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• Millennials, who represent about 35 percent of afford to keep it in a bank," PayPal CEO Dan Schulman
current homebuyers, are expected to move more wrote in a 2015 op-ed piece published by CNBC. "Not
than $30 billion in mortgage applications through only is this manifestly unfair, but it is economically
the mobile channel this year, according to Mitek counterproductive….A growing body of research indicates
Systems Inc., a leading provider of mobile image that financial inclusion has a positive impact on economic
capture solutions. growth and helps reduce income inequality."
• Mitek stated it further expects that smartphone
selfies will be used to support the authentication Schulman again addressed this in January 2017 during
and/or authorization of more $3 billion mobile the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. With mobile
commerce transactions in 2017. phone penetration far exceeding that of bank accounts, in
the United States and elsewhere, he said mobile is not only
• Calpian Inc., a firm that made a name for itself a good way to bring marginalized populations into the
purchasing merchant portfolios from ISOs and financial mainstream, it's also cost effective. "The digital
MLSs, sold off its U.S. processing operations and world can be 80 percent to 90 percent less expensive to
changed its name to MoneyOnMobile Inc. The service a customer than traditional bank branches," he told
company is focusing 100 percent of its efforts world leaders at the Forum.
on providing mobile banking and payments
services to the consumer market in India, Harold Montgomery offered a similar assessment. With decades of
Montgomery, the company's founder and Chief experience working with ISOs and payment companies in
Executive Officer, stated last fall. the United States, Montgomery is focused on bringing into
What this all means the financial mainstream an estimated 1.3 billion unbanked
consumers in India. As of late 2016, MoneyOnMobile
We may not be witnessing wholesale abandonment of cash had serviced over 170 million unique customers making
for mobile e-payments, at least not in the United States. But payments at over 306,000 retail locations across India.
mobile technologies are being deployed in ways that make "Mobile money provides a democratic gateway to banking
traditional payment preferences (like cards and checks) which doesn't care where you live or the amount of money
better, faster and safer. Mobile capture, for example, is you have," Montgomery said.
now being leverage by charities like the American Cancer
Society for faster, more efficient and effective fundraising. Apparently, the Indian government agrees. The
government there has been on a campaign to wipe out
The 13th largest charity in the United States, the Cancer large-denomination currencies, forcing consumers to seek
Society deployed a mobile app that fundraisers now use to alternatives, such as mobile payments. It is even running a
set goals, leverage social media, and accept card and check lottery, offering monetary prizes to new mobile payment
payments. It leverages Mitek's MiSnap technology, which users.
utilizes the video streaming capability in smartphones to
capture optimal images of checks and credit cards tendered In India today, about a dozen mobile money schemes co-
for payment. exist, including one recently launched by the government
in support of its "demonetization" program. Operators
"We clearly have seen a shift in consumers' behaviors with of those programs all reported huge growth spurts. The
regards to how they interact with our brand, primarily mobile payment company Paytm, for example, reported
through more and more digital channels," said Ben signing up hundreds of thousands of new customers daily.
Kaplan, Senior Director for Mobile Strategy/Product at "I think demonetization has brought … the necessary push
the American Cancer Society. The new mobile app, which towards digital currencies," Paytm founder and CEO Vijay
works with Android and Apple devices, "takes advantage Shekhar Sharma told CNN in a recent interview.
of those shifts while still respecting the donor's choice with
regards to how and which payment method they want to Are we likely to see the United States make similar changes
donate through," Kaplan added. in payment acceptance? Probably not. But the push toward
faster payments, ongoing proliferation of mobile apps and
Michael Diamond, General Manager for Payments networks, pressure for greater economic inclusion, and the
Solutions at Mitek, characterizes this as just the latest maturation of the millennial generation will continue to
advance in payment acceptance prompted by mobile prompt more and better mobile solutions that open the gates
capture technologies. "Perhaps [one of] the biggest changes to wider financial inclusion. I see this as democratization of
coming in the area of mobile capture is the ability to deposit banking and payments.
multiple checks within a single video session," he said.
Opening doors Patti Murphy is Senior Editor of The Green Sheet and President of
ProScribes Inc. She is also the founder of InsideMicrofinance.com. Email
There's more. Mobile opens wide the doors to financial her at patti@greensheet.com.
services. "The costs of money rises dramatically if you can't

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