-Pesa, Kenya is leading mobile money in Africa  and will stay first for a long time according to me. Where will it stop ?"

Extract "KENYANS last year transacted more than Sh1.5 trillion using mobile money transfer services like M-pesa and Airtel Money, Central Bank statistics show.

The financial stability report released by CBK shows that mobile phone money transfer services grew by 31.5 per cent in the value of transactions on the back of growth in the number of agents.

The number of agents rose by 52.4 per cent to stand at 76,912 up from 50,471 as competitors rolled out more outlets. In the period, the number of users rose 9.9 per cent to stand at 21.1 million, up from 19.2 million."

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New mobile money service introduced in Gabon

Comments "Welcome Gabon in in the mobile money world ! "

Extract "The success of mobile banking in Kenya has prompted similar initiatives to spread throughout the continent, although results elsewhere have been more mixed. Telecoms operators in Gabon, who face an increasingly revenue-competitive environment, are hoping to use mobile money programmes to improve their bottom lines and have signed a host of new deals to extend the range of products on offer."

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Nigeria : Ecobank to disburse MDG funds through mobile money

Comment "Disbursement is an interesting mobile money use case in the financial inclusion battle”

Extract "The programme, which is planned to run in 12 months cycles, will have funds disbursed to over 56,000 households in 600 communities in the first phase. It is part of the countdown strategy of the MDG office, according to the bank. The money, the bank stressed, would be disbursed through mobile money."
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Mobile Money and Agriculture

Commentaire "Agriculture and mobile money should be the best friends. A win win situation to develop everywhere"

Extract "During MMU’s Global Mobile Money Event in July, Michel Hanouch from CGAP pitched the opportunity represented by the convergence of mobile money and mobile agriculture to the audience"

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Health Care with M-Pesa

Comments "M-Pesa is enhancing the range of services available through the mobile. Good idea to keep the dynamism of its offer"

Extract "Nairobi residents employed in the informal sector are set to benefit from affordable health care services with the launch of a mobile phone based health product by a micro insurer."

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Paypal new partnerships

Comment "Paypal continues to grow its own web around the world. Who can compete now ?"

Extract "PayPal has announced a new agreement with online and mobile banking provider IND Group, The Paypers reported on August 23.
PayPal will now offer money transfer functionalities to IND bank customers in 15 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations. Users in these regions can send money via email, without a PayPal account."

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Mobile wallet is not enough

Comments "All experts know it. Mobile Payments are not enough to replace plastic. Coupons and loyalty programs are a must have for any new Mobile Payment offer"

Extract "According to Vibes, a mobile marketing technology company, 33 percent of consumers believe mobile wallets can only be used to make payments, while 19 percent still have no clue what mWallets are. The research reveals that consumers want a seamless shopping experience and Vibes confirmed that there is high consumer demand for non-payment features to be integrated with mWallets. Retailers have the opportunity to improve customer attitudes and reach a broader mobile wallet audience if they take advantage of the emerging mobile technology. "
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M Pesa in India

Comment "Will M-Pesa be able to reproduce the same success in India ?"

Extract " Vodafone India along with ICICI bank on Wednesday launched its mobile money transfer and payment service ‘M-Pesa’ in Delhi, expanding the footprint in the Capital.

The company plans to roll-out the service in Mumbai and Lucknow in the next couple of days, in a bid to tap the migrant population."

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Pay by Face

Comment "Pay by face recognition already there somehow with Paypal. Is this a new channel ?"

Extract "The borough's high street has begun using a payment system that works by simply recognising customers by their first name and picture via a mobile phone app.
The app for iOS, Windows OS and Android phones highlights nearby shops and restaurants that accept PayPal.
The customer checks in by clicking on the required retailer and sliding an animated pin down on their screen."
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MFI and M-Banking

Comments "interesting survey as usual from the CGAP, about how MFI can leverage mobile money programs and mobile banking for their own goals"

Extract "This paper addresses options MFIs have to leverage m-banking; experiences of MFIs that have served as agents for m-banking ; benefits for MFIs and their customers; why some MFIs hold off on m-banking; and new innovative microfinance business models.""
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QR codes are Nice ?

Commentaire "Le QR code fait sont chemin dans le mobile paiement en l'absence d'alternatives crédibles. Ici on parle de Nice, la ville du NFC quand même !"

"Hexapay, une société fondée en 2010, propose une solution de paiement mobile tout supports pour les retailers. Concrètement, l’application permet de scanner un QR Code sur un produit, une affiche de film par exemple, et de payer directement avec son mobile pour acheter son ticket."
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