Carriers, carrier-groups, banks and hardware manufacturers (e.g. Nokia) all want a piece of the action and there are lots of vendors who can help them with their implementation.  In fact, there are no less than 20 vendors at the Mobile Money Transfer Summit who all profess to offer unique solutions but are really providing very similar access to the same range of services including: eTopUp, bill pay, P2P domestic transfers (airtime and money) and international remittances (airtime and money).  All vendors make a claim to be able to provide mobile financial services; however, the only deployment with close resemblance is the darling of the industry, M-PESA.

The core products appear to be the same, but there are some subtle differences in their solution approaches - foreign exchange conversion, transaction volume, established cash-out correspondent networks, fraud and AML management.  While gaining critical mass amongst the carriers in developing countries is critical, equally important is establishing a footprint in the developed markets where remittances will be initiated.

Within the continuum discussed above (eTopUp through to P2P transfers) there is little revenue upside opportunity.  The large-scale revenue generation opportunity emerges with international remittances.  Provided the footprint is large enough in countries where payments are initiated, carriers in developing countries will truly be able to disrupt the incumbents because they can be extremely competitive on price and deliver funds more conveniently.  Vendors offering mobile remittance options should, therefore, be equally as aggressive establishing their footprints in developing countries beyond the traditional partners like Western Union, MoneyGram, MasterCard,Visa and existing corresponding bank relations.  These are important channels, but finding ways to connect directly with the initiator and having a large established based on remittance-initiators will be key in differentiating themselves.