War of the Plastic cards with Mobile wallets

Anand, I don't think you see the whole picture here. First of all, Africa is one major exception to the rest of world - and even in Africa the number of payment cards is going up.

Secondly, no matter how complex or contradictory regulations are, payments cards will remain the most robust and scalable solution for payments for decades - and African countries will eventually shift to it and move away from mPESA and others.

Finally, the vast majority of mobile wallets use payment cards as the actual payment method. So if anything, there is perfect working relationship between cards and wallets - but certainly not a war.

Thanks Andrei. No doubt about the cards being robust and scalable they are a proven method and the PCI-DSS seems a stable standard. Recently I read a report which mentions that 80% of Africa are unbanked customers. If payment cards are going to be issued there, then many banks would have setup shop there I guess. I have never been to Africa with the exception Joburg so I cannot comment:-) Cheers

Anand,

Banks will come there - but only when there will be something to come for. Just to give you an idea, the average amount of individual bank deposits per person in Kenya is around 450 USD - now compare this to, say, Lithuania with its average of 4,000 USD. And Kenya is by far not the poorest country in Africa.

So for the current level of disposable income, mPesa and other mobile-based systems offer enough (basic) functionality in relation to income they generate. But this is temporary... just a matter of time and growth in disposable income - and then there will be demand for better financial services.

Makes sense. surely as economies prosper, the demand for financial services will grow.