Mobile Health Might Be the eBay to Mobile Money’s PayPal

Nobody gets up in the morning and says “I want an efficient payment instrument today.” Nope. But they might say, “I really want that Hello Kitty lunchbox.” Several clicks, and its yours. There’s a lesson here: what will be desired by BOP consumers, whose tastes might run a little different from the typical American nerds? And how can the incipient mobile money industry tap into that? Is there a metaphorical eBay out there?

That’s why I was so excited to talk, and listen, at last week’s huge mHealth Summit. For those of us in mobile financial services, it may just be that adjacent industries like mobile health drive demand for mobile money through their understanding of what BOP consumers want. Vaccinate your kids? There’s an app for that, and a way to pay for it. If this report is even half right, there could be tens of millions of mhealth clients needing efficient, convenient, safe ways to pay in the not too distant future.

Here’s my presentation from the Mobile Money meets Mobile Health session of the Summit.

- Mark Pickens