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> Mobile payment platforms have been ubiquitous in Africa for many years, but nobody would say that Africa's banking system is "advanced" I'm not a fan of mobi

> Mobile payment platforms have been ubiquitous in Africa for many years, but nobody would say that Africa's banking system is "advanced" I'm not a fan of mobile payments myself but I would say that compared to the US most of Africa's mobile payments are indeed more advanced, yes. If I understand correctly many poor people in Africa are de facto banked (as long as they have a mobile phone, which has become pretty achievable right now), while a very large proportion of the US poor population is de-facto non-banked, with all the extra financial hardships that that situation entails.

gruez 6y ago
AFAIK the reason why poor people are unbanked in America is because they can't afford the fees/minimum balance associated with the account. I fail to see how switching from $0.50 bank cards to phone apps is going to make banking more affordable.
- paganel 6y ago
  Afaik exchanging money through mobile phone apps in Africa doesn’t involve actual banks, that’s why I used the expression “de facto banked”. The money-exchange system is totally different, more advanced if you look at it from the poor people’s perspective. You’re probably correct though, this could never happen in the US because of regulatory capture (by the banks, mostly, but not only).
moreorless 6y ago
> it's because they've spent 30 years studying, copying, and improving upon American legal, financial, and business management systems. My goodness. American exceptionalism at its very finest. You honestly think that Eurorpean, Asian, and other countries have nothing to offer? Not everything great is from American. We need to get over ourselves and realize that we're not at all that exceptional. Do we do certain things better? Absolutely. Do we do certain things worse and have a lot to learn from others? You can bet your last dollar.
- paganel 6y ago
  I think you replied to the wrong person :) Incidentally, I do fully agree with you.
- yorwba 6y ago
  It's not American exceptionalism but rather a statement about the tendency of Chinese policymakers to focus on America when they look for inspiration in reforming their legal, financial and business systems. For most Chinese, America is the stereotypical example of how those things work in foreign countries. In other domains they may look to other countries, e.g. Japan and Germany when it comes to industry.

gruez 6y ago

AFAIK the reason why poor people are unbanked in America is because they can't afford the fees/minimum balance associated with the account. I fail to see how switching from $0.50 bank cards to phone apps is going to make banking more affordable.

paganel 6y ago
Afaik exchanging money through mobile phone apps in Africa doesn’t involve actual banks, that’s why I used the expression “de facto banked”. The money-exchange system is totally different, more advanced if you look at it from the poor people’s perspective. You’re probably correct though, this could never happen in the US because of regulatory capture (by the banks, mostly, but not only).

moreorless 6y ago

> it's because they've spent 30 years studying, copying, and improving upon American legal, financial, and business management systems. My goodness. American exceptionalism at its very finest. You honestly think that Eurorpean, Asian, and other countries have nothing to offer? Not everything great is from American. We need to get over ourselves and realize that we're not at all that exceptional. Do we do certain things better? Absolutely. Do we do certain things worse and have a lot to learn from others? You can bet your last dollar.

paganel 6y ago
I think you replied to the wrong person :) Incidentally, I do fully agree with you.
yorwba 6y ago
It's not American exceptionalism but rather a statement about the tendency of Chinese policymakers to focus on America when they look for inspiration in reforming their legal, financial and business systems. For most Chinese, America is the stereotypical example of how those things work in foreign countries. In other domains they may look to other countries, e.g. Japan and Germany when it comes to industry.