Yesterday, one of my CFSI colleagues received the following SMS text on her phone:

This is the first instance I have seen of marketing for payday loans through the mobile phone.  I’ve been cool on mobile payments in the US, despite all the hype, because a) mobile payments internationally is much smaller in volume than it appears on the surface (with notable exception of mPesa), b) there is far more infrastructure in the US making the mobile phone’s ability to leap-frog less substantial, c) mobile payments requires a big behavior change, which most people underestimate.

While the mobile pioneers persist (m-via appears to be one of the more persistent), I’m really excited about the internet.  Even the SMS, above, requires completion online.