Banking by Cell Phone Cuts Back on Corruption of Afghan Government Officials

Corruption is the biggest problem that people face in Afghanistan - and is looked at as more serious than violence or poverty. One aspect of life that is a force in eliminating corruption is the spread of cell phone use and mobile banking.

When police officers in Afghanistan's mountainous Wardak province began receiving their $200-per-month salaries via their mobile phones in 2009, many wondered why they had gotten a raise. They hadn't. It turns out their superiors had been skimming from their salaries, which were previously paid in cash.

Some government officials, police, and Army soldiers are now getting paid by cell phone - eliminating that boss or superior officer who took his percentage. The pay by mobile phone is meeting resistance by some government officials - most likely the ones who will lose the most when they find they are not getting their "fair share" skimmed off the top of the payroll. Read more in "Cashing Out of Corruption", Technology Review, March 19, 2012.