4 ms·
This is true, it has been revolutionary. There is a bit of a dark side to it that's not often mentioned, mobile banking isn't exactly a white knight. For examp
by Tarang 12y ago
This is true, it has been revolutionary.
There is a bit of a dark side to it that's not often mentioned, mobile banking isn't exactly a white knight. For example interest rates on mobile banking/microlending platforms are quite astronomical at over 80% annually (usually ~8% per month [MPESA/MSHWARI]) which is a bit predatory - I think its to account for the default rate. Secondly, some countries seize deposits after 2 years of inactivity to an unclaimed financial assets fund (2 years isn't alot considering the quite-manual processes involved in developing countries to get your assets back.
On the other hand you get a decent amount of interest on amounts which could be less than $0.50 worth (so long as you're active) and this is better than holding cash/any argument against holding cash. It's also easy to transfer money between people by far.
Competition can probably help with the predatory lending rates.