Mobile phones may have a huge role to play in expanding access to finance. But does the company that operates the mobile network need to actually provide financial services? Or should others offer financial services, with the mobile operator merely providing the underlying wireless connectivity? The fact that mobile phones can be used as transactional devices doesn’t necessarily mean that the mobile operator needs to “own” the financial service. Banks tend to view mobile banking as a way to enhance service to existing customers, while mobile operators are more focused on addressing the mass market and the unbanked (Ivatury and Mas 2008). In the Philippines and Kenya, allowing mobile operators to design, market, and sell their own transactional savings products has opened a path for extending basic financial services to the mass market in a way that traditional banks have not done. For more information, please visit: http://www.cgap.org/gm/document-1.9.34485/Mobileoperators_Brief.pdf
About Me
- Ngeth Chou
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Chou was born in 1979 in a remote area of Takeo province. His childhood had no dream and he grew without clear future objective, but he can reach new height today due to his unwavering effort. “Always explore opportunity for life, do not wait for opportunity to come to you” is his word to share with young Khmer generation. His teenager’s life was the most beautiful and challenging time and brought a lot of sweet memories, particularly friends at Bati high school. He is a Consultant/Microfinance Manager at USAID/HARVEST Program and a former Senior Management Team at one leading Microfinance Institution – namely AMK MFI. Prior to joining AMK, he was a Senior Business Analyst at Emerging Markets Consulting (EMC), a leading regional consulting firm, which actively involved in many consulting projects for the World Bank, UNDP, USAID/DAI, Israeli Embassy, AusAID and few leading MFIs on strategic advisory. He holds BA in Philosophy, BBA in Marketing, MBA in Management and Executive Education Program on Strategic Leadership for Microfinance from Harvard University, Boston, USA.
