Financial services

Future banking – it’s all about the mobile phone

Mobile wallets such as Vodacom’s M-Pesa are receiving mixed reactions throughout Africa. Is this the right formula, or does banking need a rethink?

02 May 2013

Africa is a big place. With a total area of roughly 30 million square kilometres, it could easily swallow up Russia, China, the UK and France, with just enough space left over to fit in India, for good measure.

With this kind of perspective, it’s easy to appreciate how sparsely located the continent’s one billion residents are. In terms of population density, Africa measures in at 65 people per square mile. Comparatively, there are 134 people per square mile in Europe, while Asia tips the scale at a startling 203 people by the same measure.

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