Bharti Airtel has unveiled a mobile money platform in Uganda, which now completes the technical process of linking its Tanzanian and Kenyan outfits and set the stage for cross-border money transfer.

Mr Michael Okwiri, the vice president for Corporate Communication at Airtel Africa, said this week that the firm was in the process of creating a seamless money transfer service across Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

“We have applied to the relevant authorities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and are awaiting for regulatory approvals,” said Mr Okwiri.

There's a great deal of discussion and debate around what will ultimately happen to banking as a result of the massive changes in connectivity, utility, mobility and customer experience taking place right now. One thing is for sure, the world is changing, and fast.

We see PayPal owning online payments, with others like Stripe hot on their tails.

Square is attempting to disrupt the POS and circumvent the existing payments rails by going cardless.

Simple and Movenbank are vying for the new definition of the 'bank account.'

Telcos, like Rogers, are applying for banking licenses, and ISYS is pitching head-to-head with banks for mobile wallet dominance in North America. 

In response to the increased use of mobile banking applications among consumers, financial services industry regulators may soon release new guidance on how banks and other organizations should go about leveraging this trend, according to BankInfoSecurity.

The use of mobile banking applications may be included in a forthcoming update to the  Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's Authentication Guidance. However, the news provider reported, industry regulators are still getting up to speed when it comes to the emerging mobile space.

 

As a part of its plan to move beyond voice services, Vodafone is focusing on data and m-commerce. Services including loan repayments and money transfer through the mobile platform would see the light of the day during later part of this year, senior company official said.

“All our initiatives are meant to take us beyond voice. Even when Vittorio (Vittorio Colao, CEO of the Vodafone group) came down to India recently, he had disclosed that data and m-commerce would be our focus areas for growth. The key drivers are the facts that we have vast experience on both in other parts of the world. For example, in Africa, where a majority of the population does not have access to banking services, our M-Pesa service is a big success. India has similar demographics. We hope to replicate our success here as well,” said Suresh Kumar R, COO for Vodafone in Tamil Nadu.

Turkcell TKC +0.53% (ise:TCELL), the leading communications and technology company today launched the world's first SIM-based, Near Field Technology ("NFC") road toll payment application on its own branded smartphone T11, in collaboration with Bank Asya. Currently only applicable on Turkcell's T11, the system eliminates the need for plastic transmission cards (KGS) when crossing bridges and freeway turnpikes. Turkcell subscribers with a T11 can easily request a Bank Asya KGS application and upload cash through the Cep-T Cüzdan (mobile wallet) application on their mobile phones without having to physically visit a bank or payment point at the turnpikes.