The two day Mobile Money Southern Asia Conference was concluded at Leela Kempinski, Mumbai, on September 28, 2011. Obopay was a gold sponsor at the event and Obopay CEO, Mr. Deepak Chandnani was a panelist at the exclusive event. The event was organized with the intention of giving a platform to major players in the M-Commerce field to come together and share their learning while giving them the opportunity to deliberate on the future of mobile payments in South Asia.
Day one, was focussed more on the setting forth the importance of Mobile Commerce with a special focus on India. Deepak was a speaker on this day with the session on Unleashing the potential of mobile money in India: what does mobile money mean for the Indian market? Deliberation on the current state of mobile money transfer services in South Asia was done with the intent of identifying customer needs to better target the market. Queries about the M-Payment services and its mechanism were also resolved.
Day two had a stronger focus on the business perspective of mobile commerce. Sustainable business models were discussed and partnerships between bank and telecom companies were seen as successful example learning from application in Bangladesh.
There also was a Regulator’s armchair session with Shri Srinivas, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India & Mr. Inayat Hussain, Executive Director, Banking Policy & Regulations Group, State Bank of Pakistan, where the regulators answered queries about the laws and statutes governing mobile commerce in the region.
The exclusive event was attended on both days by invitees from the mobile commerce space. Attendees included representative of mobile network operators, banks and MFIs.
October 13th, 2011
The first day of Mobile Money Southern Asia was hosted at the Leela Kempinski, Mumbai, on September 27, 2011. Obopay CEO, Mr. Deepak Chandnani was a panellist at this exclusive event and also a speaker later in the day.
Deepak took the stage in the first session of the day unlocking the potential of mobile money in South Asia. The panel included eminent executives representing large corporations keenly looking at the mobile money potential in South Asia. They included Gary Singh, MD, Nokia Money; Krishna Kumar, GM Marketing Mobile commerce, Vodafone Essar and Rahul Joshi, Joint General Manager, ICICI Bank.
Current state of mobile payment in the region was seen through the lens of banks and MNO’s. The panel identified trends and hot spots, opportunities for mobile money services, existing mobile banking mechanisms and recognized obstacles facing full deployment of the mobile money ecosystem. Deepak mentioned Obopay’s presence in Kenya, and the rapid growth of adoption in the Indian market. He also emphasized on the huge underserved unbanked segment in India.
Deepak in his address in the pre-lunch session focussed on the Indian market. He concluded that India will have the largest base of mobile financial services users, multiple times the numbers that we see today in markets such as Kenya and the Philippines.
October 13th, 2011
On August 19, 2011 Obopay India was host to a group of mobile bloggers at our Mumbai office. The meet was aimed at showcasing the Obopay services to the blogging community. Attending the meet were Obopay CEO Deepak Chandnani and Obopay Executive Vice President – Global Alliances, Aditya Menon
The list of attendees included prominent mobile bloggers. Mobile commerce being the most prominent technological advancement it has been the buzz word in blogosphere recently. These particular bloggers were invited for their inclination towards the same.
@unitechy
@gauravh1
@sanjaybafna
@kunalgangar
@Antwush
@aatifsumar
@whizkidd
@rohitsane
Mr. Chandnani began the discussion with a quick overview of Obopay and its journey. Further, he delved into the market growth of mobile payment in India and other countries. The presentation was followed by a demonstration of the Obopay mobile payment services.
Following the demonstration the floor was thrown open for a Q&A round. @unitchy and @gauravh1, began the questions with inquiry on how security of private data is handled by Obopay. Mr. Aditya Menon walked all through the entire process. Here’s the link where you can find answers to all questions about Obopay security
@aatifsumar had questions regarding service charges. He was informed about different charges levied by different providers. Questions about the SMS-driven payment mechanism for non-Obopay users were on everyone’s mind.
Below you can find the tweets exchanged during the entire discussion.
September 10th, 2011
To note the rapid growth and massive adoption of Obopay Mobile Payment Services, we are presenting the Dial M for Money Contest. The contest is being hosted on the official Obopay facebook page and will be running for a span of two weeks.
What are we to do, you ask?
We are interested in knowing how open you are to let mobile payments into your life. Obopay has a service whose application is limited only by your imagination. You can tell us the many possibilities in your life where a mobile payment facility would make things easier for you. We are all ears to see how innovative and how practical the ultimate beneficiaries (you) of M-Commerce can be.
- Buy books on the go
- Tickets at the last minute
- Make quick donations
It can be absolutely anything!!
Now why will I be participating, you ask?
Well, there’s a 100 USD prize to be won.
As an appreciation of your effort and helping us understand you better we will be giving away prizes worth the above mentioned amount to every winner.
We are looking at being surprised by your responses and the prizes you win will be a surprise to you as well.
So, if you have had a nagging feeling that your phone can do more for you and if you think you have the one winning suggestion we are looking for click here to participate.
September 9th, 2011
CEO Carol Realini on What’s Next with Obopay and Mobile Payments
Carol Realini, CEO Obopay, Inc.
Carol Realini is the driving force behind Obopay which has allowed customers to send and receive money through mobile phone SMS since 2005. In this exclusive NEXTcast interview, Realini reveals Obopay’s strategy to bring mobile payments to the masses. Listen to the interview
March 9th, 2010
“We live in a world where human problems do not come permanently attached to national passports” – Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. In this rapidly changing world we need moments where we pause, step outside our traditional paths, try to connect the dots. This is the essence of the Spirit of Davos.
In the last ten years I have had the privilege to meet with top management from mobile and financial industry players, meet with Dr. Yunus (Nobel Peace Prize winner), interact with political and government leaders in various forums. This rubbing shoulders with powerful and influential people has prepared me somewhat for Davos.
That being said, I am anxious about how to best contribute as well as leverage this type of event. I have been told it is non-stop sessions from 7 AM until late hours of the evening. My objective is to orient myself quickly once I am on the ground and determine how to best engage. I have a “Davos Buddy”, Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Brightcove, who I meet with at the beginning of the conference. His role is to help me quickly orient and understand how to get the most out of Davos.
My companion at Davos
Attendees can’t bring other people from their company – the invitation is to the individual only; others won’t get passes for access to the sessions and even physical access into the area where the event takes place. Attendees can bring their spouses and spouses are full participants at the conference. My husband, Joe Tumminaro, doesn’t normally accompany me on business trips. He loves to travel but doesn’t want to be in interesting places but have me work and he then has to enjoy those places by himself. Not to mention he hates being called Mr. Realini.
Joe made an exception to his rule for WEF. He has many passions and is interested in environmental, security, and humanitarian issues – and of course he is passionate about Obopay. He will not only attend some of the sessions with me but also he plans to go to some I cannot. I have asked him to help me with this blog once we get to the conference so our blog followers can benefit. He has agreed.
Joe and I came to Switzerland a few days early so we could sightsee and get over jetlag. We are in St. Moritz now where the weather is incredible. Sunday we skied and on Monday we will visit a few surrounding towns and a sledge run from Preda to Bergun (over 6 kilometers) – what a treat.
Goals for Davos.
Learn new things; especially gain insights on how to best address the world’s most challenging problems.
Contribute to the dialogue; this includes making sure the attendees understand the power of mobile banking and payments and how that might be applied to some of the challenges we face.
Build relationships; especially interested in establishing connections with attendees who are potential distribution partners and government allies.
Build awareness; Make sure attendees are aware of mobile money and its potential role in addressing world challenges.
Schedule for the First 24 Hours
Tuesday
- Welcome reception
- Tech Pioneers Welcome Dinner and Awards Ceremony.
Wednesday
- Rethinking Security in the 21st Century – Joe
- Growing influence of Social Networks – Carol
- Business Solutions to Rural Poverty – Carol and Joe
- Rise of Asia – Carol and Joe
If we can fit them in
- Who is the new consumer?
- Rethinking Values
January 26th, 2010
Obopay CEO Carol Realini
What excites you about having Obopay’s mobile payment services operational in Kenya?
As many people know my experience while traveling in Africa was key to the founding of Obopay. While on a social-action mission I saw people with bags of devalued currency buying prepaid minutes in a mobile phone store – it looked exactly like an image you would expect to see in a bank.
So I asked why mobile phones couldn’t become defacto banks, allowing people to move money around in ways they never could before. This was especially exciting since only about 5% of all people in Africa are banked.
So from that beginning in Africa, the big idea of Obopay was to leverage the growing ubiquity of mobile phones to deliver financial services to all people.
This launch in Kenya is especially exciting since we with Essar Telecom are delivering on that promise. We are now operational in three countries on three continents – US, India, and Kenya.
Why did Obopay partner with Essar to deliver yuCash by Obopay?
As you may know, Essar Communications Holdings Limited, the telecom subsidiary of Essar Global Limited, invested in Obopay in 2008. They share our vision for financial inclusion, and delivering advanced mobile banking and payment services. Although yu is new to Kenya, they are the fastest growing mobile operator in East Africa.
How do you imagine yuCash by Obopay changing people’s lives and small businesses in Africa?
I can image a lot. In some ways, Kenya is one of the most advanced mobile banking and payments market in the world. Already in Kenya, consumers know mobile banking changes things. Money can safely be stored on their phone, sending and receiving money can be done reliably, securely and instantly via their mobile phone, and now consumers are beginning to look for solutions to do even more with mobile money.
With our initial launch, we have already included new features and capabilities consumers are asking for. YuCash by Obopay displays a host of unique features which enhance the subscriber’s experience over and above just sending and receiving money. One very useful feature is the ability of a consumer to get a complete record of their transactions of the past 30 days – enabling them to keep a clear track on their transactions, eliminating the need to keep a manual record.
Banking empowers people in their life and work. Mobile Money brings banking to millions of people in Africa that have for so long been unserved by traditional bank methods. In the long term, I can image mobile money being the most important currency in Kenya – more important than cash, check or cards. Obopay is very excited about being there and teaming with such innovative partners as Essar Telecom, yu and Equity Bank.
What is different about yuCash by Obopay mobile payment services?
Already the service has unique features for Kenya; transaction history, invitations for family and friends, on the mobile phone help, short messages with transactions, and the ability to request money. Request money is a unique feature that enables the recipient of the money to initiate the transaction and request the sender to send a certain amount of money. The sender only has to confirm and have sufficient funds to send and the transaction gets concluded.
And this is just the beginning. The Obopay platform is the leading global mobile payment platform – and the number of great partners is growing.
You can tell I am really excited about the partnership with Essar Telecom, Equity Bank, and the launch of yuCash by Obopay. This is the realization of my dream of Obopay in Africa.
December 16th, 2009
Previous Posts
SIGN UP FOR OBOPAY!
