From the GSMA Mobile Money Summit 2011, held in Singapore June 27-30, Mobile Business Briefing reports that mobile operators in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Philippines are implementing incentive programs within their dealer networks in order to offer more mobile banking services.
Representatives from operators Roshan (Afghanistan), Telenor (Pakistan) and Globe Telecom of the Philippines highlighted ways in which they're trying to leverage the range of their agent networks to expand their respective mobile money proposals.
"The agent networks are the entry point for our customers, and they have the relationship,” said Zahir Khoja, Roshan. “We want them to be the ambassadors for mobile money, and we want them to educate our customers."
Roshan’s M-PAISA targets an estimated 95 percent of Afghans without banking affiliations. Khoja said that recent market research shows that the service is identified as the low-cost, fast and private way to move money. He did note that implementation of the service has been challenging because "cash is still king" in his country.
Paolo Baltao from Globe Telecom of the Philippines said that it is important to prove to agents that mobile money means business profitability, otherwise they won’t be engaged.
Baltao said that Globe currently operates 18,000 GCASH outlets, its micro-payment service that acts as a virtual wallet, allowing money transfers through SMS. He said the service has received a boost by a recent regulatory change in the country that allows more of the company's distributors to act as GCASH outlets.
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Mobile operators in emerging markets look to expand banking services, reach
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