December 19 2009
GiftBox: Web to Mobile Money for Social Change?
Join the community discussion on this post - (1) PostsOne of the things that GiftBox can do is send money directly to someone’s mobile phone. GiftBox, used like this, is essentially a web-to-mobile bridge, akin to the web-to-sms gateways used to send sms messages from the web.
It does so by leveraging the new Mobile Money “wave” that is sweeping across Africa. Why is Mobile Money on the rise in Africa? And why may web-to-mobile money transfer services like GiftBox be the your best choice for sending money to Africa? … Read More>>
Reach More People – Empower More People
Mobile Money was recently taunted as the new killer app for Africa . It’s more than an application, it is a social trend. It works because it empowers the consumer – not the banks: At least 1 billion people are un-banked AND yet have a mobile phone (ref). Africa alone has approximately 230 million unbanked families. With over 278 million mobile subscribers, only 25% of the population have bank accounts (ref).
Lower Transaction Costs
Furthermore, transaction costs are lower than other traditional money transfer systems: check books, bank transfers, etc. There are no charges for maintaining a mobile money account and therefore, there is more money “left over” for what you actually want to use it for.
Instant, Safer, Convenient Delivery
When you send money to someone’s mobile, they get it wherever they are – a farmer in the village, a daughter in high school, a business man in the market place. They do not need to pick it up from a special point. In many cases, they can purchase goods and services directly from their mobile wallet. The elimination of “money” in such transactions is not only safer, but also more convenient.
GiftBox takes Mobile-to-Mobile Money transfer one step further by merging it with the web. We have always believed that the merging of mobile and web technologies will produce powerful services that are simple to use, cost effective and more importantly, socially beneficial.
You can find out more about GiftBox HERE.
