SXSWi 2009, which takes place in Austin, TX on March 13-17 2009 will feature a panel on Mobile Ubiquitous Computing and the Future of Money. The panel is organized by Kyle Outlaw of Razorfish. Kyle kindly invited me to share my thoughts on this favorite subject of mine, so I look forward to seeing you there.
Nearly half the world’s population now has a mobile device and more than a thousand cell phones are being activated every minute. The ubiquity of mobile devices will make new services available to billions of people worldwide who have not had access to traditional banks or credit cards. In developing countries such as Kenya – where nearly 80% of the population is excluded from the formal financial sector – text messaging is being used to transfer money to friends and family living in other countries. Moreover, new forms of currency are being created – trading cell phone minutes for goods and services, for example. This panel will explore the challenges and opportunities as banks go mobile, and how the revolution in mobile financial services will change the way we think about money.
I should be organizing a panel on “Mobile and micro-finance” at MobilePaymentExpo taking place in France mid-June http://www.mobilepaymentexpo.com/
I'd be very interested to debriefing your participation at SXSWi 2009 during BarCampBankSF2 end of April http://barcamp.org/BarCampBankSF2
Way to go The Blue!
Congratulations for getting on this SXSW panel! Texting money is as ubiquitous in Africa as bank wire transfers in the US. For some reasons though, mobile payments have yet to achieve wide acceptance in the US.
Two questions:
- Who else will be on the panel?
- Do you plan to look into the convergence of mobile payments and micro finance?
Kyle will probably post additional information about other participants soon.
My part will most likely be focused on the convergence of contact less payment, mobile, loyalty/coupons and community currencies.
Congratulations for getting on this SXSW panel! Texting money is as ubiquitous in Africa as bank wire transfers in the US. For some reasons though, mobile payments have yet to achieve wide acceptance in the US.
Two questions:
- Who else will be on the panel?
- Do you plan to look into the convergence of mobile payments and micro finance?
Kyle will probably post additional information about other participants soon.
My part will most likely be focused on the convergence of contact less payment, mobile, loyalty/coupons and community currencies.