The M-Pesa Story — and Google’s Attempt to Replicate It

How is a third world tech country paving the way when it comes to the future of mobile banking? 90 percent of Kenyans use their phones to access the internet and M-Pesa is bringing mobile banking to the nation.

“The only significant change in money since credit cards, 60 years ago, is M-Pesa. The transaction costs for it are so minimal that banks cannot compete with it.” These are the word of Erik Hersman, Founder, iHub.

The story of Kenya’s M-Pesa network, launched by Safaricom, is well known. But did you know Google is working on a similar system?

Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman explains.