PIL Analysis, page-6

Mobile money is becoming a powerful tool for building more inclusive, stable, and secure financial sectors.
The potential of mobile technology to improve people’s lives is growing exponentially as mobile network operators (MNOs) expand digital connectivity and bring more people in emerging markets into the mobile network.
The potential of mobile money is clear:
■ There were 5.9 billion active mobile connections worldwide in 2012.
The number of GSM mobile connections doubled in the last four years in Africa and South East Asia, and more than tripled in South Asia.
The total number of unique mobile subscribers is 3.2 billion (46% of the world’s population) and is forecast to grow to 4 billion in five years.
■ Of the 2.5 billion people in the world who still lack access to the financial system, 2 1.7 billion have mobile phones.
■ MNOs are much more experienced than banks in building and managing large, low-cost distribution networks in unserved areas.
The largest MNO in a developing country has 100–500 times more airtime reseller outlets than banks have branches.
4 With 2.5 billion people in the world still lacking access to basic financial services, the challenge is to overcome the risks and costs of cash-based transactions and find alternatives to informal ways of making payments and transferring and storing money.

from http://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelo...bling-Regulatory-Solutions-di-Castri-2013.pdf