This brand new award aims to recognise innovative mobile banking services around the world that are pioneering the roll out of low-cost financial services for millions of people, where traditional financial services are not within their reach or readily available.

The award is aligned to the GSMA’s Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) initiative, which was created to connect the unconnected and improve the social, economic and environmental well-being of the world’s population living on less than US$2 a day by supporting and encouraging the development of sustainable mobile money solutions.

The purpose of the GSMA’s initiative is to accelerate the availability of mobile money services for financially underserved segments of society, in terms of speed of deployment, the achievement of scale and the creation of a variety of platforms - from individual platforms enabling cash transfers to the enabling of interoperable savings, credit and insurance services, for example.

The MMU Award category will recognise the mobile money service or application that has had the most significant impact on unbanked customers in developing markets over the last year, and which supports the goals of the GSMA’s MMU programme.

The judges will shortlist four to six entries in this category, with one winner announced at the world’s leading mobile communications event, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday 16th February 2010.

Best ‘Mobile Money for the Unbanked’ ServiceNominees 2010

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VODAFONE Ltd - Vodafone Money Transfer

The Vodafone Money Transfer service is now live in three markets, Kenya, Tanzania and Afghanistan, with over six million subscribers using it to do simple financial transactions. This includes person-to-person money transfer, salary disbursement and bill payment.

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Zain Bahrain B.S.C - Zain Mobile Commerce Offering – ‘Zap'

Zain's Mobile Commerce solution, Zap, is a state-of-the-art SIM security application and security gateway which enables Zain customers to use their mobile phone to securely pay bills and to pay for goods and services.

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BEAM - Suvidha Starnet (P) Limited BEAM - Simple Money Service

The Beam Prepaid Card enables a subscriber to make hassle-free transactions in a unique manner. It lets you shop without cash, pay utility bills, recharge your mobile/ top-up and mind you, all from the comforts of your home. Not only that, you can even get micro-credit and remit repayments to MFIs/ banks as well as make donations anywhere, anytime, with just an SMS from your mobile phone.

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Telecom Development Company Afghanistan Ltd. - Roshan - M-Paisa, a secure, transparent and timely delivery of salaries

M-Paisa is the secure, fast and affordable way to transfer money anywhere in Afghanistan using your mobile phone. It’s is an innovative mobile payment solution ideal for people who don’t have a bank account. You can fill your M-Paisa account with money and it will be held safely in a bank account run by M-Paisa on your behalf. You don’t need to have contact with the bank and they won’t even have your details. Some of the benefits of having this service are highlighted below.

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Comviva Technologies Limited - Mobiquity Mobile Money solution

Comviva’s mobiquity™ platform embraces the mobile phone as a convenient, cash-free, and card-free payment and transaction medium, delivering a range of financial and payment applications. Designed to make everyday tasks easier to perform for banked subscribers, mobiquity™ extends formal financial services to the unbanked community.