There are approximately 5,082,665,820 mobile phones in use around the world today. Mobile phone ownership around the world is clearly highlighted in the pie chart below. We have also broken down mobile phone use by region for those countries for which data on mobile phone ownership is available. [...]
In Russia there were 224,260,000 mobile phones in July 2011, or 1.5 mobile phones per person. In the Ukraine, there were 54,377,000. Eastern Europe is a growing market for mobile phones and mobile phone payments. IE Market Research predicts that in 2015, there will be 44.6 million mobile payment users in [...]
Recent research by I.E. Market Research shows that mobile phone payments were worth 31.5 billion dollars in 2010, a slight decrease on 2009 due to the effects of the recession. This company predicts, however, that global mobile phone payments will continue to rise and be worth around 950 billion [...]
South and Central America will see a huge growth in the use of mobile phones as a means to provide access to banking services, person to person payments and remittances. This part of the world is hugely under-served by banks and it is here that mobile phone payments can make [...]
M-Pesa has established itself globally as one of the most successful mobile micro-finance and money transfer services. Its network consists of the following countries and regions: Afghanistan, South Africa, parts of Eastern Europe, Kenya, and India. Vodafone, India’s second largest mobile operator introduced M-Pesa in India in 2011. It has [...]
Since 1947, Pakistan’s banking sector has come a long way. The current estimated population of Pakistan exceeds 182 million out of which roughly only 7% use banking services. With a network of 12,000 branches across Pakistan the banking footprint is well established, but has also been deemed insufficient. Taking [...]
Ufone was the fourth telecommunication company to join Pakistan's mobile banking party with Upaisa. As the saying goes, it’s better late than never. It has given existing Ufone customers something to rave about. With mobile banking services being in the market a few years before Ufone’s introduction of [...]
Pakistan’s first mobile based branchless banking service, Easypaisa, is the creation of Tameer Microfinance Bank and the international telecommunication giant, Telenor. Established in 2009, the service is now accessible in more than 800 cities and towns throughout Pakistan. It has an average of six million users per month. In [...]
On average each Norwegian citizen paid by card 417 times in 2016, beaten only by Iceland in the worldwide ranking. With fewer Norwegians carrying cash, even the smallest of vendors find that not accepting card payments is hurting the bottom line – badly. But before we look at the [...]
The Brazilian market of card readers is one of the most exciting at the moment. Companies are fighting for a slice of the sector, estimated to have released over 300 models so far and paved the way for two successful IPOs this year. Yet not so long ago, local [...]
There’s an odd relationship going on between the Italian people, the past and the future. In a country where entrepreneurs and merchants are still reluctant to accept card payments (and customers to pay by card), what we may call a passion for smartphones could finally soothe this conservative attitude. [...]
Regulations governing the use and development of SMS payments vary from country to country around the world. Here's a brief guide to the main regulations for each country we have information about. Note that in most countries - but not all - adult and erotic content are banned. In [...]