Mobile phones have increasingly become tools that consumers use for banking, payments, budgeting, and shopping. Given the rapid pace of developments in the area of mobile finance, the Federal Reserve Board began conducting annual surveys of consumers’ use of mobile financial services in 2011. This 78-page report, “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services” (March, 2015) examines trends in the adoption and use of mobile banking, payments, and shopping behavior and how the emergence of mobile financial services affects consumers’ interaction with financial institutions.
Airtel and Verifone Partner for Mobile Payments in Ghana
Mobile network operator Airtel has partnered with Verifone Mobile Money to bring NFC contactless mobile payments to Ghana.
Under the deal, Airtel will provid NFC-enabled POS terminals to merchants around the Ghana. The company’s 1.5 million Airtel Money customers can then pay via mobile wallet with an NFC-enabled handsets or through a contactless sticker provided by Airtel.
Chris Jones, chief executive of Verifone Mobile Money, remarked, “we believe that NFC technology and the roll out of contactless “tap and pay” across the African continent will help to realize the true economic benefits of cashless economies while driving mobile money adoption through an improved merchant payments experience.”
Lucy Quist, MD, Airtel Ghana, added, “this is a more efficient mode of payment as it reduces the number of steps customers have to go through to make a mobile money payment. The use of this new technology will further deepen the growing acceptance of cashless payments in Ghana.”