Mobile banking boost for Kenya

Kenya's main mobile service company, Safaricom, has partnered with Equity Bank to introduce a new kind of account that could help eradicate poverty through financial empowerment, writes Voice of America.

Last week, the two companies unveiled the M-Kesho account, which will allow Safaricom customers to deposit money into accounts with the bank, one of the country's largest financial institutions.

The M-Kesho account builds upon Safaricom's wildly successful M-Pesa service, which allows Kenyans to store, withdraw, and transfer money using mobile phones.

Credit card giant Visa has chosen British partner Monitise for a joint venture to develop mobile banking technology for the fast-growing Indian market, according to Reuters.

Monitise chief executive Alastair Lukies said mobile banking was ideal for a country with nearly 600 million mobile phone subscriptions and a fast-growing demand for banking facilities.

"India has a huge opportunity to establish a new payment network for a new generation," he said. "It's just huge kudos that Visa, 11 months into our relationship, believes in us and our technology enough to share what's probably their biggest growth market."

Syria and Iran have signed a memo of understanding (MOU) in the domain of industry, banking, technology and technology transfer in the framework of the Investment Conference, states Global Arab Network.

In a statement, deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Abdullah al-Dardari, said the MOU includes important spheres of cooperation as 14 industrial projects were chosen in addition to establishing a joint investment holding company.

He added the agreement also includes cooperation in the field of scientific research, technology transfer, banking and insurance, pointing out that an Iranian bank will be established in Syria in addition to insurance companies in the framework of the close economic and political relations between the two countries.