Technological innovations of the past 50 years
Mobile phone-based money transfer
Name
Institution
In recent years, there have been numerous milestones in technological advancements such as electronic word processing, social networking, instant messaging, Blue-ray, smartphones, search engines, Satellite TV, Wi-Fi, lithium rechargeable batteries, online stock trading, Bluetooth, DNA profiling, genetic sequencing and many others. These innovations help in our day to day lives especially in the fields of communication, medicine, banking, agriculture, transport and entertainment. One of the most beneficial and successful innovations of the 21st century is mobile phone-based money transfer (MMT). The use of mobile phone-based money transfer has had life changing impacts not only to individuals but also to businesses in the developing countries (Au & Kauffman, 2008).
MMT provides a simple, secure platform for small to medium-size financial transaction to people with limited or lacking formal financial or banking services. It has emerged to be a very fast and convenient way of money transfer in that people are able to make instant transactions at any time of day or night from the comfort of their homes, as they travel or even at work without having to make tedious trips to the bank. In the rural areas, where there are few or no banks and level of literacy is minimal, MMT has come in handy as it only requires basic mobile operation knowledge and network coverage.
The costs involved in banking services such as monthly charges, ledger fees, transaction fees, and transport costs to and from the bank have been greatly reduced by MMT. It eliminates the need for the customer’s physical presence and the only charges admissible are sending and withdrawal charges that are comparably lower than the reigning bank charges (Au and Kauffman, 2008). In most developing countries, payment of bills has been made possible through MMT without being charged extra for the transaction
Name
Institution
In recent years, there have been numerous milestones in technological advancements such as electronic word processing, social networking, instant messaging, Blue-ray, smartphones, search engines, Satellite TV, Wi-Fi, lithium rechargeable batteries, online stock trading, Bluetooth, DNA profiling, genetic sequencing and many others. These innovations help in our day to day lives especially in the fields of communication, medicine, banking, agriculture, transport and entertainment. One of the most beneficial and successful innovations of the 21st century is mobile phone-based money transfer (MMT). The use of mobile phone-based money transfer has had life changing impacts not only to individuals but also to businesses in the developing countries (Au & Kauffman, 2008).
MMT provides a simple, secure platform for small to medium-size financial transaction to people with limited or lacking formal financial or banking services. It has emerged to be a very fast and convenient way of money transfer in that people are able to make instant transactions at any time of day or night from the comfort of their homes, as they travel or even at work without having to make tedious trips to the bank. In the rural areas, where there are few or no banks and level of literacy is minimal, MMT has come in handy as it only requires basic mobile operation knowledge and network coverage.
The costs involved in banking services such as monthly charges, ledger fees, transaction fees, and transport costs to and from the bank have been greatly reduced by MMT. It eliminates the need for the customer’s physical presence and the only charges admissible are sending and withdrawal charges that are comparably lower than the reigning bank charges (Au and Kauffman, 2008). In most developing countries, payment of bills has been made possible through MMT without being charged extra for the transaction
References: Au, Y. & Kauffman, J. (2008). The economics of mobile payments: Understanding stakeholder issues for an emerging financial technology application. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 7, 141–164. Coetzee, G., Kamau, K. & Andrew N., (2003). Taking Banking services to the people: Equity’s Mobile Banking Unit. Nairobi. Kenya.