The service is expected to reach 300,000 coffee growers across the country. Using the m-banking service, clients can use their mobile phones to make payments, deposit money and withdraw money from shops. Moreover, they can also check coffee prices, their bank account balances and their latest transactions from their mobile phones. During the first month of the program, the coffee growers in the municipalities of San Gil, Rio Sucio, Socorro and Quinchia have made more than 1,300 SMS transactions on their mobile phones.
In the last years, mobile communications have expanded into remote areas throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a study by Interamerican Development Bank and Foundation Telefonica. However, the mobile phone-based financial services offered in Latin America are not as popular as those launched in Africa and Asia. In 2008, 80 percent of Latin Americans had a mobile phone, of which 30 percent had access to basic financial services.
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