Had an interesting conversation over the weekend with the office caretaker- a young late 20’s chap who has his wife and kids back home in Nepal. He told me very excitedly how he managed to send across money to them in Nepal through a new option wherein the credit was showing in his Nepalese account the very next day.
The few interesting things that really stood out were
- He transferred all of Rs7000/- in one go. He didnt feel like testing the process as he was told about this option by a close friend. Referrals generate high sense of security and comfort
- He was given a secure PIN and this gave him immense confidence about the process being secure. Though he had to ask his friend to SMS the same to his better half back in Nepal.
- He was happy to pay a transaction fee of Rs100/- for an almost immediate confirmation of credit in the recipient account. Customers will pay decent amount as fees for specific features/benefits
- He hasn’t heard about Western Union etc and went straight to this PNB branch in Connaught Place for his remittance.
- He also talked about an option where money can be credited almost immediately (mobile based process) and was sure that this would be a great option to use during times of emergency. This gave him a lot of comfort knowing that his family would have access to immediate funds even when he is miles apart.
The above in my opinion is a clear indication of the kind of adoption payment instruments would see in the huge currently untapped market. While brand building will be a tough one, the player who invests early in training/educating users how to use this securely would see a huge advantage. I hope my friends in the Mobile Payments industry are listening and are as excited as I am.