Peer-to-Peer Lending No Longer An Oddity + Bill Gates/Electronic Payments

scott

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100388262
Green Dot: The Answer to Big Bank Fees - Pay What You Want
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http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-23/bill-gates-hates-cash-dot-heres-why

Talking about Bill Gates and electronic payments.

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http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Peer-to-peer-lending-no-longer-an-oddity-4212147.php

Continues what I've previously discussed on the board in terms of "alternatives" to the traditional financial system that are popping up and are trying to gain customers from the "unbanked" - something that Visa is really focusing on. Millions of households in the US do not have a bank account, and the numbers of people without access around the world is massive - about 1.7B people with a phone but no bank account.

Not saying that banks are going anywhere, but that nontraditional services are going to start making inroads and companies like Visa and Amex (see Amex's Bluebird card and the new services from Green Dot) are going to look to try to offer basic banking services to the unbanked. Mobile services can make sending money immediate and allow people to respond to situations/needs immediately. People in emerging/frontier markets can do things like pay utility bills on their phone rather than having to travel to do so.

Visa calls this "financial inclusion" (aka, Yay new customers!)

Microlending services like Kiva and Kickstarter have gained some popularity in the US, but I think more defined lending (Kiva does not pay users interest, Kickstarter gives various prizes/gifts depending on the funding project in return for loans) are probably only a matter of time and are taking off in other countries.

Old_Joe

Hi Scott- Now that you mention this area, I remembered reading an interesting article about M-Pesa (Kenya) in the Economist some time ago. Here it is:

Cashless in Kenya