Kenya, Turkey, Japan lead mobile money trend

The mobile banking business is growing in countries like Kenya, Turkey and Japan, while the combining of wallets with cell phones has been held back elsewhere by disagreements over sharing revenues. Reuters reports.

In Kenya and Turkey, millions of people use phones to send money or access their bank accounts; in Japan, more than 50 million people, or about half of all cell phone users, already carry phones capable of serving as wallets.

The technology for paying with cell phones by flashing them near reading equipment in stores or on public transport is ready, and the initial feedback is good, said Mary Carol, head of mobile in Visa Europe (V.N).

"Trials show that consumers overwhelmingly like it," Carol said. "The biggest problem has been the business model."

It will also take at least until 2010 before phones equipped with such technology are widely available, and the financial industry and telecom operators need to agree on some kind of revenue and role split, industry executives say.

emily | 10:20 AM | SMS and Banking |
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