It's worth noting that M-PESA is spreading outside of Kenya. Last year it had a highly-publicised launch in South Africa, backed by the country's largest mobile

It's worth noting that M-PESA is spreading outside of Kenya. Last year it had a highly-publicised launch in South Africa, backed by the country's largest mobile operator and fourth-largest bank. While the country has a well-developed and high-tech banking system, its banks serve mostly the middle and upper classes and the business community and have been unable to come up with viable banking products for the approximately 13 million people without bank accounts. It's hoped that M-PESA will fill that gap. This isn't the first mobile phone payment system to have been tried in South Africa; although the only one to have achieved any level of success was MiMoney, backed by another major bank. But the level of support behind M-PESA is massive and early indications are that it will see a similar level of success to what it achieved in Kenya. Already a number of major retailers are adding it to their systems as a valid payment option or have already done so.