Mobile payment: paying and receiving money by phone

A mobile payment is any payment made using a smartphone or mobile device. Here’s what that means in a cross-border context, and how mobile payments are changing how families send and receive money.

What is a mobile payment?

A mobile payment is a transaction made using a smartphone or other mobile device, whether that’s tapping to pay in a store, sending money through an app, or receiving funds directly to a phone-linked account. In many countries, mobile payments extend well beyond convenience, functioning as the primary way people access financial services at all.

Why mobile payments matter for international transfers

Mainstream content covers mobile payments as a tap-to-pay convenience in developed markets. For international senders, the more important angle is mobile payments as the dominant financial infrastructure in many receiving countries:

• Mobile money functions as a full account in some regions. Services like M-Pesa in Kenya, GCash in the Philippines, or bKash in Bangladesh serve as primary financial accounts for many users, not just a payment convenience.

• This can matter more than having a bank account. In corridors where mobile payment ecosystems are dominant, a mobile wallet may actually be more useful to a recipient than a traditional bank account.

• Understanding the specific ecosystem helps in choosing the right delivery method. Not every mobile payment service works the same way or is available in every corridor.

Mobile payments and international money transfers

For senders unfamiliar with mobile money as a receive option, a detailed guide to international mobile money transfers⁠(opens in new window) explains how sending directly to a mobile wallet works in practice, including what details are typically needed and what to expect for delivery timing.

The CFPB’s finalized prepaid protections⁠(opens in new window) extend to mobile wallets and similar electronic accounts capable of holding funds, which is relevant context for U.S.-based senders using a mobile payment app themselves, even though international mobile money services abroad operate under their own local regulatory frameworks.

The main categories of mobile payments

Mobile payments generally fall into a few distinct categories, each working somewhat differently. Contactless tap-to-pay, using near-field communication technology built into most modern smartphones, allows paying at a physical point-of-sale terminal by holding a phone near a reader, functioning much like a physical card but through a device instead. Mobile money transfer services, common in many parts of the world, let users send and receive funds directly between phone numbers, often without either party needing a traditional bank account at all. In-app payments, used within a specific app for goods, services, or peer-to-peer transfers, represent a third category, relying on payment credentials already stored within that specific application.

Understanding which category a specific mobile payment method falls into helps clarify what’s actually happening technically, and which method is realistically available depending on a recipient’s country, phone type, and existing accounts.

Why mobile payment adoption varies so much by country

Mobile payment adoption has grown unevenly around the world, shaped heavily by each country’s existing banking infrastructure. In countries where traditional banking infrastructure historically reached only a smaller share of the population, mobile payment platforms often filled that gap directly, becoming the primary financial tool for a large portion of the population rather than a supplemental convenience layered on top of an existing bank account, as is more common in countries with well-established banking systems. This history is part of why a mobile payment platform can be the dominant, even default, way many recipients in a specific country access money, rather than a secondary option behind a bank account.

In Summary

Mobile payments have become genuine financial infrastructure in many parts of the world, not just a convenience layered on top of traditional banking. Understanding a recipient’s specific mobile payment ecosystem helps in choosing a delivery method that actually fits how they manage money day to day.

This publication is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to cover all aspects of the topics discussed herein. This publication is not a substitute for seeking advice from an applicable specialist or professional. The content in this publication does not constitute legal, tax, or other professional advice from Remitly or any of its affiliates and should not be relied upon as such. While we strive to keep our posts up to date and accurate, we cannot represent, warrant, or otherwise guarantee that the content is accurate, complete, or up to date.