Hi Guys,
I have an old copy of the Times under my desk i just dug out (yes, lol you thought Pred was a sunday sport kinda guy!) lol
it has a great article about migrant remittances. migrants sending money home.
$35 BILLION sent 'home' last year alone from the US (source IMF)
Western Union are overpriced etc. the banks & mobile operators want a big slice of this cash.
Companies are experimenting with sending remittances over mobile networks. As you say in the Phillipines, cash can be credited to a phone account, then transferred to another persons account for the cost of a text
Mbanking is widely valued across South Africa. I remember posting about this a while ago.
It's also cheaper than traditional banking, & many residents can't get a standard bank account.
Just dig this out... Nigeria has 225 ATM machines (129 million people live in the country)
It's a fascinating area. The biggest growth areas are the third world,but this is true for just about everything. Exciting times.
Pred