Money Transfers by Mobile - Reading Test Answers

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There are concerns about security, but Safaricom insists that even if someone’s phone is stolen, the PIN system prevents unauthorised withdrawals.

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A commission of up to 170 shillings (£1.25) is paid by the recipient but it compares favourably with fees levied by the major banks,

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The project is being watched closely by mobile operators around the world as a way of targeting the multibillion pound international cash transfer industry long dominated by companies such as Western Union and Moneygram.

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Known as M-Pesa, or mobile money, the service is expected to revolutionise banking in a country where more than 80% of people are excluded from the formal financial sector.

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The ping of a text message has never sounded so sweet. In what is being touted as a world first, Kenya’s biggest mobile operator is allowing subscribers to send cash to other phone users by SMS.

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M-Pesa’s is simple. There is no need for a new handset or SIM card. To send money, you hand over the cash to a registered agent - typically a retailer - who credits your virtual account.

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Companies will be able to pay salaries directly into workers’ phones - something that has already attracted the interest of larger employers, such as the tea companies, whose workers often have to be paid in cash as they do not have bank accounts.

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The project is being watched closely by mobile operators around the world as a way of targeting the multibillion pound international cash transfer industry long dominated by companies such as Western Union and Moneygram.

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Apart from transferring cash - a service much in demand among urban Kenyans supporting relatives in rural areas - customers of the Safaricom network will be able to keep up to 50,000 shillings (£370) in a “virtual account” on their handsets.

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More than 10,000 people have signed up for the service, with around 8 million shillings transferred so far, mostly in tiny denominations.

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You then send between 100 shillings (74p) and 35,000 shillings (£259) via text message to the desired recipient - even someone on a different mobile network - who cashes it at an agent by entering a secret code and showing ID.

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In time, M-Pesa will allow people to borrow and repay money, and make purchases.

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The GSM Association, which represents more than 700 mobile operators worldwide, believes this could quadruple by 2012 if transfers by SMS become the norm.