Mobile Banking for the Unbanked Poor without Mobile Phones: Comparing Three Innovative Mobile Banking Services in India

Mobile banking has created a new channel to reach over 2.5 billion unbanked poor in developing countries. Conventional mobile banking services require clients to be able to own a mobile phone and know how to operate it. However, a majority of the unbanked poor in developing countries are illiterate or semi-literate earning fluctuating incomes, often less than USD2.00 a day, and live in remote rural areas without reliable technology infrastructure. We evaluate three companies providing innovative mobile banking services, ZERO, FINO, and ESE, which do not require the poor to own a mobile phone or know how to operate it. All three companies employ human agents equipped with combinations of mobile technologies like NFC and smart cards, who meet the poor in their villages to conduct financial transactions. We reflect on the economic impact, market opportunity, and other issues related to innovative mobile banking services in the concluding section.