Phone-packed Africa leads the way in take up of mobile banking

FRONT RUNNERS: Africa has taken the global lead in using mobile phones to pay bills, make purchases, manage savings or get fast access to cash.

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast: Services allowing consumers to perform banking and payment operations on their mobile phones are surging in sub-Saharan Africa, blazing a trail for the rest of the slower-moving world to follow. 

Given that relatively few Africans have traditional bank accounts while most now own a mobile phone, it is of little wonder the region has taken the global lead in using the devices to pay bills, make purchases, manage their savings or get fast access to cash.