Kenya's biggest mobile operator is allowing subscribers to send cash to other phone users by SMS, writes The Guardian. Touted as a world first, the service - known as M-Pesa, or mobile money - is expected to revolutionize banking in a country where more than 80 percent are excluded from the formal financial sector.
Apart from transferring cash - a service much in demand among urban Kenyans supporting relatives in rural areas - customers of the Safaricom network will be able to keep up to 50,000 shillings ($725) in a "virtual account" on their handsets.
Developed by Vodafone, which holds a 35 percent share in Safaricom, M-Pesa was formally launched in Kenya two weeks ago. More than 10,000 people have signed up for the service, with around 8 million shillings transferred so far, mostly in tiny denominations.
Mobile phone growth in Kenya, as in most of Africa, has been remarkable, even among the rural poor. In June 1999, Kenya had 15,000 mobile subscribers. It now has nearly 8 million out of a population of 35 million.
