Zain Africa CEO: Mobile Banking Requires Collaboration

The success of mobile banking relies on collaboration between the mobile phone and banking industries. That was the message from Zain Africa CEO Chris Gabriel, who delivered Tuesday’s keynote at the Mobile Money Summit in Barcelona.

Gabriel said too often the two industries are concerned with stepping on each other’s toes. He says territorial issues are slowing the progress of mobile banking.

“Many potential partners are protecting their turf and stopping the teamwork needed to financially connect the world,” Gabriel told the crowd. He called on the groups to share infrastructure, keep their product deployments simple and create effective distribution networks.

Gabriel also said regulation has its place in the effort. The Zain executive said regulators need to work with banks and mobile operators to help speed up the process and make it successful.

Visa took the opportunity at the conference to announce it has signed a deal with Telefonica for a mobile payment service in Peru.