Gadgetopia

Africa’s cellphone boom creates a base for low-cost banking: I know this is not necessarily a new concept, but it’s good to see that it is spreading to people who really can benefit from it.

With the new technology, a grandmother in rural area can receive money from her son, working hundreds of miles away, with the beep of her cellphone. A teenager can buy groceries with a few punches of keys. Not a coin need change hands.

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And if cellphone banking works in South Africa, the two companies hope it will help change banking throughout Africa, much of which remains a cash economy. “We believe that this very simple but very well-designed product has the potential to revolutionize banking on the African continent,” says Mr. Singh.