I was presenting on new media at the Emerson Summer Institute for Social Marketing yesterday and flashed the stats I have from Communities Dominate Brands about the use of mobile phones in commercial transactions.
- 54% of Helsinki public transportation single tickets to the trams and subways are paid by mobile.
- In South Korea 45% of all music is sold directly to musicphones
- In Slovenia all vending machines, all taxis, all McDonald's restaurants etc accept payment by mobile.
- In South Africa you can have your full paycheck sent to you onto your mobile phone.
Part of the audience polling I do now, especially with more tech savvy crowds where almost all hands go up when asked if they had read a blog (a big change among public health audiences in one year - but wikis still seem to be a mystery to most until I mention Wikipedia), is how many have enabled their mobile phones to make financial transactions (via your bank or with PayPal for the newly informed). No hands went up, and as we talked later about when this might happen in the US my comment was 'sooner than you think.' Well... this via FierceMobile.
eBay-owned online payment service provider PayPal announced the launch of Mobile Checkout, a service enabling consumers in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada to make purchases via the mobile web. PayPal Mobile Checkout enables merchants with online storefronts to embed PayPal buttons on their sites, promising a simpler, more efficient interface for making and receiving payment for goods and services.
m-banking may seem like the latest 'cool' convenience; however, its implications for helping the world's poor are among the 'hot' topics in development. Stay tuned.
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