Mobile Money Transactions Doubled In 2014

The rate of global mobile money transfers continues to increase at a steady rate as the percentage of mobile remittances in 2014 doubled between January 2014 and January 2015, according to new research from Azimo, a mobile money company.

The research concluded that millennials (ages 18-24) are the biggest factor in the rate increase, as one in 10 consumers in that age range reported having sent money using a mobile device. Compared with those over 55, the rate drops to just one in 200 consumers.

“It’s not a surprise that the younger generations are using technology to send money overseas. Online and mobile payments are only going to become more popular as people become more aware that they’re super easy, low cost, fast and secure,” said Michael Kent, CEO of Azimo, in a prepared company news release. “We want to help our customers of all ages become increasingly savvy about how they send money abroad and prevent them from being ripped off by the traditional high-street players in the market.”

But of those included in Azimo’s survey, just 5 percent of consumers said they were actually interested in using a mobile wallet as a mode to receive or send out mobile money payments. Instead, most were more interested in having new ways to access the money sent via mobile money payment options.

Although more consumers are tuning into the concept of mobile money transactions, of those surveyed in Azimo’s research, nearly half of the consumers said they are still looking for a new method to actually get the cash from locations where the mobile money can be sent to besides a bank account. This has been a consistent point of friction when it comes to the unbanked and mobile money. Mobile money companies are racing to serve an estimated 2.5 billion unbanked population spread across the globe, most of which has access to mobile phones.