The growing number of the un-banked population needs a convenient, safe and affordable means in which to access financial services. At the same time, the growth of micro banking, insurance services, and mutual funds require low cost delivery channels to effectively serve their markets. The “mobile phone opportunity” is the answer.
The mobile experience also offers remarkable opportunities for frontier research on the interaction between society and technology, and how these interactions shape culture and the economy. Millions of people have been brought out of obscurity, because their cell phone gadgets have the ability to facilitate instant access not only to financial services, but also to the rest of the marketplace.