MOBILE BANKING

Fundamo and Accenture sign a deal to promote mobile wallets across the world. Cape Town-based mobile banking software company Fundamo has signed a partnership agreement with Accenture for the provision of mobile wallets worldwide.
Worth knowing
A licence to kill innovation
“We have been in the mobile financial services software environment for seven years, and we have always looked at how we can position ourselves in the international market. The deal with Accenture gives us just the global situation we have been looking for,” says Fundamo head of business development Aletha Ling.
The demand for mobile wallets is starting to accelerate as a natural result of the deep penetration of mobile phones into communities around the world, she states.
The software has been through the new technology cycle of early adopters and test shaping, Ling explains. “The 2007 year showed that the technology has reached the growth curve and the time is right for adoption globally.”
According to Ling, the technology is being driven by the higher acceptance of the technology. “We are seeing a greater consumer need for financial services on mobile, especially in the emerging markets.”
She cites the need for migrant workers to be able to transfer part of their income into international accounts. “A Nigerian working in Johannesburg will want to send money home to his family. The mobile wallet allows just that kind of transfer among others.”
Infrastructure solution
The mobile wallet represents a transactional bank account that will be held by the mobile operators, she says. The mobile operators are given a packaged pilot solution. They also have the option of issuing a branded debit card with the account.
In terms of financial services regulations, Ling says each mobile operator or client is responsible for compliance.
Accenture says it will lead the promotion of mobile wallets worldwide in 2008, which will allow mobile network operators to deploy, operate and fine-tune the service. “Operators will also have the opportunity to test partnering relationships with a bank, prior to full-scale mobile wallet service deployment,” says Accenture`s mobile wallet lead Michael Eagleton.
“SA is already well served in the arena of mobile banking, and is not our essential target. We are looking at largely populated areas in emerging markets such as DRC, Uganda and Ghana, along with several countries in South America.”
A second application can be integrated as a mobile channel for the banks, says Ling. “Banks are faced with a problem of growing their client bases, with the huge financial implications of adding infrastructure – such as ATMs and branches – in under-serviced areas. The mobile phone allows them to use an infrastructure already in place, which is very enticing to banks in emerging markets.”
Participating financial service providers, mobile operators and clients will be announced at an official launch in Barcelona next month.