Sponsored by MasterCard
Having or using no cash (coins, notes) for money transactions but instead using:
This is what the front and back of a sample MasterCard looks like.
A credit card looks similar and has many of the same features.
Debit and credit cards are issued by banks and use payment networks that connect these cards to millions of merchants, restaurants, shops, ATMs, hotels, airlines, as well as online shops around the world.
Examples of networks are:
An ATM is an electronic device that enables a customer to perform transactions without the need for a human. It’s simple as 1-2-3!
Pay for shopping, bills and services anywhere anytime using a card or mobile phone.
A debit/credit card saves one the time spent going to the bank and queuing for cash at the ATM.
One can use the card directly at the shop/merchant which leaves more time to enjoy the things that matter in life.
A debit/credit card is accepted in millions and millions of locations all over the world. So travelers don’t need to convert currencies and carry large amounts of cash.
Use a debit/credit card to shop online from the comfort of one’s home. Avoid the pain of busy traffic, and get a lot more options to choose from.
A debit/credit card is much safer to carry around than cash as it is protected by a PIN. If it gets lost, just call the bank to block the card and get a replacement issued.
Debit/credit card companies often give special offers to customers on experiences like dining, sports, entertainment, travel etc.
In the early 2000s, the very first form of mobile money transfer was noticed: people were sending airtime scratchcard numbers to each other by SMS.
Building on this idea, Safaricom piloted M-Pesa in 2007, as a way to provide microfinance services to their customers. The idea was that people could receive and pay loans using the system, but they found people were using it to send money to each other instead. M-Pesa was then re-launched as a money transfer and payment service, that has since been copied around the world.
M-Pesa allows transfers and payments to be made by using the SIM card menu, SMS or USSD on your phone. Cash can be deposited or withdrawn at mobile money agents (usually based in shops) or transferred to a bank account. It can also be used to pay utility bills, like water and electricity.
Network operators charge a small fee for each transaction. M-Pesa has been such a success that roughly 20% of Safaricom's revenues come from these fees alone.
M-Pesa has been widely copied, first in East Africa, then across the continent and the world. As of 2014, mobile money systems operated in 35 countries across Africa, and 67 across the world. The number is growing every year.
