In the bloggers meetup with Mobile Account, Ali Abbas from Tameer Bank highlighted that it was the branchless banking regulations from State Bank of Pakistan that eased mobile banking in Pakistan. With this I went on my hunt for the regulation document and studied to know its details. In this and coming posts I shall look at the regulatory preservative of Mobile Banking as governed by the SBP’s Brachless Banking Regulations 2008.
Guest post by Ali Abbas
It has been a long time since I have blogged which happened due to a number of factors and the most contributing one was lack of time! Well guess what? I am finally back and it is no surprise that the Telecom – Student scenario is still at the exact same spot where I left it. Upcoming telecommunication graduates are all worried and tensed biting nails and spending all their time in cursing the world for being so mean and not generating enough job opportunities! Yesterday I met a university junior after a long time and all he could talk about was the troubling thought of job shortage in Pakistan and complaining about all the options being “saturated” and dried up.
The State Bank of Pakistan has reported a decline or 34.4% in foreign investments during July-January period as compared to same period last year.
Dawn reports that fall is observed in telecom, financial, cement, oil and gas exploration and automobile sectors.
PTA has just released 2009 December mobile subscriber stats. Though it would have been nice if the industry could hit 100 million mark in calendar year 2009, we are content about the overall progress (7.6 million net additions) of the telecom segment. Mobilink had a good last quarter, ending with 30.8 million susbcribers and retained its market share of 32% from the beginning of the year. Telenor is firm at second spot. Ufone also showed good progress (18.5 M) towards the end of year but overall it fell behind Warid (18.8 M) which became the number 3 in terms of total subscribers.
The energy crisis in Pakistan is changing the way telecom industry consumes and manages power. In a welcome move, Universal Service Fund has made it mandatory for the telecom operators in rural areas, where USF is providing subsidy, to power their infrastructure through renewable energy sources. This not only makes sense financially but also from an environmental perspective. Telenor and Warid had already taken some initiatives along these lines – see our previous coverage. Read the statement from USF after the break.
Cross post from Mobile Money for the Unbanked
The launch of Pakistan’s ‘easypaisa’ by Telenor and Tameer Microfinance Bank was one of the most exciting deployments of 2009. Targeting the massive unbanked segment and initially supported by a network of 2,000 agents, it’s not surprising that easypaisa is seeing early signs of success. Having been live for less than two months, almost 250,000 customers have used the bill payment or money transfer services initially available and there are positive signs that repeat business will be strong.
I recently caught up with Arif Qayyum from Telenor and Abbas Sikander from Tameer Microfinance Bank to learn more about their approach.
Before I discuss the unexplored potentials in mobile financial services (MFS) as mentioned in my last post on the same topic, let us analyze the services currently offered – mobile bill payments and mobile money transfer (domestic) by easypaisa. In this post we shall take a look at how are they different from similar traditional services, how are they seen in other developing countries and their growth and reach.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is doing great in its 668 Campaign to wipe-off illegal SIMs, but what about the illegal mobile handsets? When I say illegal cell phones, it means cell phones without a valid IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity usually China made.
Cellular companies along with Fixed Line companies will now onwards contribute 0.5% of their gross revenues to R&D fund. As reported by Business Recorder an uniform rate of R&D contribution is being approved for all fixed line and cellular operators as this will maintain the spirit of fixed line policy 2003 which states that none of the licensees be at any position of disadvantage.
This is based on a recent article in WSJ. The idea is simple but not easy to achieve: create “good enough” products which are low cost and avoid complexity. Examples in the story include a small cooler and Tata Nano car. Take a look at the interactive part of the story here. Below I’ve included a relevant section for the blog.
Unexpectedly strong demand for cheap cellphones in recent years revealed the untapped markets in India’s villages and slums. Thanks to $20 cellphones and two-cent-a-minute call rates, Indian cellphone companies are signing up more than five million new subscribers a month, most of them consumers no one would have considered serving only five years ago.
At the same time, many of the nation’s poor have become aware of material goods available in developed economies thanks to a proliferation of television networks, radio stations, newspapers and magazines.
As with all innovations, many of these new products will fail to make their mark. But with so many unlikely products aimed at overlooked consumers, the trend could bolster bottom lines over time, create new companies and lead to a new kind of multinational corporation that thrives outside of the developed world. Unilever NV and General Electric Co. are taking notice. GE’s chairman, Jeffrey Immelt, on a recent tour of Asia, outlined how the global giant is restructuring to take advantage of what he calls “reverse innovation.” While in India this month, he said the innovations in medical equipment here could eventually help bring down the cost of health care in the U.S.
Telenor is coming up with a new service/product in a new way. Before they actually raise the curtains of it they want everyone to guess what it could be about. It is called Telenor EP.
I have guessed it. Let me help you with it.
The website says, it’s about providing convenience anytime and anywhere. It also shows that it involves Tameer Bank along with Telenor which have partnered together earlier this year to promote mobile banking.
A is for anytime, B is for branchless, C is for convenience, EP is for….its easy now. Give it a try and get a chance to win iPods.
Now that economy in some countries seems to be stabilizing, there is a new push to sell. In this picture, HP is following the trend which was once used by Nokia: send buses to rural areas to cultivate buyers. This may work in China where buying power is rising but I doubt if it will be useful in other countries. But if you are going to send a bus, then why not pack it with all kinds of electronics and may be a window for customer service!
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