Nairobi Star (Nairobi)
23 December 2008
The unexpected M-PESA probe ordered last week by acting Finance minister John Michuki may have been influenced by an informal cartel of local banks unhappy with the threat posed by Safaricom's mobile money transfer service poses to their business.
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They can go to hell the time when they used to bribe government officials to harrass their rivals out of business are long gone. They might be the ones to close down if they are not careful. M-pesa is our innovation and it is here to stay. How about making it possible to withdraw money from ones account and send it to somebody else. Their is a huge potential in M-pesa if the banks are willing to co-operate. The next big thing which arrived after mobile phones is M-PESA. I cannot imagine how we used to live without mobile phones and now m-pesa. For the 'big' banks if m-pesa closes you will also have to close period.
The CEO's of the main banks against MPESA drive to provide financial services to the Unbanked in Kenya should use their time and resources to either embrace Mpesa into their systems or come up with a way to reach out to 58% of poor kenyans who have been locked out of their snobbish banking clubs.
Mpesa and EQUITY Bank models of banking are here to stay as long as more than the population lives below poverty line.
Think out of the box my dear snobbish friends!