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Education

modate a number of use cases. Mo- Operators that already have cash top-up locations can serve prepaid customers
bile operators can brand physical on both ends, without needing a bank account. Finally, carriers can offer peace
or virtual prepaid cards to enhance of mind by delivering secure banking and bill payment services. A mobile op-
mobile wallets. Local banks that is- erator that facilitates banking and bill payment can transfer funds between
sue prepaid cards can offer mobile accounts and even cross-border to pay recurring bills. This, combined with a
carriers a dedicated BIN (bank iden- microfinancing solution, would make a mobile carrier an indispensable part of
tification number) enabling them family finances – and more than a utility.
to operate and launch new prepaid Brion Bonkowski is founder and CEO of Tern Commerce, www.terncommerce.com, a global B2B
programs. By partnering with lo-
cal banks, mobile operators need no prepaid program management platform. Brion is also Director of ROI Payments, www.roipay-
banking license and are not subject ments.com, and holds several board member positions, including NYPAY, www.nypay.org. He
to money transmission and banking also serves as Chairman of the Kilimanjaro Initiative USA nonprofit, www.kiusa.org, and has sum-
product regulations. mited Mt. Kilimanjaro five times. Contact him at brion@terncommerce.com or 212-234-9741.

Even mobile operators without a
mobile wallet portfolio can launch
prepaid products. They can leverage
innate capabilities, such as geoloca-
tion and secure element security, to
strengthen the link between mobile
and banking. Mobile carriers know
their customers' physical locations;
they can work with merchant acquir-
ers to create local prepaid offers and
discount programs.

Global remittance, bill pay
Mobile operators can leverage distri-
bution networks within their respec-
tive customer bases, and they can
transfer funds without using bank
accounts. Mobile operators can out-
perform new players, like Transfer-
Wise and World First, that are trying
to displace traditional MTO (money
transfer operators) like Western
Union and MoneyGram. New play-
ers have an uphill battle for market
share and global distribution. They
may be heavily capitalized, but their
customer acquisition and adminis-
trative costs are high.

Mobile carriers could displace tradi-
tional MTOs and newcomers by low-
ering customer acquisition costs and
leveraging back-office operations.
They can offer remittance products
targeting specific geographies at
discounted rates. Launching a remit-
tance solution with a prepaid prod-
uct would give them a faster time to
market.

A mobile operator that can add a pre-
paid customer on the sending and
receiving end of the remittance can
control the entire flow of funds, in-
cluding the foreign exchange, and ef-
fectively create a remittance network.

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