A banking revolution

By Sunil Gupta

The seven billion people in the world have six billion mobile phones but only two billion bank accounts. Mobile technology is revolutionising the global banking and payment industry.

It offers new opportunities for banks to provide added convenience to their existing customers in developed countries, and reach a large population of unbanked customers in emerging markets. However, banks face significant challenges as new players enter these markets and change the ecosystem of the industry...

The internet has changed the way we search for information and shop for products. This has transformed many industries ranging from music and travel to advertising and retail. Now, mobile technology is poised to have an even more far-reaching impact on the banking and payment industry across the world.

By 2015, over 900 million people are likely to transact $1 trillion in the global mobile payment market. Due to significant countryspecific differences in banking regulations, income distribution, customer needs and mobile usage, this revolution is going to be complex as multiple players jostle for position...

More importantly, banks will be myopic if they view mobile as just another channel for doing business. While players such as Google Wallet are working with credit card companies like MasterCard and Visa, others such as Pay-Pal or Square could undermine the traditional credit card company-bank partnerships.

From “The Mobile Banking and Payment Revolution”