Transferring money in Africa has never become so secure, fast, and easy. Yes, things have changed a lot since the mobile revolution has taken over the world in the past decade. Add to this the rapid spread of access to the Internet, as well as faster and cheaper costs associated with its use, and you have a formula for mobile independence in many aspects. Right now, as we speak, thousands of transactions are happening in the African continent between many consumers, retailers, friends, and family members. And all of this happens without ever showing one coin or piece of fiat currency.
How The African Mobile Money Is Leading The Cash Less Culture
Mobile Wallet
In an area which has been war-torn with strife, violence, and many political and economic upheavals, people must find the best way to keep their wealth and money secure. The rapid spread of the Internet and mobile phone use in the African continent seemed to be the answer to this issue, and the mobile wallet was born. What this is, is essentially an online service which can act as a cashless payment system. One can pay a transaction with money already loaded into the wallet instead of ever handing out physical currency or using a credit or debit card. What makes this service so ideal and easy to use is that you can access it from any place you can log into the Internet, and most conveniently, from an app you can install in your mobile phone.
Confused with Cash
Looking at things from a seller or institution’s point of view, using mobile payment systems is also more convenient and preferred over using cash. When a payment is being received for goods or services rendered, and paid for in cash, there are so many locations and hands the cash has to go through before ever reaching the company. For example, payment for bus fares using cash would mean the money would have gone from the customer to the conductor, to the bus driver, to the bus station collector, to the financial institution it is deposited to, and to the company’s bank account. It isn’t a secret that many businesses lose a sizable amount of their profits due to cash pilfering – the many stops cash has had to go through would diminish the amount due to dishonest hands dipping into the money. Businesses know that any money lost through dishonest means is undue risk being taken and should be mitigated as much as possible
Security and Ease
The use of mobile money has made it far more secure, easier, and safer for money to be transferred between businesses and individuals. Cash pilfering would not happen at all, since the customer directly pays the organization providing a service or goods, with no middlemen for the money to pass through in-between. Mobile wallets are as secure as they come, coming with military-level encryption, passing through strict regulations by financial and government authorities. It would take hackers literally dozens or hundreds of years just to crack one mobile wallet, and for them, such efforts are just not worth it at all. What makes the use of this technology more enticing is how far and wide it reaches into the African continent. People even in rural areas can conveniently transfer money to one another, making day-to-day purchases, and pay for services such as electricity and water. They would not need to span the great distances required to get to physical payment gateways at all anymore. Many countries in Africa have already adopted or have government-backed programs supporting the spread of such mobile payment systems, and its adoption is just growing as the years pass.
Security And Ease
