Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Cellphones double as electronic wallets It's Thursday, so 18-year-old Dennis Tiangco is off to a bank to collect his weekly allowance, zapped by his mother - who's working in Hong Kong - to his electronic wallet: his cell phone. Sauntering into a branch of GM Bank in the town of San Miguel, Tiangco fills out a form, sends a text message via his phone to a bank line dedicated to the service. In a matter of seconds, the transaction is approved and the teller gives him $54, minus one per cent fee. He doesn't need a bank account to retrieve the money. More than 5.5 million Filipinos now use cellphones as virtual wallets, making Philippines a leader in providing financial transactions over mobile networks. Mobile banking services, which are also catching on in Kenya and South Africa, enable people who don't have bank accounts to transfer money easily, quickly and safely. It's spreading in the developing world because mobile phones are much more co

Bangladesh knock West Iindies out he West Indies were knocked out of the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday by Bangladesh, who roared to victory by six wickets in their group match. Bangladesh won the toss and restricted the West Indies to 164 for eight before captain Mohammad Ashraful's sparkling 61 off 27 balls ensured they reached the target with two overs to spare. Ashraful's delightful innings included seven fours and three sixes as he tore into the West Indies bowling after neither opener Tamim Iqbal (10) nor Mohammad Nazimuddin (1), made any impression. Ashraful shared a third-wicket partnership of 109 off 64 balls with Aftab Ahmed, who batted through the innings to finish with 62 not out off 49 balls, including eight fours and a six. The West Indies were once again sluggish in the field and ill-disciplined in their bowling, having been trounced by eight wickets in the tournament's opening match against South Africa on Tuesday at the same venue. Dwayne Smith's bruta