VOA慢速英语2012 Economics Report - Ethiopia Permits Mobile Banking and Money Services

Economics Report - Ethiopia Permits Mobile Banking 1 and Money Services

济报道 - 埃塞俄比亚批准移动银行和移动支付

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。

Ethiopia is one of the last countries in Africa to permit mobile banking.

埃塞俄比亚是非洲最后批准移动银行（又称手机银行）的国家之一。

Mobile banking has proved to be profitable in the developing world, where many people still do not use banks. Earlier this year, the World Bank reported that seventy-five percent of the world’s poor are “unbanked.” That is about two point five billion people. Banking through mobile telephones lets people take part in financial services even if they are not near a bank office.

发展中国家许多人尚未使用银行，移动银行已被证实在这里有利可图。今年早些时候，世界银行报告说，全球75%的穷人没有银行账户，人数大约是25亿人。移动银行可以让人们参与金融服务，哪怕他们不在银行附近。

In Africa, only Ethiopia and Zimbabwe do not provide mobile money services. Now, that will change for Ethiopia.

在非洲，只有埃塞俄比亚和津巴布韦不提供移动支付服务。现在，埃塞俄比亚的这种情况改变了。

BelCash and M-Birr are mobile banking technology providers. They have been setting up mobile banking and mobile money services in Ethiopia for the past three years.

BelCash和M-Birr是移动银行技术供应商。过去三年他们一直在埃塞俄比亚建立移动银行和移动支付服务。

Dutch company BelCash is working in partnership 2 with banks to provide easier access to financing through bank accounts. Ireland-based M-Birr is a mobile money service that works with micro finance groups where no registration 3 at a bank is needed.

BelCash这家荷兰公司与银行合作，通过银行账户提供更便捷的理财。总部位于爱尔兰的M-Birr是一家移动支付服务公司，他们和无需在银行注册的微金融组织合作。

Ethiopia’s mobile industry is young. And wireless 4 service coverage 5 in the country is not well developed. The pressure on the wireless network is expected to increase.

埃塞俄比亚的移动通信行业还很年轻。该国的无线服务覆盖并不发达。无线网络的压力预计会增加。

In the past four years, the number of mobile users grew from three to seventeen million. And Ethiopia’s telecommunications provider, Ethio Telecom, expects that number to grow to forty million in the next three years.

过去四年，移动用户数量从300万增长到1700万。埃塞俄比亚电信运营商埃塞电信预计未来三年该数字将增长到4千万。

The government closely controls Ethiopia’s telecommunications market. That means there is only one provider. Competition is not permitted.

政府严密控制了埃塞俄比亚的电信市场。这意味着这里只有一家运营商，竞争是不被允许的。

M-Birr General Manager Thierry Artaud says Ethiopia’s neighbors have several mobile providers.

M-Birr总经理蒂埃里·阿尔托（Thierry Artaud）表示，埃塞俄比亚的邻国有多家移动运营商。

"If you look at your neighbors, Kenya, Tanzania Uganda, they all have multiple mobile operators and they all have mobile money services and even multiple mobile money services.”

“像肯尼亚、坦桑尼亚和乌干达这些邻国都有多家移动运营商，都有移动支付服务公司，甚至多家移动支付服务公司。”

He says, if Ethiopia had no restrictions 6, his company would have to compete with larger companies.

他说，如果埃塞俄比亚没有任何限制，他的公司将不得不和更大的公司竞争。

Ethiopia has looked at other developing countries with mobile banking. National Bank of Ethiopia officials visited Kenya, Pakistan and Brazil.

埃塞俄比亚考察了其它发展中国家的移动银行。埃塞俄比亚国家银行官员访问了肯尼亚、巴基斯坦和巴西。

Frezer Ayalew is with the National Bank of Ethiopia. He says mobile banking services will help the country.

Frezer Ayalew就职于埃塞俄比亚国家银行。他说移动银行服务会对该国有帮助。

“For the economy it has great contribution in terms of mobilizing domestic savings 7 with these services.”

“从经济方面来说，这些服务在使国内储蓄流通方面有很大贡献。”

The National Bank of Ethiopia recently finished a draft order on how mobile banking services should be structured. This comes as more companies have shown interest in starting mobile banking services.

埃塞俄比亚国家银行最近就移动银行服务应该如何构建完成了一项草案。值此之际，越来越多公司表示有兴趣启动移动银行服务。