ADOPTION
E-commerce features are increasingly being built into software and e-banking is following: even entry-level accounting
systems now automate links with bank accounts. Consumers and businesses are exploiting pre-paid smart cards and
mobile phones as ‘electronic wallets’ using services such as Barclays (Pingit) and the start-up Square. Affordable
access to mobile phones has enabled new players to introduce m-banking services in developing economies.
Alternative online payment platforms are using virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and the Linden Dollar, and to
peer-to-peer (P2P) lending sites such as Funding Circle and Zopa are increasing routes to finance. Not all emerging
‘financial services’ are regulated:governments have been slow to act.