Telecoms research firm Tavess expects 100m mobile money subscribers in India by 2015. The company says that mobile money in the emerging markets of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa will reach 1bn users in the same timeframe.

Tavess says that high mobile penetration, combined with limited banking facilities, make emerging markets like India ripe for mobile money deployment. 

“Well established in the African countries, mobile money is in its nascent stage in India,” the company says. “Although in nascent stages, the 790m mobile subscriber base and the huge unbanked rural population makes India a very attractive destination for this service. Initiatives, such as Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) easing of stringent regulations pertaining to mobile banking via increase of cap on fund transfers from INR 5,000 (£69) to INR 50,000; and the new interbank mobile payment service launched by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), are nurturing the required ecosystem for increased roll-out and adoption of mobile money.”