Future Of Health: Mobile Distributed Wealth

This post is part of a PSFK Consulting project aimed at providing insight into the Future of Health. Mobile Distributed Wealth is one trend of fifteen that appears in our exploration of  how technology and access to information play a vital role in the ways that people will understand, manage and receive care whether that’s at home, in hospitals and clinics or in doctor’s offices.

Summary

In an effort to facilitate reliable and easy person-to-person and person-to-institution fund transfer, platforms are being created that provide a virtual infrastructure for managing finances and verifying currency transfers from a mobile phone. These mobile networks ensure anytime access to funds and provide entrepreneurial individuals with the means to accept and make payments.

Implications

• Phone As ID – Financial services are addressing security and identity concerns on mobile devices, making it possible for health services to use the mobile number as a means of ID.
• Streamlined Care – Patients can streamline the transaction process required to receive healthcare with mobile payments, removing one more potentially critical inconvenience from an already difficult process.
• Economic Development – Services that allow for immediate payment for small services empower wealth generation and the development of community economies.

Supporting Examples for Mobile Distributed Wealth

Text To Send And Receive Payment
Venmo is a service that enables trusted networks of friends to trade payment through text-messaging. through SMS-enabled payments, Venmo looks to reduce the inconvenience of everyday hassles like trips to atMs, splitting bills, and lengthy check cashing processes.

Physical Gifting Via Text Message
Giiv is a service with financial backing from Google CEO Eric Schmidt; the service aims to change the way people exchange physical presents through instant, mobile-to-mobile giving. Users can text each other redeemable gift vouchers to be used at major retailers such as Amazon, Macy’s, and Krispy Kreme.

Employing Locals To Help Rebuild
Built by Greg Elliott and Aaron Zinman at the MIT Media Lab, Konbit is a service that helps communities rebuild themselves after a crisis by indexing the skill sets of locals. Most recently used in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, the service allows NGOs to find and deploy registered experts where needed. residents can make free calls into the service and record their message, noting their expertise. the messages are translated through crowdsourced volunteers and partner organizations for use by workers on the ground in affected areas, instantly connecting a skilled workforce to those in need.

Mobile Platform Replaces Signature With Face
FaceCash is a mobile payment app developed by ThinkLink that uses an individual’s face as a security token in place of a receipt signature. The service can be used to pay for items such as food and clothing at the point of sale with a smartphone instead of a plastic card. Users deposit money into their FaceCash accounts and can withdraw money at any time. The system also allows users to store the account numbers of all of their store loyalty cards in one location. \

Transferring Money Through A Mobile Phone
M-PESA is a Safaricom service developed in partnership with Vodaphone that allows Kenyans to transfer money using a mobile phone. the mobile banking service can be installed on any handset with a SIM card and is available to any Safaricom subscriber, regardless of whether or not they have a bank account. Users simply register and make an initial deposit with an M-PESA agent and then are free to perform transactions by text messaging.

Performing Tasks Via SMS To Earn Money
txteagle is a service that enables mobile phone subscribers to earn money or additional airtime by completing simple micro-tasks such as basic translation services for large corporate clients. The platform was originally conceived as a mechanism to compensate rural Kenyan nurses, but is now on track to become one of Africa’s largest employers. Partnerships with regional banks have led to the development of new payment and savings instruments, providing an opportunity for the banking industry to connect with populations that historically have no access to banks.

About PSFK’s Future Of Health Report

PSFK’s Future of Health Report details 15 trends that will impact health and wellness around the world. Simple advances such as off-the-grid energy and the introduction of gaming into healthcare service offerings sit alongside more future-forward developments such as bio-medical printing. The report includes concepts for UNICEF based on the trends provided by the world’s leading advertising and design agencies. It is our hope that this report will inspire your thinking and lead to services, applications and technologies which will allow for more available, quality healthcare.

www.psfk.com/future-of-health