Written by Felix  Bate | From Reuters

Since the launch of M-Pesa by Kenya’s Safaricom in 2007, operators have rolled out mobile money services in several African countries to cater for millions of people who lack affordable bank accounts.

Operators, regulators and experts alike are excited by the service’s possibilities but, apart from in a handful of sub-Saharan African countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the spread of mobile money has been slow.

Industry players say a fragmented and tough regulatory environment is holding the industry back. Experts say another obstacle is that users often lack the technological skills needed to use the service.

Consulting firm McKinsey said in a February report that mobile money had failed to catch on quickly even in areas of Africa where relatively few people have bank accounts.

“This is partly the result of uncertainty about whether Kenya – where M-Pesa has become one of the few mobile-money success stories – is unique or the potential for mobile payments in other markets is similarly robust,” it said.

FEW SUCCESS STORIES

At the end of last year, there were more mobile money accounts than bank accounts in nine developing countries mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, mobile industry lobby group GSMA said.

About 61 million active mobile money customers were using the service globally, up from 37 million in 2012, GSMA said. The potential is vast: 2.5 billion people in developing countries lack access to banking services, yet one billion of them have a phone that would allow them to use the mobile money service.

Read more at Reuters