Serving the Unbanked Mobile Phone Users in South Asia

Singapore, 13 January 2012– 70% of the population of South Asia has no access to mainstream banking. The banking penetration rate has been slow. But mobile penetration has achieved remarkable growth. For instance, mobile penetration rate stands at 86.6% in Sri Lanka, the highest among the regions of Indian Ocean/South Asia. Recognising that the rural masses present a huge opportunity for banks and retailers, banks and telecom operators must come together to offer innovative solutions to tap into this emerging market. What are the market trends? What are the regulatory framework? What are the technology platforms? What are the mobile applications? What are the marketing outreach strategy? The Indian Ocean / South Asia Mobile Payments & Banking Summit 2012 to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 31 January – 1 Feb 2012 will address the challenges, strategies and regulatory frameworks to ramp up the mobile payments infrastructure in the much overlooked region of Indian Ocean/South Asia.

The Summit will tackle the unique prospects & challenges for mobile payments in the emerging economies of Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal. . Hear strategies & out of the box ideas that can spearhead mobile adoption surpassing Philippines, Brazil & Kenya. Case studies of Easy Paisa, Global Desi, SMS based bill payments & micro credit transfers amongst others will be presented.

The Summit will be a converging point for key players from the telecommunication, information technology and banking sectors to come together and share new insights .
Speakers at the Summit include top representatives fromCentral Bank of Sri Lanka, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Bharti Airtel, Etisalat Lanka, Bangladesh Bank, CityCell, Sampath Bank PLC, Nepal Telecom, , ICICI Bank, LIRNEasia, MCB Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank, etc.

The Summit is supported by the Electronic Money Association, Prepaid International Forum, SIMalliance, Mobile Entertainment Forum and Global Platform.

TimesofMoney, a leader in digital payment solutions and Analogics Tech. India Ltd, a turnkey solution provider, are the Associate Sponsor and Participating Sponsor of the Summit respectively.

The CEO of the conference organizing company, Magenta Global Pte Ltd, Singapore, Ms Maggie Tan, said: “ The growing trend towards mobile banking cannot be ignored. South Asia with its huge untapped rural masses must capitalize on its potential. How to access banking securely and conveniently with the mobile phone is key to its growth. The partnership between cellular operators and banks will provide unparalleled revenue opportunities.” She further added “Coupled with the increasing popularity of iphones, Ipads & blackberrys, demand for mobile content and apps can only explode. All stakeholders must pepare to catch the waves”.

The event will be held at Ramada Colombo.

Magenta Global Pte Ltd is a premier independent business media company that provides pragmatic and relevant information to government & business executives and professionals worldwide. The organization provides the opportunity to share thought-provoking insights, exchange ideas on the latest industry trends and technological developments with thought leaders and business peers. With a strong focus in emerging economies especially in Africa, Middle East & Central Asia, Magenta Global works in partnership with both the public and private sectors. www.magenta-global.com.sg

Magenta Global
20 Kalleng Avenue Level 2 Pico Creative Centre
Singapore 339411

Ms Merilynn Choo
Marketing Executive
DID: +65 6392 2549
Main: +65 6392 2552
Email: merilynn@magenta-global.com.sg

This release was published on openPR.