Merging Lanes

The past six months have seen some interesting changes to the industry of Mobile Financial Services. Over the past 5 years I have endured the long haul of taking an immature experimental industry as it drives towards the ambition of one day going mainstream. Recently, large brands have made public announcements to commitments to either implement or acquire. The vendor space has seen a succession of acquisitions, such as Sybase into SAP, m-Com into Fiserv. The line between Banked and Underbanked has been blurred, as wallet based transactional businesses strive to increase the financial intuitions share of the consumer's wallet.


But what has this translated to on the ground? Realistically, nothing. The industry challenge of scale still remains. Hence the question remains: which one of these moves will eventuate in a highway to scale, and eventually the mainstream adoption of Mobile as a means for Financial Services.


I think the answer to this question lies in understanding the history of the industry. The past ten years has seen several successes and failures, but there are some very key themes to success. First and foremost those who have succeeded appreciate the difference between bank based architecture and telco based architecture. As the number of consumers in the market increases, bank principles such as financial integrity, reconciliation, risk management and consumer protection have ensure businesses avoid some of the traps of the mobile operator approach to transaction processing.


Secondly, a senior commitment to vision is critical as a player enters the market with a new service, as this commitment will be essential for the business to drive consumer engagement, effective launch campaigns and ongoing consumer adoption. This stuff doesn't happen overnight, nor does it happening easily.


So what's my tip for the year to come, look for players/partners that have:
1. A strong commitment to the vision of the industry.
2. Have a strong deep history in launching these Mobile Financial Services businesses
3. Understand the principles required in the manufacturing of Financial Products, financial integrity, scalability, risk management, transaction life cycling and consumer protection.
4. Have past experience in consumer understanding and consumer adoption for your specific market


They may sound simple, but you' be surprised how often people miss the obvious.

Green & White. Mobile Money in Pakistan and beyond

This week I traveled into Karachi, Pakistan for the annual Mobile Commerce summit. This year the title sponsor was UBL (United Bank Limited), a new entrant to the Mobile Financial Services domain and one egger to follow in the foot steps of fellow domestic competitors MCB Mobile and easyPaisa. 

This annual event is always a delight to attend and easily pulls Mobile Financials Services heavy weight Hannes van Rensburg, CEO of Fundamo. Pakistan has been good for Fundamo, we have seen great success from two very different approaches to the market. But what impresses me most about Pakistan is showing what has been labelled "The Perfect Storm", a timely coming together of a number of market dynamics in a way that no other country in the world has managed, including Kenya. The country has any number of progressive thinking bankers sitting next to a banking regulator keen to enable healthy competition, in market with all the right demographic indicators. It also had a Telco with a crystal clear vision of how Mobile Money would succeed in Pakistan's unbanked population. The result is two highly successful businesses that openly recognize they have each targeted different segments of the market and that long term, their ecosystems must interact to drive mainstream adoption. Today MCB Mobile & Easypaisa are the benchmark in Pakistan which has inspired action from many of Pakistan's other players.

Another first for the industry was the opening panel session, which saw the Deputy Governor of the State Bank sit next to the Director of the PTA (Pakistan Telecom Authority) and then proceed to publicly speak of real cooperation and a vision for creating a positive healthy regulatory market that not only enables those wishing to enter the Mobile Money space, but also foster healthy competition without creating a fragmented market. Something I am positive was music to the ears of the VISA delegates at the summit.

A true highlight was hearing the story from Zahir on Roshan's Mobile Money journey in neighboring Afghanistan. A country completely war torn after 30 years of war. A country with almost non-existent infrastructure, no land lines, only 45 ATMs of which 43 don't work, very few roads and a hugely informal cash based financial ecosystem. Roshan's journey through this not only opens your eyes to the pure simple perspective of the world as an Afghan, but it also reminds you not to take basic things for granted. Such was the case when Roshan realized that 70% of the Afghan Police Force were illiterate, and hence couldn't read the SMS that told them that their salary had been paid. Or that the police force salary would go up to 35% simply by removing the middleman.

Zahir also spoke of industry evangelist Jan Chip Chase, who recently jumped on a motorbike with a camera and a translator to deeply engage the Afghan people in an effort to understand their needs. Coupled with Jan's amazing photographic skill, this turns out to be one of the most captivating market case study you'll ever read. (The Mobile Frontier http://janchipchase.com/content/presentations-and-downloads/the-mobile-frontier/). A research project that I am sure his former employer's, Nokia, security policies would have frowned upon. Speaking of which, Nokia's Mobile Financial Services unit popped up at the summit with an interesting insight into their vision for bringing enriched customers experience and the value of a handset manufacturer to the Mobile Money ecosystems of Pakistan. Does this mean Nokia Money is coming to Pakistan?

All in all the summit was a positive injection of industry excitement and evidence that even the world's most advanced Mobile Financial Services market is still looking for ways to raise the bar and continue to push to be a benchmark for other countries.

Lastly, a huge thanks goes out to Owais Zaidi from Access Group, who took us out on a local food adventure. Where my taste buds and tummy were shown Nihari with brain and marrow, Rubberi on Burns Road and the famous Paan stalls, the clean versions of course. Adventures like these are key for international professionals to get out of the Hotels and fancy restaurants to see exactly how the locals live.

I look forward to next year, and encourage those in the industry to try and make time to visit Pakistan.

On the couch with Rensburg

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending time with a mentor of mine, Hannes van Rensburg of Fundamo. Hannes and I share a enthusiasm for innovation that sees mobile fused with financial services at a time in which there is limited full scale business's to justify the industry's existence. We will often have discussions that venture into the possibilities and challenges of our chosen field. I thoroughly enjoy these discussions, particularly when the happen at Fundamo HQ in Cape Town. A city that is now close to my heart after developing a personal obsession with their signature wine, the Pinotage.

Relationships like this are rare in the Mobile Financial Services industry, given the relative immaturity of the industry. Thought leaders are usually lightly spread across organizations and usually in competitive situations, such as competing businesses, consultancies or technology vendors. This is a complete contrast to our related industries of either Mobile Telecommunications or Banking, where deep multi-generational maturity provides thought leaders with dozens of options when it comes to industry guidance or visionary discussions. Which leaves us questioning, where pioneers find their inspiration, sound board or mentor in the absence of those with reference experience.

Each thought leader in this space has his personal passion ideas. The ones that manifest over the  years into clear visions that eventually the individual feels compelled to act on. Hannes and I love to bounce the latest state of our ideas off each other, as we close pollinate our knowledge in the ongoing pursuit of our visions.

So I'd like to take a few moments to recognize the individuals that have helped shape who I am today. Their contributions to my development have proven time and time again to be invaluable. Firstly with have Lynn Rock, now in 38th year with ANZ Bank in Australia. This is an inspiring woman that started with the bank back when they had to write manual account journals, but has continued to refresh her mind in the ongoing pursuit of excellence. Lynn has seen technology come and go, but continues to show that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Joseph Seychell, isn't a always remembered with positivity. But this is a guy that was prepared to challenge the norms of a conservative organization. Joe lead ANZ head first into some crazy thinking such as Monte Carlo risk calculation and consolidated counter party decision making in the highly tense world of financial markets. Joe's imprint on me continues to shine through, as I challenge an industry to adapt, evolve and extend.

Brad Jones, who I actually first meet during my Seychell days, gave me the gift that changed my life. Absolute trust in my abilities. Brad, I and a few others landed in Cambodia to catch a concept known at the time only as SMS Banking. Something that would later become a business close to my heart, WING Money. One of the first Bank Led Mobile Money businesses in the world, and one that would maintain commitment to a socially responsible agenda around financial inclusion. When we landed on the ground we had nothing, and I mean nothing. We had to find offices, buy computers and hire local staff. We were forced to make it up as we went alone, cause there was no precedence for what we were doing. But I loved every moment of it, it stretch the boundaries of my creative mind. Brad trust in me during this time, built an invincible resolve in me to chase the impossible with a belief that anything was possible. It also gives me great pleasure to see Brad continue in the industry.

Only through continuity in the industry will brilliant minds likes these help drive Mobile Financial Services through it's decades of immaturity into a thriving main stream market.

Now time to find a bottle of red

Bridging the success gap... Mobile Money, Emerging Markets to Developed

Many would recognize the amazing success emerging markets have witnessed over the past six years in the deployment and adoption of Mobile Financial Services. We have seen the success of M-PESA in Kenya, followed by the drive of G-Cash in the Philippines. We have seen MTN attack a group wide strategy with absolute conviction, while Pakistan has seen the rise of both Mobile Operator and Bank Led models in a single market. But why has this success never been translated to developed markets? Why have we not seen adoption rates in markets like the US, Europe, and Australia. Because if you look closely at the market, both Uganda and Australis have similar numbers of cash based transactions.

Having personally seen many of these emerging market successes, I feel that the developed world has a great deal to learn from the success of their poorer cousins. But it appears that there is a clear inability to execute on these learnings.

I put a challenge to the world of Financial Services to taken Mobile Money business models of the world and apply it to the US, or the UK, and I think you'll find that if you analyze the numbers, there is a greater chance of ROI in these markets, where transaction amounts are higher and people are willing to pay for convenience. 

But what are these learnings? Here are a few insights that can easily be replicated:

1. Simplified Money services. not complex transactional accounts with a multitude of expensive channels. Just a simple wallet for everyday money needs. Buying milk, the newspaper, a coffee. Small simple transactions.

2. Lighter incentivized eco-systems: Avoid the expense of the current card/POS networks to deploy a lighter POS network that runs across already present mobile devices. And offer incentives in the eco-system that reduce your cost or risk or cash management

3. Replace the cash, not the cards. There have been dozens of attempts to replace the cards we already carry. But we need to look at the cash, why do people carry cash? How do they use it? How can you intermediate these transactions?

Get these three right, and you'll have a successful Mobile Money deployment anywhere in the world, which includes developed countries. I'll even help if there is anyone keen.

Power Apps for 2011

Over the years I have managed to build a very powerful and connected network that constantly surprises people. Wether its knowing your son's birthday, or linking you to a friend of a friend, well managed contacts and associated social networks have an the power to amaze. In today's modern information age, it is often said that information is power and information has become personal. The latest buzz word amongst marketers is  "The Segment of One." Which refers to the utilisation of information that individually recognises the patterns, preference and interests of the individual to create suggestions or recommendations. Facebook and LinkedIn's suggested friends or people you may know functions are exactly this. But these only work within the confines of that isolated network (e.g Facebook or LinkedIn). But imagine the power of being able to cross reference the the information to build richer understanding of individuals. Some would consider this a privacy concern, but not I. I see this as a clear distinct way for you to get what you want, when you want it. Imagine a Bank that can protect that your about to call for car loan, or the shopping mall that knows you have an upcoming Hawaiian holiday.

In a small way, I already do this everyday with my contacts. Which i continually get asked "How do you have the time to be so attentive?" So here it is, my secret recipe to social networking and information flow success, in my list of power apps for 2011:

First thing you have to be a able to know someone's details, for example: name, email, number. Luckily in my line of work most people give me all these details on their business card, which leads me to Power App #1:

WorldCard Pro (http://worldcard.penpowerinc.com/product.asp?sn=228): 

The award winning Business Card scanner allows me to quickly and accurately capture all the details on a new contacts business card. A absolute must for someone in Sales, Recruitment or an Entrepreneur. Once the data is collected, I hand it over to my Contact Manager Power App #2, Gmail(www.gmail.com). 

Gmail & Rainmaker:(www.gmail.com & rainmaker.cc)

The proliferation of Google services has been famous over the years, but not many people would see the power of Google's Gmail Contacts. It's positioned as a side feature to Gmail, but has powerful possibilities when linked to additional services. Many of us would have imported our Gmail contacts to Facebook, Skype or LinkedIn before, but I am talking about someone much more powerful, Power App #3 Rainmaker.

Rainmaker supercharges your Gmail or Google Apps contacts. Rainmaker turns an email address into a full contact record. Rainmaker populates your Google Contacts with names, titles, organizations, photos and other social information from a user’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn networks. Rainmaker also automates Twitter and LinkedIn connections. Rainmaker enables Google Apps users to share Google Contact records within a domain. So from a simply name & email address, you can collect and collate a great deal of information on a new contact. But once you have all these details, how do you use it effectively? Enter Power App #4 Gist 

Gist (www.gist.com) 

With your contacts database now quickly building in Gmail, supercharged by Rainmaker, you start to interact with and watch the activity of your contacts. They are in email, social networks, on your mobile phone and many other sources. Gist brings your contacts into one place to give you a full view of your network making it easy to find anyone, anytime. You get all the latest news, blog posts, and tweets for anyone in your network network delivered where you want it, when you want it, keeping you up to date with all of your contacts. Then plug in your various Social Network accounts, email accounts, etc and watch the information develop a rich insight into everyone around you. But you also like to actively monitor and respond to the activity amongst your network. Enter Power App #5, TweetDeck.

Tweetdeck (Twitter, Foursqaure, LinkedIn & Facebook) (www.tweetdeck.com)

Are you someone that always likes to be on the pulse, I know I am. Seeing activity and interaction live gives you that chance to always be one the spot ready for anything. A debate on last nights football match, industry discussions about the latest products, an industry fellow's birth of his first child, and the list goes on. Being on the pulse of happenings allows you to appear to know more than anyone else, when all you've really done is collect the information faster than everyone else. Install TweetDeck on your desktop, iPhone, iPad or Web Browser, then connect all your Social Networks to a TweetDeck account to provide seamless integration across all your touch points. I use TweetDeck on my Android Phone for maximum mobility, on my iPad for mobile content reading as a travel, my work laptop for instant connectivity throughout the day and my iMac for a massive cross network dashboard, letting me continuously be on the pulse and respond at a moments notice.

So there you have it, a comprehensive toolkit for collecting new contacts, enriching the information, collecting into networks and providing you with the information to thrive in a modern connected world. Trust me, your associate will be impressed when you wish him luck for his safari trip when he thought you weren't pay that much attention to him.

Enjoy and let me know if you manage to develop the toolkit further.

Cheers

Facebook as a Market Place... exciting stuff

Wow, what a revelation. In an article today Facebook mentioned that its team is working on new online shopping software which could help the company become the next major online merchant and overcome other online stores such as eBay.com. Just in time for Christmas, Facebook wants to serve as an ecommerce store by turning its pages into online shopping outlets and its users into online shoppers. (http://www.staho.com/social-network-facebook-plans-to-become-a-major-online-merchant-by-launching-ecommerce-store/209555/)


This poses an interesting question around how we interact with our social networks, do we tend to buy and sell amongst our friends? How would we control privacy when posting products in an open market? Will private marketplaces exist?


One of my visions has always been to use the connectivity framework established by Facebook for other services, such as commerce, payments, delivery services, etc. Image being able to log onto a Mobile Payments apps (web or mobile) and send the $20 you owe your cousin by selecting him in your Facebook contacts. That way, you never need know which bank he is with, nor the routing codes, or which account he wants it in. Instead Facebook prompts him that he has received $20 and nominates which bank or account he wants to put it into. Kind of like sending money through PayPal, but your already established connections through Facebook. Such a case could also work for International Remittances, where you can send money to your friend in the UK from Australia.


The announcement from Facebook means that the usually non-personal experience of eBay, can be enriched as potential sellers and buyers could be linked to their Facebook profile, adding to the credibility of your seller/buyer profile.


I think this is a very exciting announcement from Facebook, and I look forward to watching its growth in the market.

Will banks embrace the social frameworks of modern society

Time and time again I am amazed at how integrated Social Frameworks are into our everyday lives. It seems every week that a new service is added to the mesh that is Facebook, Google, LinkedIn or Twitter. Each of these frameworks provides the base building blocks for enabling connected services between individuals and/or businesses. But to date none of these services have come from one of societies must traditional industries, the Banks.

With the reputation of banks continually under the spot light with recent systemic issues, bailouts and large scale misconduct, you would have thought that banks were keen to find a distraction or ray of hope to defer the eyes of the world. Just like a politician likes to distract voters from issues towards tax cuts, new infrastructure or better benefits, banks should have take the opportunity to pounce on the convergence of social frameworks and financial services.

Lets start with a really simple example. Imagine the possibilities if you could get a bank to endorse the validity of you're Facebook or LinkedIn profile. Therefore enabling other business's to trust the information you present through your social media. Thus applying for a new gym membership could be entirely linked to your profile, therefore allowing the individual to self maintain their information which automatically feeds into the clubs database for communications, marketing and Analytics. Such a service would not only do away with the customer/member systems the clubs have today, but also provide a great plugin to better utilize the network of the member.

Banks already have access to information stores for the purpose of minimizing risk and fraud. Such as national credit databases, electoral roles, fraud databases, etc. Such data could be used by the bank to not only valid profiles, but also bring the concept of security or valid identity as a potential new revenue line.

The idea of self maintained information can be applied to almost anything once the source is validated: credit card applications, additional product applications within the bank, updating of address details, exchanging of contact information with a new associate, and the list goes on.

What we need is a bank brave enough to take a controlled step forward to demonstrate to the industry that such innovations are not only possible, but benefit both the business while decreasing product risk.

Here is a simple use case:
1. John Citizen has been with HSBC Bank now for close to 10 years. He has multiple service relationships for utilities, banking, financing, postal, club memberships, government services and employment.
2. John opts for HSBC's new ConnectSecure ID service, in which he complete on online linkage if his customer record at the bank with his Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.
3. Once linked John's bank does the following via existing data services:
a) Validates his Name & Address against the electoral role
b) Validates employment history against the taxation department
c) Validates select photos against existing KYC images
d) passes a validity status to Facebook and LinkedIn for the validated fields
4. John wants to join Fitness First, and signs up via Facebook. The Fitness First member database links John's membership information to the validated fields on Facebook
5. John also links his utility bills to his Facebook profile
6. John and his family moves house. But instead of updating all separate customer systems. He simply changes his address on Facebook which checks the updated address against the electoral role, saves the newly validated address and now all the associated service providers have his new address.

Look for more future use cases in future blog posts

Happy New Year

Location:Nassim Rd,,Singapore