Mobile money was one of the hot topics at Mobile World Congress last week. Two of the biggest stories of the show was Visa’s partnership with Samsung and MasterCard unveiling MasterPass. These are all significant developments however, in my view, an enormously important conversation around identity didn’t take place. Here’s what I mean…
Mobile money is not about card types, methods of payment, accounts, wallets, or any of the industry terms and buzzwords that fill web pages with breathless and excitable press releases and news items. The problem with most communication around mobile money is that it tends to focus on the payment. As it turns out, payments are not important, all we want as consumers is a simple way to send money and buy things. And one of the biggest frustrations at the moment is identifying who I am to the powers that be – too many forms, too many passwords and too much typing in random letters that I need to squint to read. Consumers just want a fast and easy way to be identified and make a transaction and this is where mobile should be able help.
Sites like Amazon, where customers have registered their identities, including shipping and payment information, are winning mobile customers. In developing markets the KYC (know your customer) process at registration is more often than not the first time a consumer gains an electronic identity. The more successful mobile money operators know more about the country’s population than their governments do. This information has enormous value as ancillary industries around mobile health, agriculture and microfinance emerge.
In my opinion, the real key to success in mobile money isn’t payments. It’s identity. And from a communications point of view, that’s a conversation waiting to happen.
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