The market growth potential in the wireless space is substantial, especially in the financial services space. In fact, mobile service availability outstrips the availability of banking services in key developing markets. And, while consumers have limited options when it comes to transferring money securely, most of these users do have access to mobile networks.
According to the Alcatel-Lucent article, "Bringing Financial Services to the Unbanked with Mobile Money Services," market analysts have estimated that 4 billion people in developing markets throughout the world are unbanked. Of this population, 1 billion have a mobile phone. And, by 2012, that number is expected to grow to 1.7 billion. This potential growth offers significant opportunity for mobile network providers, and for the development of banking infrastructures to generate new revenue streams.
The GSM Association has reported that in developing countries, there are 84 live and 82 planned deployments of some sort of mobile money service. A Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) is a program launched by their Development Fund to accelerate the availability of mobile money services for those living on less than $2 per day.
This program is designed to unite mobile providers, banks, microfinance institutions, development organizations, governments and private companies. The goal established by the MMU program is to reach 20 million unbanked people with mobile financial services by 2012. If successful, mobile operators will be able to attract new customers and secure new avenues of revenue generation.
For its part, Alcatel-Lucent is delivering the expertise and the tools to help drive innovation in these areas so that mobile operators can develop the right service delivery models and capitalize on mobile banking opportunities. The company can deliver 2G/3G renovation and improvement; Long Term Evolution (LTE); real-time monitoring tools, network analysis and network control; transformation services; industry-leading Any G to LTE mobile backhaul architecture; and customer experience management solutions.
In their approach to broadening their offerings and meeting the needs of consumers everywhere, mobile operators need to ensure their service can support a variety of mobile wallet applications immediately, while also offering the flexibility to enable the addition of new applications as end-user requirements and the market evolve.
Ideally, this service should include peer-to-peer money transfer capabilities, bill payment services, and some type of point-of-sale payment service. When the right infrastructure is in place, effective mobile money service will benefit all participants in the mobile money ecosystem.
Alcatel-Lucent offers a full range of solutions and expertise to drive the application and content value chain. To learn more about how mobile operators can identify new markets, build out new infrastructures and leverage additional revenue opportunities, check out the company’s Knowledge Center.
