Africa May Leapfrog Traditional Banking

[jjacob]

Education is always better than dumbed-down services. Bitcoin's killer apps for Africa may (should?) come from Africa or Africans.

They most probably will. m-Pesa is a classic example of something which developed in Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa#History

In 2002, researchers at Gamos and the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, funded by Department for International Development UK (DFID), documented that in Uganda, Botswana and Ghana, people were spontaneously using airtime as a proxy for money transfer. Africans were transferring airtime to their relatives or friends who were then using it or reselling it. Gamos researchers approached MCel in Mozambique, and in 2004 MCel introduced the first authorised airtime credit swapping – a precursor step towards M-Pesa

[countryfree]

There will always be banks. Most people need a credit to buy their home.

So the people that have no bank accounts have no house. I like that logic.
It's obvious that banks can't be removed, at least not easily or quickly.

I'm not ironic. You can own a house without having a bank account, many people do, actually. The issue I'm raising, is to how to get credit. Credit isn't needed in your daily life, but most young families would not be able to buy a house without a credit. Now, how to get credit without a bank?

[QuestionAuthority]

Education is always better than dumbed-down services. Bitcoin's killer apps for Africa may (should?) come from Africa or Africans.

They most probably will. m-Pesa is a classic example of something which developed in Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa#History

In 2002, researchers at Gamos and the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, funded by Department for International Development UK (DFID), documented that in Uganda, Botswana and Ghana, people were spontaneously using airtime as a proxy for money transfer. Africans were transferring airtime to their relatives or friends who were then using it or reselling it. Gamos researchers approached MCel in Mozambique, and in 2004 MCel introduced the first authorised airtime credit swapping – a precursor step towards M-Pesa

M-Pesa use on the entire continent of Africa was about $300 million (Sh26.5B) last year. Bitcoin's market cap is $3.6 billion with a B. If we took every single customer away from M-Pesa today it wouldn't help us that much. Obviously, Africans don't need it because they have M-Pesa.

[Kprawn]

Education is always better than dumbed-down services. Bitcoin's killer apps for Africa may (should?) come from Africa or Africans.

They most probably will. m-Pesa is a classic example of something which developed in Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa#History

In 2002, researchers at Gamos and the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, funded by Department for International Development UK (DFID), documented that in Uganda, Botswana and Ghana, people were spontaneously using airtime as a proxy for money transfer. Africans were transferring airtime to their relatives or friends who were then using it or reselling it. Gamos researchers approached MCel in Mozambique, and in 2004 MCel introduced the first authorised airtime credit swapping – a precursor step towards M-Pesa

M-Pesa use on the entire continent of Africa was about $300 million (Sh26.5B) last year. Bitcoin's market cap is $3.6 billion with a B. If we took every single customer away from M-Pesa today it wouldn't help us that much. Obviously, Africans don't need it because they have M-Pesa.

I think they still do.... M-pesa rely on centralized telecommunication services and a central point of failure. Bitcoin is a much better alternative and more transparent for corruption and bribes, that are common in areas in Africa.

Would they leapfrog the traditional banking system..? Well at first I thought so....but I reckon, they still need to convert to fiat for most things, with limited merchants accepting Bitcoin now... So for a while... they would have to rely on some banking functions, until more merchants accept Bitcoin.

[QuestionAuthority]

Education is always better than dumbed-down services. Bitcoin's killer apps for Africa may (should?) come from Africa or Africans.

They most probably will. m-Pesa is a classic example of something which developed in Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa#History

In 2002, researchers at Gamos and the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, funded by Department for International Development UK (DFID), documented that in Uganda, Botswana and Ghana, people were spontaneously using airtime as a proxy for money transfer. Africans were transferring airtime to their relatives or friends who were then using it or reselling it. Gamos researchers approached MCel in Mozambique, and in 2004 MCel introduced the first authorised airtime credit swapping – a precursor step towards M-Pesa

M-Pesa use on the entire continent of Africa was about $300 million (Sh26.5B) last year. Bitcoin's market cap is $3.6 billion with a B. If we took every single customer away from M-Pesa today it wouldn't help us that much. Obviously, Africans don't need it because they have M-Pesa.

I think they still do.... M-pesa rely on centralized telecommunication services and a central point of failure. Bitcoin is a much better alternative and more transparent for corruption and bribes, that are common in areas in Africa.

Would they leapfrog the traditional banking system..? Well at first I thought so....but I reckon, they still need to convert to fiat for most things, with limited merchants accepting Bitcoin now... So for a while... they would have to rely on some banking functions, until more merchants accept Bitcoin.

Um, what? The only electronics device these people own is a cheap cell phone. They have little to no infrastructure. No cable TV, Internet, paved roads - hell, in some places they don't even have electricity or running water but they do have a shitload of cell towers. If cell services are down how exactly is Bitcoin supposed to work?

[MikeCorleone]

I think they still do.... M-pesa rely on centralized telecommunication services and a central point of failure. Bitcoin is a much better alternative and more transparent for corruption and bribes, that are common in areas in Africa.

Would they leapfrog the traditional banking system..? Well at first I thought so....but I reckon, they still need to convert to fiat for most things, with limited merchants accepting Bitcoin now... So for a while... they would have to rely on some banking functions, until more merchants accept Bitcoin.

Um, what? The only electronics device these people own is a cheap cell phone. They have little to no infrastructure. No cable TV, Internet, paved roads - hell, in some places they don't even have electricity or running water but they do have a shitload of cell towers. If cell services are down how exactly is Bitcoin supposed to work?

This is 100 % correct. I have a friend who lives in Tanzania and another in the DRC. They laugh at the idea of Bitcoin getting any sort of foothold in Africa for the next 10 to 15 years.

[QuestionAuthority]

I think they still do.... M-pesa rely on centralized telecommunication services and a central point of failure. Bitcoin is a much better alternative and more transparent for corruption and bribes, that are common in areas in Africa.

Would they leapfrog the traditional banking system..? Well at first I thought so....but I reckon, they still need to convert to fiat for most things, with limited merchants accepting Bitcoin now... So for a while... they would have to rely on some banking functions, until more merchants accept Bitcoin.

Um, what? The only electronics device these people own is a cheap cell phone. They have little to no infrastructure. No cable TV, Internet, paved roads - hell, in some places they don't even have electricity or running water but they do have a shitload of cell towers. If cell services are down how exactly is Bitcoin supposed to work?

This is 100 % correct. I have a friend who lives in Tanzania and another in the DRC. They laugh at the idea of Bitcoin getting any sort of foothold in Africa for the next 10 to 15 years.

Yeah, I was in the peace corp in Africa. Most people don't realize how fucked Africa really is until they go there. Sure, there are big modern cities but they are few and far between. Leaving a big city and driving to the next small town isn't like driving to a first world small town. It's like driving off the face of the earth and ending up on Mars.