Nokia Launches Pay-By-Phone Service

adeelarshad82 writes "The world's top mobile phone maker, Nokia, said it would launch a mobile financial service next year targeting consumers, mainly in emerging markets, with a phone but no banking account. Nokia's Money service was based on the mobile payment platform of Obopay, a privately-owned firm that Nokia invested in earlier this year, and it is now building up a network of agents. Obopay, which uses text messaging and mobile Internet access, charges users a fee to send money or to top up their accounts."

Re:O2 just started doing this in the UK

[gravyface]

I can see this working in a modernized market like the UK (see, "those with accounts"), but how does this help those in emerging countries with no bank accounts? Credit cards? Don't you need an account for a legitimate credit card? It's been so long since I've had mine, I can't remember. Seriously, I'm not "getting" how they plan on converting analog currency into a digital transaction with the phone and nothing else.