Mobile money still has some way to go for the unbanked

Singapore

GLOBALLY, an estimated 2.5 billion people don't have a bank account, but many own a cellphone, fuelling a race to turn these phones into bank books for the unbanked to store cash, manage their accounts, make purchases and send and receive money - part of so-called "financial inclusion".

In a report this week, the GSMA, the association of mobile phone companies, said that mobile money "has been growing at a dizzying rate". The Boston Consulting Group said last month that mobile money transfers in sub-Saharan Africa alone could generate fees of up to US$1.5 billion by 2019.