World Economic Forum honors Obopay as 2010 Technology Pioneer!
Obopay today announced it has been chosen by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer 2010 for its innovation, transformational technology, leadership and substantial long-term impact on businesses and society.
Obopay is one of 26 companies from around the world to be honored with this prestigious award. In addition, Obopay is one of only 11 companies in the Information Technologies, Telecommunications and New Media category and is the only financial services provider receiving the award.
Below are answers from Obopay CEO Carol Realini on what it means to be honored:
What does it mean for Obopay to be honored as a Technology Pioneer 2010 by the World Economic Forum?
We are incredibly honored to be recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer. It is a badge of honor that we wear proudly. This award underscores our vision and corporate commitment to empowering all people with access to affordable banking through mobile technology.
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is the world’s top international event bringing together business and political leaders from around the world to discuss global challenges and how to improve the state of the world. As a result of Obopay being named Technology Pioneer 2010, I will join the Annual Meeting in Davos in January. I am very excited to be invited and I look forward to making valuable contributions and helping to further the global mission of financial inclusion.
Why is Obopay life changing?
Well, it is life changing depending upon where you are in the world. Lot’s of people don’t have access to basic banking services. That’s a fact. The statistics are sobering and the truth is that more than half of the adults in the world don’t have access to savings, credit or electronic payments which makes life incredibly difficult. Some people have to travel great distances to get access to basic banking and must wait in long lines. Others have no safe place to put their money, so the money gets lost or stolen. And, it makes it so unproductive for businesses. But, the ubiquitous mobile phone network is the catalyst that enables Obopay to deliver low cost banking services to people who have mobile phones, which is about everybody, at scale, and at a low cost.
What is the future potential of Obopay?
Obopay’s vision is to empower everyone with universal access to financial services through any mobile phone. There is a vast opportunity ahead of us and the right time is now; the mobile phone has the unique ability to change the way people in all markets interact with money and with their loved ones as well as impact how small businesses transact. The mobile phone is in an exponentially better position than the internet was to have an impact in people’s lives around the world, not just how we communicate but how we interact, how we go about our days and simplify our lives.
The landline brought many communications access. But, there was a natural ceiling. It could only go so far. The same is true of the traditional bank accounts and models. Have we reached that ceiling too? No. However, people still have limited access to banking. Mobile banking and payments is a different approach to banking. We can reach more people. In the next 5, even 10 years, just imagine that a billion more people can get access to bank accounts, credit, and electronic payments, just like everyone now has access to online communications.
Is Mobile Banking and Payments just for emerging markets?
No, the opportunity lives with the unbanked, under-banked as well as those that do existing bank relations in ALL markets – both emerging and developed markets. By launching our services in the US in 2005 and in India in 2008, we were the first to operate in both emerging and developed markets.
There is clearly a need in emerging markets because the traditional banking system can not catch up fast enough. I’m a true believer that it is also important in the United States because we’re the source of a major global network. The same is true in Europe. For example, if I left my family in the Philippines and went to work in France, I could, through the U.S. or Europe, interact and send money from one market to another. We also neglect to realize that there is a lot of unbanked people right here at home. More than 30-50 million families in the U.S. do not have affordable (or have limited access) to financial products.
How does Obopay plan to scale?
We built to scale from the beginning. Yes, Obopay is a young company, but we have already set the stage to tap into the bigger ecosystem by establishing key global relationships with global network providers such as Nokia and Mastercard. It’s all about global scale and global reach. We take a holistic approach pulling all the different stakeholders together including banks, operators, mobile device providers, M-commerce providers, distribution, merchants and small businesses to deliver affordable mobile banking and payments to all people regardless of geography. We are at the forefront of transforming the global banking industry and creating the next generation payment system. These are very exciting times!
You can also view Carol’s video interview by the WEF below:
1 comment December 3rd, 2009
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